A Windy Water Welcome (ECT Day 7)

“May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face. And may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars.” – George Jung (as played in the movie Blow)

• Hiked Today: 0.1 (Stevie Everglades Alternate a.k.a. SEA)
• Paddled Today: 11 miles
• Total Hiked: 165.7 mile
• Total Paddled: 11 miles

Flamingo Marina to South Joe River Chickee (Everglades 99-mile Wilderness Waterway – Part 1)

Early rising at the Flamingo campground

What a nice feeling to get a rest from walking! I “slept in” until 6:30! And then had coffee and breakfast made for me. It all just felt quite wonderful and a big treat. Camping with my dad over the years, we rarely roughed it with the menu; he’s quite the gourmet chef for outdoor settings.

The team was eager to start our journey along the Everglades 99-mile Wilderness Waterway, so after breakfast we got right into it. Each of us broke down our tents and started prepping and organizing. I had pre-packed a tote of things for them to bring, so my main task was figuring out what I actually needed and how to pack it in the kayak.

My kayak has two waterproof storage spaces, one in the front and a slightly larger one in the back. I could fit most of my personal gear, but the majority of things would be hauled in the boat, including all the food and cooking equipment.

Setting Forth

A little before 9:00 am, we hooked up the boat trailer and headed over to the launch. I asked to be dropped off at this old gas station relic from the 1960’s.

This is where I stopped walking yesterday and I’m weird about making sure I have that “continuous” path (if I can help it at least).  Making my way over to the launch I walked about 0.1 miles! Woohoo. We made a quick detour to the marina store, then were ready for action.

At the launch, there was a big alligator floating around. Dad and Don had seen it the day before in the same spot, but halfway out of the water. They estimated it to be 12 feet in length. It seems to be the resident gator for the tour boat guide to point out.

We launched at 9:30 am, me first paddling in Karl the kayak followed by the Dave H and Donald P duo motoring in Sally the Sea Nymph. I didn’t tip! And the guys didn’t forget to put the plug in the boat (not like something like that’s ever happened before)!

Embarking on our 7-day trip in the Everglades!

The paddle felt good in my hands and new boating/sun gloves. I was pumped; there was a big grin on my face. The others seemed more focused, dad immediately messing about with his fish finder/sonar/depth finder thing.

Marker 1 for the Wilderness Waterway

To kick things off, we had a canal for about 3-miles.

Going under the bridge I walked over and photographed yesterday

Tha Flamingo Canal 

In this first stretch we saw several neat birds (we have an identification pamphlet and hope to make a list of our sightings), another alligator, a manatee nose, and a very large fish that had noticeably large scales and seemed golden in color (tarpon?).

I loved the mangroves and their branching “roots” into the water. I’m curious if there is a specific name for them.

About half way down the canal there was a dock and we took a brief break there to make some minor adjustments after being in the water.

Big Water Bays

Here’s our route today for a little perspective…

Crude marked-up photo of our physical map

The canal led to Coup Bay. As we approached, I observed something white flashing on the surface of the water up ahead. White caps. Not a good sign. The closer we got, the worse it looked, and nerves in my stomach intensified. On the map, I had seen this and imagined it being a small lake, even pond sized. Ha! This would be one of today’s lessons, all the water bodies out here are much bigger than we’d imagined. Coup Bay was huge and the wind was coming across, building as it came directly at us.

The waves and wind were not so bad we didn’t think we could try, so off I went paddling away. Karl cut through the waves like a knife through soft butter… smooth! Occasionally, a big one would come and water would splash over the front of my kayak, but I trusted my storage cavity was leak proof.

A bit into the crossing, we got the idea of me going slightly behind the boat, “drafting” it. Dominic Toretto taught me this technique during my street racing days. The boat would break the waves and maybe even block some wind. It seemed to work, so we did that pretty much the entire way. There was a canoe ahead of us and we nearly caught up to them using our new strategy. I was ready for a lunch break once we got across and into a narrow more wind-blocked area.

A calm spot to try and get a fish to bite

They threw an anchor out from the boat and I paddled over to get some snacks. Sad thing we realized, we had forgotten to throw in the sodas and beers for the trip. Looks like it’s coffee and straight water all week for us. Healthier this way I suppose, but I was really looking forward to a cola!

One thing I discovered early on was that multi-tasking in the kayak is a challenge and borderline dangerous when there’s wind involved. For example, if I tried to troll my fishing lure behind as I paddled, that works.  Then, if I try and take a picture of a bird, everything goes haywire. I stop paddling, drift towards the trees and spiderwebs and likely get my line snagged too.

The narrow river-like zone was pretty short, but I did manage to catch the first fish of the trip there, a small snook. After the photo, it went right back into the water and quickly swam away. They’re not in season to keep and this little one needs to grow up some.

Then, like before, white caps ahead. This would be the start of a long arduous paddle over some big water. We were popping out at the southern end of Whitewater Bay and the wind was powerful with even larger waves than before. I think we were all pretty nervous about this whole thing. Would it be like this the whole way!? What did I get us all into? I adopted the tried and true method of slow is smooth, smooth is fast, and we inched forward (actually, we were all a little surprised that I could keep the speed up alright).

There were a few spots where I could get a break from the wind by hiding behind a small island, but then it was right back into it. Towards the end of the day, our waterway narrowed more and more and therefore it calmed as well. And we spotted two dolphins, so things were looking up!

Hanging Out at the Chickee

Finally, I came around a bend and saw the raised wooden platform… South Joe River Chickee.

South Joe River Chickee – first night’s camp

What a glorious sight. We got right up to it and they started hauling totes up. It took me a while to get my bearings and figure out how I was going to do this. I climbed up the ladder and first tied it up. Then atop the chickee, laid on my belly and reached down emptying the gear I thought I’d need for the overnight, which was most of it.

After a bit, the boat team went out fishing around our little secluded and wind-blocked bay. I decided to take it easy after the big paddle getting there. I casted from the chickee some, looked at the map, but mostly sat and rested and ate (the hiker/paddlers hunger has already hit). I could cast from our platform to the mangroves and of course I got my lure snagged in the branches. Into Karl I went after it. And fished a little more while out there.

Around 5:30 pm, we regrouped for dinner…  hamburgers! We have a Yeti cooler packed with ice, so for the first few days we’re spoiled with food that’s a little more luxurious than your typical backcountry meal. After dinner, we got our tents set up. It was kind of cramped, but mainly just required constant spacial awareness. We didn’t want any men or gear overboard! It should be interesting if/when it’s just a single platform chickee.

The sunset was captivating. And there were pretty good stars and a bright moon that followed. I chatted with dad for a bit just laying out on the deck looking straight up. While out there, the wind switched directions on us. Today was wild. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.