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My wife and I played hooky from work last week and joined a group sponsored by the Adirondack Mt. Club here in NYS for a 6 day trip in the !0,000 Islands NWR. Located just north of the Everglades NP, our trip started at the Collier-Seminole SP outside Naples, FL. We were led by two staff members of Wilderness Inquiry, a Minnesota based adventure group that leads trips for people of all abilities. They also "hire out" which is why they were leading our trip. We met on St. Patrick's Day and spent the first night at the park getting to know one another while getting set for the trip. The morning hours were spent with a visit to the Shark Valley interpretive center in the Everglades NP, with the afternoon dedicated to packing gear and getting ready for the big paddle.
Monday morning eventually dawned but we began in the dark; thank goodness for headlamps. While I knew it would be the case, we were so much further west of where we live in NYS that the difference between sun-up in NY versus FL was almost 40 minutes. Nonetheless, we were up by 6:30 AM and heading off to the water by 9 AM to start our adventure. Unfortunately, we were stymied in our efforts to get on the water by the "Friends of the Collier-Seminole SP" group. This organization does a lot of good work for the park but on this morning their lack of politeness didn't help us out in any way shape or form. When we arrived at the boat launch they had filled it with their canoes for a sponsored trip they were doing at 9:30 AM. What made it worse was they didn't even leave then. In fact, they blocked the launch site for over an hour; which certainly didn't help us with the long day that was ahead of us. When I asked their leader if there was any way they could move a boat or two so we could take off, I was told I was just a visitor and THEY are the Park! I was polite but didn't mince words in telling him how rude he was. Bottom line, he didn't care and we'd just have to wait until they were ready. His attitude left a bad taste in my mouth but there really wasn't much I could do about it; although the park management will be made aware of how their "Friends" group relates to the general public.
A little after 10 AM we finally got on the water and on our way. We traveled down the Blackwater River through the mangroves down to the Gulf of Mexico. Once on the open water of the Gulf we experienced the lightest winds we would have all week. Because of that we made a beeline to White Horse Key where we set up a base camp. While only 12 miles, the paddle in was pretty long for a group of northerners on their first trip of the year in mid-80s temperatures. The sun was hot and there was no where to hide except under your hat. In all it took 7.5 hours to travel to the site and everyone was happy to arrive. Being as hot as I was, it kind of made me miss the 2' of snow I'd left behind in NYS.
White Horse Key became our home for the next three nights, moving only for the last evening on the trip. It was a great basecamp, located right on the Gulf with beautiful views, prime swimming and enough wildlife sightings to keep even the most jaded birder excited. Each day we paddled to various open beaches in and around the mangroves. The wind was truly challenging each day with 12-15 knots being the average speed. Luckily we could hide amongst the islands but there were still some very difficult stretches to negotiate every time we were out. Heck, I even had to set up a couple of surf landings in our canoe due to the incessant wind and waves. What made it all worthwhile were the many dolphin, manatee and sea turtle sightings we had along the way. We were also treated to numerous osprey, including a nesting pair, lots of brown pelicans, many variety of heron & egrets, cormorants and anhinga, black vultures and small wading birds that hid in the mangrove.
The second night we were on the key was the only time we had any rain but what a rain it was. The forecast we had indicated the storm cell was going to travel north of us but the cell never got the message. Just after dinner we began to see lightening running both horizontally and vertically in the sky to the northwest of us. The thunder rolled in as we hit our tents, knowing we were eventually going to take a hit. About a half hour later one of the strongest winds I've ever been out in hit the side of our tent, popping up the stakes and lifting the tent's vestibule door up, exposing the screen door of our tent. I spent the next half hour leaning into the tent to keep it up. It was a funny picture though as I was able to continue reading via my headlamp for some of it. Eventually I had to put my book down and lean into the tent for dear life. During this time my wife was very complimentary to me as my bulk blocked the majority of the rain from entering the tent. She assured me that everything to my left was bone dry so "keep up the good work!" When there was a lull in the storm I sprinted out and used some line I keep with me to tie out the vestibule. When the storm started up again my guying out of each end seemed to do the trick and we didn't have any more problems. From there I used my pack towel to suck up the water that made it into my end of the tent. Once that was done, it was time to sleep; thankfully in dry gear.
We woke up the next morning to a beautiful day but found out that lightening had started a wildfire about 20 miles from us. While this wasn't an issue for us now, it would be on our last day paddling in.
Due to the wind not letting up, we decided for our last night we wanted to be closer to our final destination. We all agreed that paddling 12 miles back in the winds we were experiencing was more than anyone wanted to do so we packed up and paddled through the mangroves to another unnamed key where we spent the night at the foot of the Blackwater River where it entered the Gulf. That night the stars were magnificent but their glow had competition from the wildfire to our northeast. The horizon was a ball of light in a place where it had previously been dark. Not sure of what to expect, we knew we were at least safe so we enjoyed our last evening's campfire and the camaraderie that goes with it.
The last morning the weather was cool and hazy. The haze was the result of the fire and it stayed with us off and on throughout the day based on the wind. After packing up we began our daily game of hide & seek with the wind, using the mangroves whenever possible to shorten our open water crossings. Even in the worst of the wind and waves, it was great to see dolphin and a manatee. Eventually we entered the river and began paddling back to the park where we'd started. Along the way we had our best "up close & personal" view of a sea turtle but we also began to experience a different sort of precipitation. What started out as a light rain of ash became a steady stream of non-burning debris as we got closer to the park. While it never hindered our breathing, I was glad no one in our group suffered from any sort of respiratory ailments.
Eventually we arrived back at the park and the reverse process of unpacking the boats began. This was a great group of folks who really worked well together so in no time at all, the canoes had been washed off of their salt encrusted coats and everything else was repacked and put in its rightful place in the trailer. It was sad to see this adventure come to an end but it just leaves me wanting more so it looks like I'll just have to go back again!
As for photos...I did take some but due to the winds I didn't do much when on the water. Another block to photos at the moment is my Flickr account doesn't seem to want to accept them. Should this change, I'll try to post a few photos in the next day or so.
I guess that's all for now. Thanks for taking the time to read this and until next time....be well.
snapper
Monday morning eventually dawned but we began in the dark; thank goodness for headlamps. While I knew it would be the case, we were so much further west of where we live in NYS that the difference between sun-up in NY versus FL was almost 40 minutes. Nonetheless, we were up by 6:30 AM and heading off to the water by 9 AM to start our adventure. Unfortunately, we were stymied in our efforts to get on the water by the "Friends of the Collier-Seminole SP" group. This organization does a lot of good work for the park but on this morning their lack of politeness didn't help us out in any way shape or form. When we arrived at the boat launch they had filled it with their canoes for a sponsored trip they were doing at 9:30 AM. What made it worse was they didn't even leave then. In fact, they blocked the launch site for over an hour; which certainly didn't help us with the long day that was ahead of us. When I asked their leader if there was any way they could move a boat or two so we could take off, I was told I was just a visitor and THEY are the Park! I was polite but didn't mince words in telling him how rude he was. Bottom line, he didn't care and we'd just have to wait until they were ready. His attitude left a bad taste in my mouth but there really wasn't much I could do about it; although the park management will be made aware of how their "Friends" group relates to the general public.
A little after 10 AM we finally got on the water and on our way. We traveled down the Blackwater River through the mangroves down to the Gulf of Mexico. Once on the open water of the Gulf we experienced the lightest winds we would have all week. Because of that we made a beeline to White Horse Key where we set up a base camp. While only 12 miles, the paddle in was pretty long for a group of northerners on their first trip of the year in mid-80s temperatures. The sun was hot and there was no where to hide except under your hat. In all it took 7.5 hours to travel to the site and everyone was happy to arrive. Being as hot as I was, it kind of made me miss the 2' of snow I'd left behind in NYS.
White Horse Key became our home for the next three nights, moving only for the last evening on the trip. It was a great basecamp, located right on the Gulf with beautiful views, prime swimming and enough wildlife sightings to keep even the most jaded birder excited. Each day we paddled to various open beaches in and around the mangroves. The wind was truly challenging each day with 12-15 knots being the average speed. Luckily we could hide amongst the islands but there were still some very difficult stretches to negotiate every time we were out. Heck, I even had to set up a couple of surf landings in our canoe due to the incessant wind and waves. What made it all worthwhile were the many dolphin, manatee and sea turtle sightings we had along the way. We were also treated to numerous osprey, including a nesting pair, lots of brown pelicans, many variety of heron & egrets, cormorants and anhinga, black vultures and small wading birds that hid in the mangrove.
The second night we were on the key was the only time we had any rain but what a rain it was. The forecast we had indicated the storm cell was going to travel north of us but the cell never got the message. Just after dinner we began to see lightening running both horizontally and vertically in the sky to the northwest of us. The thunder rolled in as we hit our tents, knowing we were eventually going to take a hit. About a half hour later one of the strongest winds I've ever been out in hit the side of our tent, popping up the stakes and lifting the tent's vestibule door up, exposing the screen door of our tent. I spent the next half hour leaning into the tent to keep it up. It was a funny picture though as I was able to continue reading via my headlamp for some of it. Eventually I had to put my book down and lean into the tent for dear life. During this time my wife was very complimentary to me as my bulk blocked the majority of the rain from entering the tent. She assured me that everything to my left was bone dry so "keep up the good work!" When there was a lull in the storm I sprinted out and used some line I keep with me to tie out the vestibule. When the storm started up again my guying out of each end seemed to do the trick and we didn't have any more problems. From there I used my pack towel to suck up the water that made it into my end of the tent. Once that was done, it was time to sleep; thankfully in dry gear.
We woke up the next morning to a beautiful day but found out that lightening had started a wildfire about 20 miles from us. While this wasn't an issue for us now, it would be on our last day paddling in.
Due to the wind not letting up, we decided for our last night we wanted to be closer to our final destination. We all agreed that paddling 12 miles back in the winds we were experiencing was more than anyone wanted to do so we packed up and paddled through the mangroves to another unnamed key where we spent the night at the foot of the Blackwater River where it entered the Gulf. That night the stars were magnificent but their glow had competition from the wildfire to our northeast. The horizon was a ball of light in a place where it had previously been dark. Not sure of what to expect, we knew we were at least safe so we enjoyed our last evening's campfire and the camaraderie that goes with it.
The last morning the weather was cool and hazy. The haze was the result of the fire and it stayed with us off and on throughout the day based on the wind. After packing up we began our daily game of hide & seek with the wind, using the mangroves whenever possible to shorten our open water crossings. Even in the worst of the wind and waves, it was great to see dolphin and a manatee. Eventually we entered the river and began paddling back to the park where we'd started. Along the way we had our best "up close & personal" view of a sea turtle but we also began to experience a different sort of precipitation. What started out as a light rain of ash became a steady stream of non-burning debris as we got closer to the park. While it never hindered our breathing, I was glad no one in our group suffered from any sort of respiratory ailments.
Eventually we arrived back at the park and the reverse process of unpacking the boats began. This was a great group of folks who really worked well together so in no time at all, the canoes had been washed off of their salt encrusted coats and everything else was repacked and put in its rightful place in the trailer. It was sad to see this adventure come to an end but it just leaves me wanting more so it looks like I'll just have to go back again!
As for photos...I did take some but due to the winds I didn't do much when on the water. Another block to photos at the moment is my Flickr account doesn't seem to want to accept them. Should this change, I'll try to post a few photos in the next day or so.
I guess that's all for now. Thanks for taking the time to read this and until next time....be well.
snapper
