Post by zeke on Apr 12, 2021 17:33:58 GMT -8
161 miles in 8 days
Everglades City: 4 restaurants in town, 3 closed for Easter. Cash only at the one that was open. Good thing I had $37 on me. Tried to call M at 8pm, but no cell coverage. Must turn off the tower when they roll up the sidewalk.
No cell reception at the dock when I was ready to push off at 8 am, but had bars once I was out into the Bay. Called home at 8:20.
Lunch in the mangroves about even with Pavilion Key. Sand bar cut through, though I had to exit the kayak and pull it across. Second sandbar, not so lucky. I had to turn around and go around the island on the Gulf side. Hog Key about 5:30. Had been wanting to stop since 4. Butt sore and shoulders tight. Forearms also. 24 mile day.
Set up the tent. Cooked supper. Crawled into bed. Set the alarm for 10 pm to check on the tide as I was not far above the high tide line in the sand. Short tide as it never got within 20 feet of the tent
Day 2. 24 more miles. Pushed off at 8:30. Ate lunch in the boat again. Angled the boat off shore to where the charts told me the far shore was that I was aiming for. I could see it in the binoculars but it took an hour for it to come into eyesight. I’m not all that fond of paddling further out to sea than a mile or 2 offshore. This tack took me 3.2 miles off shore. Reached camp at 6 a very tired paddler but my 2 long days were behind me. I never want to paddle 24 miles in 1 day again. sit bones were as tired as my arms.
Day 3 was a shorter day (21.7)and relatively uneventful. East winds at 15-20 knots but since I was traveling South for most of the day, I could hug the shore and stay out of most of it. It was in my face for the last hour and a half. Arrived in camp at 4. Set the alarm for 6 so I could be paddling by first light.
Day 4. 19 miles. Took an hour to do the portage around the marina. Probably a couple of hundred yards max. Back in the boat by 9:30 and reached Joe River camp at 4:30. Took a longish lunch at South Joe chickee. Felt really good to be in familiar territory for a day or 2. I had just been in these waters in January.
Day 5 22.75 miles was a slight change of route and my camp. I was supposed to use Broad River but there were 2 gators on the ramp. I turned back to the Gulf, a 2 mile detour, and camped on the closest beach I could find. That set up a shorter route to my camp 6.
Day 6 15.4 miles I continued up the Gulf until Lostman’s River. That cut a few miles off my day. I arrived at Plate Creek chickee at 3. I knew it was only a mile beyond Lostman’s 5 where I camped in January. I totally overshot Lostman’s and found myself looking at Plate before I realized I had missed the other camp. Pleasant surprise . Plenty of time for my apple and a cocktail before dinner.
Day 7 and morning of Day 8 were forecasted thunderstorms and rain. If I had to keep the skirt on, at least I could paddle without my long pants. The only rain I ended up getting was that night.
Day 7 was paddling past Darwin’s, a camp we used in January and continuing on for another long day. I paddled out the river and into the Gulf. 18.5 miles all told to Pavilion Key. I wanted this camp for my last night because it sits out in the Gulf a little and gives great sunsets. A mere 4 hours from the car.
Now, about that rain on Sunday night. I had been listening to my weather radio every night, and the forecast for Sunday never got better, only worse. Thunderstorms with a chance for hail, tornadoes, waterspouts. Just nothing about snow, or locusts. Pavilion has cell reception, so I had checked in with M to let her know I was OK. She warned me the weather had been bad all day at home, and it was headed my way. I checked My Radar app and could see the front moving South.
With enough warning, I could eat dinner early, stow everything I wanted to keep dry in the hatches of the kayak, turn the kayak to best protect it, and climb into the tent to await the storm. It did not fail to astound me. For 90 minutes, it was all I could do to keep the tent upright, even though I was inside it, on my back, with all four appendages spread out to the walls. 50 mph winds, maybe 3 inches of rain, but no hail. It got calm after that, for about an hour or 2, then the rain started back up, but with regular winds. I fell asleep to the sound of rain on the fly.
Monday morning was a little breezy, but no rain. I started out about 8 and finished up at noon. On my way back in, a skiff belonging to the kayak rental outfit stopped to ask me if I was Andrew. No, what’s up? Andrew is missing and the skiff was out looking for him, because he rented one of their kayaks. We went on our separate ways. As I approached the Ranger Station, the LEO boat approached me and asked if I was Andrew. I commented that they were the second boat that morning to ask. The officers were surprised, because the family had just recently asked them to begin a search. They then assumed the rental outfit was out because it was one of their boats.
Andrew had rented a kayak at about 3 PM, and got his permit about 4. Both places warned him of a small craft advisory and the imminent bad weather. To no avail. Andrew claimed to be an experienced kayaker and was only headed to Picnic Key, about 12 miles from the Ranger Station. He left just after 4. The storm hit me at 5:45, and would hit him a little earlier as he was north of me. In that 90 minutes, I doubt he could’ve even reached the Gulf, let alone Picnic Key. I suspect he was stranded somewhere south of his intended path, because the winds were strongly blowing South. I’ll keep an eye on the news to see if anything is reported.
I didn’t see much in the way of wildlife. One dolphin. The 2 gators. My main entertainment was watching brown pelicans and ospreys fish. No other people except at Flamingo where the marina and campground is. Oh, a few fishing boats buzzed by. 3 of them stopped to offer water or a cold drink on night 6. I accepted a ginger ale. That night, a Saturday, I had so many offers of a cold beer I had to start turning them down. I wish more fishing boats followed the idle speed / no wake zones. One nearly ran over me in Alligator Creek.
I’ll have to say, I haven’t paddled the Everglades in April before. My weather held out, and the bugs didn’t like the breezes. That said, I spent about an hour in camp before crawling into the tent most nights. I thoroughly enjoyed the sunsets close to 8 pm. Much better than the 6 pm ones in January. Next week the nighttime temperatures are supposed to be above 80.
OMG!! Mt. House Chicken and Dumplings. I should eat this at home on the nights M is away. I want to turn the bag inside out and lick it clean. I first started eating it on a backpack trip in August. It’s a meal I look forward to with joyful anticipation
My meal rotation is Chili Mac, Beef Stroganoff, Spaghetti with Meat sauce, and Chicken and Dumplings. All Mt. House. Yes, I’m too lazy to make my own, but I tried to make Shepherds Pie and I was a miserable failure. I’ll try again now that I have better veggies.
I’m going to start taking vodka instead of tequila for my lemonade. Vodka is cheaper and all I want is the deadening of my senses. 15-16 ounces of lemonade with 3-4 ounces of vodka should do the trick.
One thing I didn’t bring was a thermometer. Would’ve liked to have known what the temps were in the evening. Most nights it was pleasantly cool by 7:30. Actually needed the quilt each night.
I started eating an apple daily, at 4 pm, back on the January trip. I continued it at home since then. On this trip, sometimes it was later in the day. In addition, I believe in a cocktail around dinner time. Helps to unwind and relax while doing dinner prep. (That boiling water takes it out of me. )Not so much consumption as to interfere with making sure the camp was ready for quickly loading the boat and paddling by 8 am.
Here’s a tip: Don’t try to catch the stray fly in the tent after cocktail hour.
Another tip: If you go to bed with dry, cracked lips without putting something on them, you’ll wake up with dry , cracked lips.
first sunset
navigational aid over there
numbered to correspond to the charts, with helpful arows.
After the first part of the storm
Monday morning sky.
Camp 5 moved to the left to highland Beach.
Everglades City: 4 restaurants in town, 3 closed for Easter. Cash only at the one that was open. Good thing I had $37 on me. Tried to call M at 8pm, but no cell coverage. Must turn off the tower when they roll up the sidewalk.
No cell reception at the dock when I was ready to push off at 8 am, but had bars once I was out into the Bay. Called home at 8:20.
Lunch in the mangroves about even with Pavilion Key. Sand bar cut through, though I had to exit the kayak and pull it across. Second sandbar, not so lucky. I had to turn around and go around the island on the Gulf side. Hog Key about 5:30. Had been wanting to stop since 4. Butt sore and shoulders tight. Forearms also. 24 mile day.
Set up the tent. Cooked supper. Crawled into bed. Set the alarm for 10 pm to check on the tide as I was not far above the high tide line in the sand. Short tide as it never got within 20 feet of the tent
Day 2. 24 more miles. Pushed off at 8:30. Ate lunch in the boat again. Angled the boat off shore to where the charts told me the far shore was that I was aiming for. I could see it in the binoculars but it took an hour for it to come into eyesight. I’m not all that fond of paddling further out to sea than a mile or 2 offshore. This tack took me 3.2 miles off shore. Reached camp at 6 a very tired paddler but my 2 long days were behind me. I never want to paddle 24 miles in 1 day again. sit bones were as tired as my arms.
Day 3 was a shorter day (21.7)and relatively uneventful. East winds at 15-20 knots but since I was traveling South for most of the day, I could hug the shore and stay out of most of it. It was in my face for the last hour and a half. Arrived in camp at 4. Set the alarm for 6 so I could be paddling by first light.
Day 4. 19 miles. Took an hour to do the portage around the marina. Probably a couple of hundred yards max. Back in the boat by 9:30 and reached Joe River camp at 4:30. Took a longish lunch at South Joe chickee. Felt really good to be in familiar territory for a day or 2. I had just been in these waters in January.
Day 5 22.75 miles was a slight change of route and my camp. I was supposed to use Broad River but there were 2 gators on the ramp. I turned back to the Gulf, a 2 mile detour, and camped on the closest beach I could find. That set up a shorter route to my camp 6.
Day 6 15.4 miles I continued up the Gulf until Lostman’s River. That cut a few miles off my day. I arrived at Plate Creek chickee at 3. I knew it was only a mile beyond Lostman’s 5 where I camped in January. I totally overshot Lostman’s and found myself looking at Plate before I realized I had missed the other camp. Pleasant surprise . Plenty of time for my apple and a cocktail before dinner.
Day 7 and morning of Day 8 were forecasted thunderstorms and rain. If I had to keep the skirt on, at least I could paddle without my long pants. The only rain I ended up getting was that night.
Day 7 was paddling past Darwin’s, a camp we used in January and continuing on for another long day. I paddled out the river and into the Gulf. 18.5 miles all told to Pavilion Key. I wanted this camp for my last night because it sits out in the Gulf a little and gives great sunsets. A mere 4 hours from the car.
Now, about that rain on Sunday night. I had been listening to my weather radio every night, and the forecast for Sunday never got better, only worse. Thunderstorms with a chance for hail, tornadoes, waterspouts. Just nothing about snow, or locusts. Pavilion has cell reception, so I had checked in with M to let her know I was OK. She warned me the weather had been bad all day at home, and it was headed my way. I checked My Radar app and could see the front moving South.
With enough warning, I could eat dinner early, stow everything I wanted to keep dry in the hatches of the kayak, turn the kayak to best protect it, and climb into the tent to await the storm. It did not fail to astound me. For 90 minutes, it was all I could do to keep the tent upright, even though I was inside it, on my back, with all four appendages spread out to the walls. 50 mph winds, maybe 3 inches of rain, but no hail. It got calm after that, for about an hour or 2, then the rain started back up, but with regular winds. I fell asleep to the sound of rain on the fly.
Monday morning was a little breezy, but no rain. I started out about 8 and finished up at noon. On my way back in, a skiff belonging to the kayak rental outfit stopped to ask me if I was Andrew. No, what’s up? Andrew is missing and the skiff was out looking for him, because he rented one of their kayaks. We went on our separate ways. As I approached the Ranger Station, the LEO boat approached me and asked if I was Andrew. I commented that they were the second boat that morning to ask. The officers were surprised, because the family had just recently asked them to begin a search. They then assumed the rental outfit was out because it was one of their boats.
Andrew had rented a kayak at about 3 PM, and got his permit about 4. Both places warned him of a small craft advisory and the imminent bad weather. To no avail. Andrew claimed to be an experienced kayaker and was only headed to Picnic Key, about 12 miles from the Ranger Station. He left just after 4. The storm hit me at 5:45, and would hit him a little earlier as he was north of me. In that 90 minutes, I doubt he could’ve even reached the Gulf, let alone Picnic Key. I suspect he was stranded somewhere south of his intended path, because the winds were strongly blowing South. I’ll keep an eye on the news to see if anything is reported.
I didn’t see much in the way of wildlife. One dolphin. The 2 gators. My main entertainment was watching brown pelicans and ospreys fish. No other people except at Flamingo where the marina and campground is. Oh, a few fishing boats buzzed by. 3 of them stopped to offer water or a cold drink on night 6. I accepted a ginger ale. That night, a Saturday, I had so many offers of a cold beer I had to start turning them down. I wish more fishing boats followed the idle speed / no wake zones. One nearly ran over me in Alligator Creek.
I’ll have to say, I haven’t paddled the Everglades in April before. My weather held out, and the bugs didn’t like the breezes. That said, I spent about an hour in camp before crawling into the tent most nights. I thoroughly enjoyed the sunsets close to 8 pm. Much better than the 6 pm ones in January. Next week the nighttime temperatures are supposed to be above 80.
OMG!! Mt. House Chicken and Dumplings. I should eat this at home on the nights M is away. I want to turn the bag inside out and lick it clean. I first started eating it on a backpack trip in August. It’s a meal I look forward to with joyful anticipation
My meal rotation is Chili Mac, Beef Stroganoff, Spaghetti with Meat sauce, and Chicken and Dumplings. All Mt. House. Yes, I’m too lazy to make my own, but I tried to make Shepherds Pie and I was a miserable failure. I’ll try again now that I have better veggies.
I’m going to start taking vodka instead of tequila for my lemonade. Vodka is cheaper and all I want is the deadening of my senses. 15-16 ounces of lemonade with 3-4 ounces of vodka should do the trick.
One thing I didn’t bring was a thermometer. Would’ve liked to have known what the temps were in the evening. Most nights it was pleasantly cool by 7:30. Actually needed the quilt each night.
I started eating an apple daily, at 4 pm, back on the January trip. I continued it at home since then. On this trip, sometimes it was later in the day. In addition, I believe in a cocktail around dinner time. Helps to unwind and relax while doing dinner prep. (That boiling water takes it out of me. )Not so much consumption as to interfere with making sure the camp was ready for quickly loading the boat and paddling by 8 am.
Here’s a tip: Don’t try to catch the stray fly in the tent after cocktail hour.
Another tip: If you go to bed with dry, cracked lips without putting something on them, you’ll wake up with dry , cracked lips.
first sunset
navigational aid over there
numbered to correspond to the charts, with helpful arows.
After the first part of the storm
Monday morning sky.
Camp 5 moved to the left to highland Beach.