CharleyCreek

Charley Creek Loop
Eight Days Through the Everglades

Anyone that spends any amount of time in the coastal
Everglades knows that the tides control just about every thing,
most especially animal behaviors which pretty much center
around food acquisition or avoiding becoming food. The more
you understand the tides, the greater your appreciation for the
essence of the Everglades. You begin to see a greater amount
of animal activity and can view the rhythm of the Everglades
intimately. The other aspect of the tides is that they will dictate
your travel choices and sometimes will throw you a curve ball.
And when you are out there for 8 days in a row, you can count
on it. But, if you are at least mentally prepared for such things,
you find that what comes with some of the unexpected
inconveniences are amazing wildlife scenes. You soon forget how
difficult the paddle was the day before as you float the tide out
through a large confluence formed by the Broad and Rodgers
Rivers where hundreds of birds cluster into areas where the food
sources are abundant. These are the Everglades at their best.
No matter how difficult or long the paddle, we cannot stay away
and can only wait for the next opportunity to get out there again.

We chose our route with a few goals in mind. First, we wanted to
get as far out as the Broad River, from our launch site which was
Everglades City rangers station. Second, we wanted a mix of
backcountry and gulf paddling and camping. Third, we wanted to
check out the new chickee on crooked creek. But mostly, we
wanted to paddle through Charley Creek, connecting our Turkey
Key campsite with our next campsite, Darwin's Place. We
achieved our goals and here is how it played out. The entire
route is on the map to the right.

The itinerary was (mileage is approximate):
Day 1 - EC rangers station to Watsons Place, 18 miles
Day 2 - Watsons Place to Lostmans Five, 11 miles
Day 3 - Lostmans Five to Willy Willy, 10 miles
Day 4 - Willy Willy to Highland Beach, 19 miles
Day 5 - Highland Beach to Turkey Key, 12 miles
Day 6 - Turkey Key to Darwins, 7 miles
Day 7 - Darwins to Crooked Creek, 13 miles
Day 8 - back to the rangers station, 8.5 miles

Days 1-3- through the backcountry to Willy Willy
We arrived at the rangers station on December 25th, early
enough to load the boats and be on the water by 8 am. We were
four; Fred, Alex, Vivian and me. The first day to Watsons Place
was expected to be our longest. Not ideal tidally, we crossed
Chokoloskee Bay, skirting the island an hour before a new moon
low tide. I am quite familiar with the bay in the area and knew that
careful negotiation through the numerous oyster flats would be
required. Through trial and error (mostly error) my boat has the
scratches to prove it, serving as my vehicle that gets me to the
roseate spoonbills or white pelicans feeding or roosting around
these flats. I spend many days photographing on this bay, so I
was confident that the first 5 miles of our trip would be uneventful.

Once we got south of the island and headed toward the mouth of
the Lopez, we expected the slack tide to make the paddle up the
river less difficult. But, as soon as we rounded the island past
Smallwood’s store, our relaxing paddle turned into a struggle to
get through the strong outgoing currents that seem to gang up
on the small openings between the oyster flats. We located a
deep enough channel to work through, but the currents were
relentless. With fully loaded boats, it took effort to get clear of the
oyster flat area into deeper and more open bay waters. It also did
not help that the southeast winds picked up, providing us a
headwind. What could have been a leisurely 1 hour paddle
across the bay, turned into 2 hours and by the time we reached
the mouth of the Lopez, almost 3 hrs had passed. This would be
a long day ahead.

But while all that was happening, I looked to the sky and watched
birds. I was happy to see a flock of woodstorks above the mouth
of the Lopez River and then again the next day over Alligator
Bay. I watched several others flying in various areas, and of
course they were heavily populated in Charley and Gopher
Creeks. This is where I also see several juveniles, close and
sometimes at eye level. I once heard that the woodstork is the
indicator bird of the health of the Everglades. I think over the
past few years, I have noticed several more woodstorks and on
this trip alone, I saw nearly a hundred or so.

The paddle into the backcountry and across Sunday, Oyster and
Huston Bays was slow going, as I was feeling tired and out of
paddle shape. By the time we reached the Chatham River, it was
an outgoing, making it an easy last ½ mile paddle to Watsons
Place. I was grateful it had taken so long to get there; any time
earlier would have met a incoming tide on the Chatham. With
only about ½ mile to paddle, it would seem that would not be a
big deal. But factor in the previous 17 miles and it can be
disheartening to paddle against the strong river current. But
today, we coasted into Watsons, relieved to get there just before
sundown. From the water, I noticed several people on land and
they were all wearing mosquito nets. I keep a spare headnet and
headlamp in my “ditch” bag, which I can access immediately. I put
on the headnet and headlamp before paddling up to our
campsite. Surprisingly, all 8 of the campers (including our party
of 4) were paddlers. This met lots of space and a quiet evening.

The second day’s paddle up to Lostmans Five was again,
uneventful. The easy trip included a short stop at Darwin’s Place,
surprisingly empty. We arrived early enough at Lostmans to set
up our camp before the second party arrived. Lostmans Five is
not much bigger than a double chickee and in fact contains
similar platforms. But, there is a nice grass/mud area where a
couple tents and boats can sit. We took that area and placed the
third tent on one of the platforms along with the picnic table. We
knew that the other party consisted of 3 paddlers (we met them
on the water) and there would be plenty of space for everyone.
Not as buggy as Watsons Place, we enjoyed mild temperatures
that evening on Lostmans. I had sprayed Repel on my camp
clothes prior to the trip and it appeared to be working. I only wore
my bug suit twice on this trip and only for short periods of time.

Day three started early at sunrise. We were expecting cooler
temperatures soon and small front was heading out way, bringing
some chance of rain. Today, there were the typical cumulus
clouds mixed with the wispy horsehair types that indicate cooler
temps are on their way. Crossing the large bays toward Willy
Willy came with some stiff winds from the southwest, which mostly
met a side wind for us today. The last time I paddled to Willy Willy
it was into constant 15-20 knot easterly winds, making it
especially difficult to cross Big Lostmans Bay. Today was much
easier, and I also finally got my paddling arms back. The first day
was simply long and more difficult at the beginning than
expected. The second day was also difficult, not for the mileage
but because I had not recovered from day 1 and I just felt tired.
After a very good night’s rest on Lostmans (I always sleep well at
that campsite for some reason), I felt strong on day 3.

We had Willy Willy to ourselves. For Vivian and I, it is easy for us
to load and unload our canoes from the dock. After unloading,
we bring them up on land, keeping them out of the way of others
that might show up to camp. Alex and Fred, on the other hand
are in kayaks. There is usually an opening to the left of the dock
where kayaks can come up on land for easy loading and
unloading. But, it somehow had gotten overgrown for lack of use.
Both Fred and Alex were able to clear out the brush and some
branches, so that they could bring their boats up to the campsite.
In the meantime, Vivian and I were putting up a tarp (met to cover
a couple people) over the picnic table as we expected some
showers this evening. After dinner, the four of us managed to all
get under the tarp as the mild rains came in with some wind. It
lasted only about an hour, enough to simply cool things down a
bit. This was the front that was expected to blow through, leaving
behind cooler temperatures and drier air. The paddle tomorrow
out to the gulf would be another relatively easy day as we
expected northeast winds.

Days 4 and 5 – out of the backcountry and into the light of the
gulf
Today’s paddle would be mostly new to me. I had never paddled
the Broad River, or the Cabbage Creek route that leads into
Broad River Bay. We left Willy Willy at 7 am under cloud cover.
By the time we got to Rodgers River Bay, the sky was completely
clear, as it would be for the remainder of our trip. I was looking
forward to today’s paddle, although long in mileage, it would be
easy with the morning outgoing tide. We left Willy Willy early
enough that we could arrive at the mouth of Broad River just
before the tide switched. This met low tide at the mouth, which
could be interesting from a bird photographer’s perspective, but
it could also mean additional paddling as the large shoal near
Highland Beach extends out ¾ of a mile from the beach.

Cabbage Creek was pleasant, and offered a strong outgoing
current that led us to Broad River. Soon, we were on the Broad
where I watched flocks of snowy egrets resting in the mangroves
take off as the intruders in boats approached. The entire length
of the 5-mile river paddle was a repeating scene of several white
birds speckling the trees about ½ mile away, and then as we
approached, take off to a farther point ahead. I must have
watched a hundred snowy egrets, several tricolored herons and
little blue herons, a few great whites and great blues flying about
along the river. I wanted to check out the Broad River campsite
but just as we came up onto it, two large powerboats arrived with
several fishermen and some kids. They began unloading for
camping, so we decided not to bother getting out. The Broad
River campsite is not paddler friendly, especially at low tide when
the dock is several feet above waterline. There is a platform next
to the dock that is angled down toward the water, but it can be
dangerously slippery as it is mostly underwater at high levels.
There is a muddy bank that is preferred by paddlers for getting
onto the campsite, but even that does not look easy. All that, plus
you have a strong current to contend with.

I quickly forgot about the campsite as I continued down the river.
Just past the entrance to the Nighmare on the north side sits a
large mudflat totally exposed at low tide. Slicing through it is a
small stream that leads into the mangroves. This was a hot spot
for wading birds and pelicans. The stream entrance was covered
with white birds, mostly snowy egrets, but there were a few white
pelicans along with several great white egrets and white ibises.
Along the edge of the mudflat juvenile and adult brown pelicans
were resting, while some were off fishing nearby with their expert
diving techniques. The river current was strong and if I had been
alone, I would have gotten up onto the mudflat, staked out and
stayed awhile. But as it were, I simply floated by with the current
and shot as many photos as I could.

Coming out to the confluence where the Broad and Rodgers
Rivers meet is a navigational nightmare at low tide, which is right
when we passed through it. We thought we could get away with
heading around toward the entrance of Rodgers River and come
out to Highland Beach that way. But, once we got past the
confluence islands, it became quite evident that we would have to
head south, away from the beach and follow the channel that
skirted a ¾ mile long shoal. Getting their the long way, we
approached the uninhabited Highland Beach and chose the area
with a large cluster of tall cabbage palms. We arrived with a rising
tide, which made it easier to get onto the beach. Soon, we were
carrying our gear up a slight sandy grade that led to a beautiful
campsite surrounded by palms. Our home for the night was
comfortable and came with a million dollar view.

The next day’s paddle took us to Turkey Key, north of the
Lostmans River entrance. I love the gulf paddle between
Lostmans and Picnic Key. There is so much wildlife; dolphins and
sharks, an occasional turtle, and the place is crazy with bird life,
especially the white pelican.

At Porpoise Point, located south of Bird Key, we spotted a large
flock of white pelicans resting on a sand bar on the southeast
corner of the island. We decided to paddle around the island and
this would allow us a closer view of the birds. White pelicans are
huge and when you see one standing next to the impressive
sized brown pelican, you can appreciate just how large they are.
Twice the size of their brown cousins, the white pelican’s wings
can span over 7 feet. They look clumsy walking on land with their
extremely short feet and bulky torsos; but in flight, they are
magnificent.

The birds do not like you to get close and they will slowly walk
away from you, get in the water and swim away slowly and or may
fly off. Such was the case with this flock of about 200 pelicans.
We did not purposefully approach the birds; rather we kept a
comfortable distance and paddled gently around to the other
side of the sandbar. By now, there were several in the water as
my friends continued paddling within feet of the birds. From that
point on, we continued spotting white pelicans along the islands
as we approached Turkey Key. Their whiteness is easily spotted
from a distance.

Once again, we had a relatively easy paddle, although we did get
some strong (10-12 knot northwest winds) as we approached
Turkey Key. Tonight, we would have an additional paddling friend
join us. Toby was already set up for camp when we arrived; his
Krueger Seawind resting on the shoreline was easily spotted a
half mile away. Yet another cloudless day and evening,
temperatures would be lower tonight, getting into the 50s, as was
the case the night before. Alex made a campfire on Highland
and again tonight, we enjoyed another one of his campfires; this
time with some hot chocolate and brandy. And by the way,
coming out of the backcountry and spending a night or two on
the beaches is a handy way to discard of garbage. We burned
ours at Highland, leaving us very little at the end of the trip.

Day 6 – Charley and Gopher Creeks
The area around Charley and Gopher Creeks is concentrated
with bird life beyond imagination. You can paddle all over these
islands and backcountry bays but you will not see anything like
this area. Today, we left Turkey Key at sunrise and paddled a
short distance to the entrance of Charley Creek. Low tide was
not expected until about 11:30 am, so at 7:30 am when we
arrived at the pearly gates and entered the mangrove tunnel that
would lead us to a piece of heaven, the water levels were high
enough to easily cross the shallow bay leading to the creek.
Once in the creek, the light of the sun began to shine through
the tall mangrove and buttonwood trees. This was going to be
great.

But wait, nothing is ever that easy. About 1 mile into the creek,
we came up on a couple logs blocking the passage. Fortunately,
they were small enough that a small saw could cut through them
with some effort and double fortunately, Alex had a saw. In ten
minutes, he had us cleared and we were on our way. About 2
miles into the creek, it begins to open up, just before you get to
Pelican Bay on the right. The water spread out around several
mangrove islets, similar to the Hells Bay area. The creek channel
stays a bit deeper and can be easily viewed from a satellite
image, which is how we created our GPS track to get through it.
What I was noticing is that beyond the mangroves that lined the
creek were open grasslands that were thick with birds. I somehow
had to get through that wall of mangrove and get to the other
side so that I could photograph them. I found a fairly open spot,
pulled up to the mud and staked out. I found a dead branch on
the mud that would serve as a landing for my foot as I carefully
stood up, holding a branch with one hand for balance and my
camera and telephoto lens with the other. As soon as I got my
other foot on ground, I quickly sank into about 1 ½ feet of mud.
One or two more steps forward and I was on firm grassy ground. I
slowly and quietly walked toward an area where I had seen
several birds; roseates, white pelicans, ibises, and an assortment
of egrets. The lighting was perfect as I approached the wary
group that by now had moved further away. I continued trying to
get as close as possible for some good shots. At the very least, I
wanted to capture the entire scene. What an amazing site it was.
I had never seen so many birds concentrated in one area.

I could not stay out of my boat long as I was paddling with others.
After getting my muddy self back into the boat, I located three
American avocets, my first siting of these birds. While the others
paddled to Pelican Bay, I stayed with the birds and captured
many shots of them. They cooperated beyond belief; while so
many of the other birds moved away from me, these three little
birds continued wading in the shallow waters, feeding on tiny
tidbits with their needle-like beaks. I reckoned these birds must
eat continuously as I could not see anything substantial being
caught in their slender upturned beaks.

I spent the next few hours exploring the area, attempting to
photograph any bird that would cooperate. Vivian stayed on to
fish while the others moved on ahead. We would meet Fred at
our campsite on Darwin's Place which was already inhabited by 4
powerboat fishermen that took over the entire campsite. We
managed to squeeze our two tents into the area behind the port-
o-let. It was only for one night, so what can you do but bite your
tongue and hope for a quiet night.

Days 7 & 8 The new chickee and back home
Charley and Gopher Creeks were the highlight of the trip, but
spending the night on Crooked Creek for our last evening was a
special and unexpected treat. From Darwin's Place, we took our
northwater route that begins at Deer Island and leads us to the
north end of Sunday Bay. I decided to paddle around to the old
chickee and found only the support pilings. Sad to see the
remains of it as Sunday Bay chickee provided me some fond
memories, especially so because it was my first chickee camping
experience.

Crooked Creek chickee, a newly structured site, sits behind the
tiny island next to the crooked creek. It receives enough breeze,
but does not offer a view of sunrise or sunset. But what made it
an exceptional experience for us on our new years eve was the
dolphin show that commenced right at the end of the outgoing
tide, at about 2 pm. As we sat eating our lunch, two dolphin came
into the eastern shoreline which was easily viewed from the
chickee and also was frontlit by the westerly sun. The two
animals worked up the shoreline for at least 30 min and with my
camera in hand and feet firmly on ground, I was able to capture
some of the show. Looking down from the chickee offers a
perfect view of the dolphin which you can see in the water,
despite the muddiness. You can see them turn side ways as they
work up the water, flushing out the fish. A few times we watched
one violently flay its back fin making an incredible splash.

That made our trip complete. We spent the last night with mild
temperatures (the sky continued to remain cloudless) and mild
bugs. No one occupied the second platform so we used that for
dining and enjoying the new years eve. To bed early as always,
we would head back to Everglades City tomorrow morning. A cold
front was expected to come in the next day, but we would be
home after having 8 days of near perfect weather conditions.

Every trip I take out here offers new experiences and this trip was
full of them. Compared to others, this one provided me more
opportunities to photograph birds. I will write more specifically
about that in my Floridaphotographyfromacanoe blog.