The Lostmans River New Years Eve Trip, 2006
Day 1
We began heading toward the gulf of Mexico from Chokoloskee Island,
crossing Chokoloskee Bay into Rabbit Key Pass. The winds were calm, but
would steadily pickup to 15-20 knots; not the best conditions for photographing
from a boat. As we headed across the bay, I saw what looked like a white wall
in the distance. As I got closer, it became clear that the wall was a flock of
white pelicans gathered on an oyster bar in the bay. White pelicans, unlike
their brown counterparts, rest on oyster or sand bars rather than in trees. At
best guess there must have been 200 of them huddled together. As my
paddling companions continued toward the pass, I detoured to get as close as I
could without disturbing the birds. I managed to get some shots, though not as
close as I would have liked. This particular island of white pelicans is a
common site this time of year.
We continued out toward the gulf. As you paddle through the islands, you’ll
witness several flocks of birds flying overhead, typically ibises, terns, pelicans,
egrets and cormorants. With the right lighting, the white flocks glow against a
blue sky and green mangrove landscape. You’ll also see several wading birds
among the mangroves and it’s not unusual to round a corner and have a
blueheron fly out in front of you as you approach. Dolphins are also commonly
seen as they follow the tides and feed in the shallows near the mangroves.
Speaking of tides, many people come to the Everglades to kayak or canoe and
believe the waters to be easygoing. True, the water is shallow in areas, but
this is not always a good thing (think of that sound fingernails make scraping a
chalkboard; that’s the same sound a boat makes when it scraps across an
oyster bar). One has to be very mindful of the shoals, especially at low tide.
True the water is relatively warm, compared to the north waters. But
easygoing? Hardly. To destroy that notion, simply head up Lostmans River or
Indian Key Pass against the tide. Imagine moving through wet cement; that
should give you some idea of the intensity of the gulf tides. Because paddling
against a tide means nothing more than pain, we avoid it at all costs. On this
day, we coasted out to the gulf, riding the tide and with the wind to our backs, it
couldn't have been planned any better.
As we entered the gulf, I noticed a very large head pop out of the water. My
first thought was manatee, but with another appearance, it was clear that the
animal was a very large loggerhead turtle. Loggerheads are the most common
sea turtles in Florida and the shell can reach 40 inches and adults can weigh
as much as 350 lb. I watched a graceful flock of terns as they dive bombed the
water several times. And of course there are always brown pelicans making
their boisterous head dives into the water from as far up as 50 feet. An
interesting spectacle when the pelicans are feeding is the occasional gull that
will hang around and when the pelican makes a dive, the gull comes in for a
landing. My curiosity was piqued by this interesting display of behavior, so
with a little research, I ran across a study that describes the pelican-gull
relationship as “kleptoparasitism” (otherwise known as mooching, among us
common folk). Here’s how it works, a gull identifies a successful pelican (the
one who catches the most fish) and hangs around the pelican waiting to
kleptoparasitize it. When the pelican comes up with a mouthful of fish, the gull
is ready to capture the small fish that spill out of the pelican’s mouth. What an
opportunist!
We arrived at Mormon Key, our first campsite, early afternoon. Mormon Key
sits near the mouth of the Chatham River and the beach area where our camp
faces northwest. Mormon Key apparently derived its name from a settler
named Richard Hamilton who homesteaded on the island in 1895 where he
lived with his two wives. From what I could tell of the island, I don’t think it
could have been comfortably big enough for the two women!
It’s our usual routine to paddle early morning before the winds kick up and
arrive at camp fairly early in the afternoon. After setting up camp, this allows
me time to explore the area and case the joint for evening photo opportunities
and more importantly to take cover before the no-see-ums make their evening
raid. We were lucky this evening, the bugs stayed low and we were able to
enjoy a fine evening on the beach, eating our dinner while watching the
sunset. And I was able to capture the moments without wearing a mosquito net
over my head. Early to bed, early to rise; the next day will bring us a new
adventure on the water.
Day 2
We are in the water by 8 am, this would be a fairly easygoing day for us, our
shortest daily distance. Depending on the tides, it is sometimes necessary to
“go wide” into the gulf to avoid the shoals that surround many of the islands.
But today, we don’t have that problem and we can take a more direct route to
our destination while passing many New Turkey, Turkey and Bird Keys.
Because we got a “late” start this day, my sunrise shots would wait another
day.
After the 2005 hurricanes, a lot of dead tree branches and trunks are scattered
about the water. When the water is low enough, they provide cormorants a
place to hang out while drying their feathers. I see several flocks of the birds
this morning, providing me opportunity to photograph. We approach the inside
of New Turkey Key, a popular fishing and camping spot. Hurricane Wilma with
her 20-ft water surge split this key in two. The camping port-a-johns use to sit
where that surge came through; they aren’t there anymore. As we pass the
island, I spot a dozen vultures sitting in a dead tree. I approach carefully and
get a few shots. I’ve never noticed vultures out here before; but this year, I see
lots of them.
As we continue paddling, I notice a flock of birds swirling around about 100 ft
above the water. They appear to be frigate birds. I’ve only seen frigate birds
in quantities of 1 or 2, never in a large flock. I’m not sure what they were, but
they were glorious to watch. Sitting next to New Turkey Key is Turkey Key
(not to be confused with one another). This key also experienced huge
devastation from the hurricanes and I passed close by to get some shots of the
mangled mangroves only to spot a bald eagle in one of those surviving trees.
Unfortunately, due to lack of zoom capacity and a significant oyster bar
between me and the bird, I was only able to get a shot from the distance. As
we get closer to Hog Key, I spot a duck-like bird about 100 feet away. It looked
very much like a loon. I never would have considered it to be a loon except
that 2 years ago while in the gulf one early morning, I heard that unmistakable
call. I was close enough to it that morning to see it clearly as it dipped into the
water on several occasions. Today, this bird would not let me get close; but I
am certain it was a loon. While I was intent on getting to the loon, a bull shark
appeared, feeding in the shallows about 20 feet from my boat. I watched its tail
and dorsal fins move in the water, as it busily ate its lunch.
We arrive at Hog Key at noon. Hog Key is so named because of the feral hogs
that inhabit the place. Their ancestors lived on a hog farm created by Richard
Hamilton. At night, before the hurricanes, it was not unusual to hear a hog
stomping around on the beach. How well they survived the hurricane is
unknown to me, but we missed the stomping that night. But, we can always
count on those rascals raccoons. They are commonly spotted among the
mangroves as you paddle and at low tide they come out to the oyster bars to
feed. Some of the locals refer to the larger versions as boar coons. If you
don't see them, you know they are there as the tell-tale tracks are found all
over the beach and all over your kayak in the morning. There is no fresh water
to speak of in the 10,000 Islands and it is a hot commodity for any raccoon.
Those little guys are smart enough to figure out how to get it from you if you
are not careful. Keep your water and food inside your sealed hatches at night.
A cloth cover over your cockpit is not enough to keep them from getting
through, so don’t leave water and food in the cockpit. If you are in a canoe,
use hard-sided containers with tightly sealed lids.
Our campsite is lovely, facing the west; perfect for sunset photography. We
have a beautiful Poinciana tree, a survivor of the hurricanes, near our site.
Although we are not the only humans on the island, it is large enough that we
don’t see the other party. A perfect, peaceful evening awaits us. But alas, our
luck ran out. Right on time, the no-see-ums descend. We figured this would
happen as there was no breeze to speak of. We ate dinner early and by 5 pm,
I had the mosquito netting on. When camping out here, always wear long
pants, long-sleeved shirts and socks. I also wear a hat and bandana; you can
spray your clothing with deet and not worry about getting it directly on your
skin. All my photos were shot that evening with that netting over my head, a bit
tricky. But I managed to get some beautiful sunset beach camping shots with
my companions going about their business. During this time, birds and sharks
come into the shallow area to feed. A lovely site! Eventually, the bugs win and
the camera and tripod were promptly packed away by 6:30 pm. Another early
evening, the next day would require a very early start.
Day 3
My 47-yr-old muscles are feeling a bit tired today as we set out at 7 am. But
the mild soreness is easily ignored, as I take the opportunity to capture the
sunrise while on the water and as we head into the beautiful and intense
Lostmans River. The river will take us out of the gulf and into the backcountry
of the 10,000 Islands. I capture several pictures along the way, while my
fishing companion tells me that people come from all over the world to fish at
the mouth of the Lostmans. She tells me this as she hooks a huge mackerel.
As usual, I am intent on capturing a sunrise in front of me and she is behind me
so that I was not able to get my 17-ft boat turned around quick enough to
capture her catch. We come into the river (at First Bay) where there is a large
shoal and several birds wading. A cluster of white pelicans form a small island,
great blue and a yellow-crown herons sit perched in mangroves. As the sun
rises, the lighting is awesome and with a telephoto lens, the bird picture
opportunities are great. We left Hog Key early so that we could ride the tide up
Lostmans, making our early morning paddle a joy. As I enjoy the beautiful
mangroves and birds, a manatee shows itself about 30 feet from my boat.
These guys are a bit elusive, and as I waited for it to come back up for a photo,
the tide rushed me on further away.
My fishing companion hooked a tarpon, which has the power of a 125 hp boat
engine, not a casual ride for a kayak. Thankfully, it managed to get itself
unhooked, by simply straightening the hook and slipping off with its powerful
“top feeder” jaws. As we arrived in Second Bay, flocks of white pelicans flew
across, sometimes forming a “V”, sometimes not. The lighting was excellent to
capture their white feathers against the blue sky. We are now officially on the
Wilderness Waterway, which means we can continue our journey by following
the markers, making navigation less “intellectual”.
To get to the Lostmans Five campsite, we cross Onion Key Bay, which
contains Onion Key, a small mangrove island. At one time, Onion Key was
slated for development. In 1925 the Tropical Florida Development Corporation
began to sell lots and construct a few buildings. Thankfully, it failed within a
few years due to the hurricane of 1926 and eventually, it all became part of the
national park (free from development). Our campsite was the site of the boat
landing used for bringing in prospective land buyers. A couple years ago, the
park decided to build a wooden platform in the campsite, due to the continuous
state of mud that exists there. This makes for a cleaner, but cramped
campsite. The park incurs a limit to campers on each designated site. Some
of the larger sites, like The Watson Place, can have as many as 20 people.
Lostmans Five is relatively small and has a limit of 2 parties and 10 people.
Tonight there are 5 of us, all kayakers.
There are 2 kinds of campsites in the 10,000 Islands, gulf keys (beaches) and
backcountry sites. Some of the backcountry sites are chickees, free standing
platforms built in the water at various locations. The other backcountry sites,
such as Lostmans Five, are built upon Calusa shellmounds and are high
enough to provide solid, dry ground. Before the park, people built homes on
these sites and cleared hundreds of acres to grow various types of crops, like
sugar cane and papayas. In fact, Chokoloskee is nothing more than a shell
mound built by the Indians, now home to several hundred residents.
Powerboaters, particularly fishermen, love to camp in the backcountry for 2
reasons: great fishing and docks at the sites. Often, we share our sites with
powerboaters and while several people I know have bad stories to tell of such
folks, my experience has generally been a positive one. Powerboat camping is
no different than car camping; it comes with 500 sq ft of tent space, a gas grill,
a generator, flood lights, radio, tables, chairs, and of course the kitchen sink. I
don’t exaggerate; fortunately, most powerboating fishermen are quite nice.
They in fact are quick to offer us ice, beer, use of their trash bags, and are
typically respectful of kayakers and canoeist, in the campsites and on the
water. At the very least, they simply leave us alone.
After setting up camp, we go back out to the water to explore a nearby river, for
fishing and exploring until its time to come back to camp and prepare for
dinner. Last year, I spent a night on Lostmans and witnessed a continuous
traffic of bird flocks cross the sky in front of our dock as the sun set. I waited
for that to happen this night, but alas, the birds did not appear as such;
possibly because of the time of year. After a nice dinner and conversation, we
are again early to bed.
Day 4
Today, we headed to The Watson Place. We leave Lostmans early and are
blessed with another beautiful day. The wind gods were kind to us as we
expected a front to come in; but, it stalled up north and we were spared (sorry,
you northerners!). Today we paddled through several creeks including Plate
and Alligator creeks. Plate creek was named by a Spanish homesteader,
Gregorio Lopez who dropped a plate in the water. He then went on to Onion
Key and because he ate his last onion there (without a plate), he named it
Onion Key. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.
The backcountry offers several open bays connected by creeks, like a string of
pearls. On the creeks, we paddle through mangroves and come close to
alligators already finding their sunspots early in the morning along with several
wading birds feeding along the mangroves. We crossed Plate Creek Bay,
where you find one of the backcountry chickees. I passed by the island to get
some photos as 5 canoeists loaded up their boats. Chickee camping is fitting
for canoes, but not so easy for kayakers when you are trying to get yourself
and your gear in and out of the boat. We call this event “Chickee gymnastics”,
not yet an Olympic sport, but definitely an exhibition (see my Hells Bay trip
story for a description). The 5 canoeists are women, paddling the entire
Wilderness Waterway (99 miles between Chokoloskee and Flamingo). We see
all kinds of people out here, I could write a book on that aspect alone. It’s not
unusual to find lone paddlers, male or female spending days on end out here.
A 65-yr old friend, Michaleen Stohrer, goes out by herself for several days at a
time. She brings a satellite phone to contact her husband daily. She has been
my inspiration and I’ve learned much from that woman. It just goes to show,
you are never too old for this stuff.
We take a small detour and explore Gopher Creek for awhile, an interesting
area where sacred Calusa shell mounds exist. The area was hit hard by
hurricane Andrew in 1992 and as a result, the mangroves along the creek are
relatively young and short. This leaves several high standing dead trunks for
birds to perch, perfect sightings for bird photos, and you’ll spot lots of them
(see my Gopher Creek story for a detailed account). From here, we head over
to Darwin’s Place, another campsite, for lunch before heading across the
rough Chevelier Bay. Darwin’s Place, located on a creek that connects a
couple bays is so named after the last private resident of this area, Arthur
Darwin. At the campsite, we meet some other kayakers from an eco-tour group
commonly seen out here. Several captains in Everglades City transport people
out to these sites, give them camping gear and leave them there a couple of
days to explore the area. This is a nice alternative for folks who don’t want to
paddle long distances. If interested in doing this (even a day trip without
kayaks), our friend Captain Charles Wright takes people to some of the most
remote spots in the park where you can photograph to your hearts content.
His website is: http://www.chokoloskeecharters.com. Before leaving Darwin’s I
caught a glimpse of an osprey swoop down toward a tree, snap off a large
branch with her talons and fly off toward her nest with the branch in her grip.
What a sight!
After lunch we head into the “very large” Chevelier Bay. Chevelier is named
after the Frenchman who came here looking for Calusa gold treasure. He was
also one of the most notorious plume hunters in the area. This was about 100
years ago during the time when egrets and spoonbills were murdered by the
thousands for their plumage in order to support a popular fashion for women’s
hats. Hunters slaughtered the adults, leaving their babies to die unattended.
Eventually, a brave woman, Mary Munroe stepped up and helped lead the way
toward banning this horrific practice. Unfortunately, several wardens (like Guy
Bradley) attempted to enforce the ban and were murdered as a result.
Eventually, the fashion statement died and so did the hunting; but the bird
populations have suffered ever since. By the way, the park recently closed a
large area (around Carl Ross Key) to boaters until March 15th, in order to
protect two colonies of nesting spoonbills. Poetic justice, I’d say!
When you look at a marine map of the 10,000 Islands, you’ll notice several
bays in the backcountry and think they are small bodies of water. In a kayak or
canoe, they are not. With 20-plus knot winds, these bays are nasty and large.
Because they are relatively shallow (2-12 ft), the winds cause a continuous
surf action across the bay, which can be tricky if the surf is coming at you from
the side. Today, we would have 15-20 knots to our backs, so we “surfed”
across that Chevelier Bay, grateful for our luck. At last we are led into the
Chatham River where a slack tide awaits us. About a mile down we come to
the infamous Watson Place.
The Watson Place is the site of Ed Watson’s home and sugar cane plantation.
Watson was infamous in these parts; he is believed to have murdered Belle
Starr (the famous woman outlaw) and came here to hide. He was a friendly
sort and got on very well with his successful farm. He built a large 2 story
home for one of his wives and several children (I think he went through a few
wives in his lifetime). The locals believe that Watson became wealthy because
he killed his farmhands rather than pay them. Eventually, his luck ran out in
1910 when he was murdered at Ted Smallwood’s store in Chokoloskee.
Apparently, the locals believed Watson to be the direct cause of a number of
people’s deaths. Several men gathered at the Smallwood’s store waiting for
Watson to appear on his boat (something he did regularly to get supplies). As
he approached, the men greeted him with guns pointed in his direction.
Watson pulled his gun and shot, but it misfired because it had been loaded
with wet shells (compliments of the 1910 hurricane). Consequently, the men
fired off several rounds and Watson was no more. For a “fictional” account of
the story, the renowned author, Peter Mattheison has written 3 books; one in a
third party voice, one in the voice of Watson’s son, and the other in the voice of
Watson himself. The books are accurate accounts of the lifestyle of the
Everglades 100 years ago, a way of life that makes chickee camping seem
luxurious!
Today, the campsite still contains several of Watson’s farm equipment and
foundation of what was probably a cistern. Totch Brown’s family lived here for
awhile before the park took it over; I suspect some of the remains on the site
are from the Brown’s short stint at sugar cane farming. I also suspect there are
a few ghosts that roam the area; perhaps one can be captured in the dark
evening with a slow shutter speed. You can easily see why Watson built
where he did; the Chatham River is gorgeous and a beautiful sunset is
captured from the dock overlooking the river. When camping on the river sites,
it is common to see dolphins come by as they travel with the tide into and out
of the backcountry. The tell-tale sound of the water spraying from their spouts
tells you they are passing by. We arrive at the campsite around 1:30 pm and
we have 6 fishermen on the site with us. The bugs were kind to us this
evening, so we hung out at our picnic table for some conversation and a little
brandy. About 6:30, a lone canoeist, an elderly man, pulled up. He had just
come from Everglades City (18 miles) and unlike my group that was going the
opposite direction, he had to fight a headwind the entire way. He left at 9 am,
so he paddled for over 9 hours! The poor man was exhausted. That morning,
he arrived at the ranger station expecting to get permits for an 8-day trip. All
that was available was the Watson Place. We felt so sorry for him, as we
helped him unload his boat.
Finally, everyone retired into their respective tents by 8:30 pm. At about 12:30
pm, we were rudely awakened by a deliberate voice giving orders and the
thunderous sounds of aluminum canoes banging against the ground and
everything else they come in contact with. We peeked out our windows and in
the dark saw several people, each with a head lamp. They looked like aliens
with their wetsuits on. The group was the notorious Everglades Outward
Bound. I’m all for exposing children to the wilderness, by why make the
experience as miserable for them as possible (my honest opinion from what I
have witnessed on more than one occasion)? They travel by night and always
arrive after everyone else is sound asleep, so no one has actually seen these
kids in daylight (except while on the water). There were 10 people, 2 group
leaders and 8 exhausted teenagers. They have a system and in the dark they
worked very efficiently to unload and get their poles and clothes line set up for
their sleeping arrangement. I guess one of the rules is that they can’t talk to
each other, so they worked in silence. Only thing was, the headlamps were
excessively bright, shining into everyone’s tents. Now, the Watson Place is
huge, lots of tent space. But, where do these guys decide to set up their
sleeping area? Right between my tent and the exhausted canoeist; I’m talking
inches apart. They set up some poles, connected by a clothes line and then
string up what look like pods to the line. The pods are nothing more than
mosquito mesh (similar to the lifestyle of 100 years ago), one for each
individual. At 1:30 am, they are all secured in their individual pods. We try to
get back to sleep, knowing very well that at 5 am sharp, those fishermen would
be starting their day. Thankfully for the outward bound group, the nocturnal
teenagers can sleep through anything!
Day 5 and 6
Our new year’s eve paddle! This trip will be a special one because we had a
mission. Today we took a detour to explore Liquor Still Bay in search of the
moonshine still built by Totch Brown’s father. We leave the pods and the lone
canoeist and head up the Chatham River toward Huston Bay. Totch Brown
lived in the 10,000 Islands almost his entire life. He died in 1996 but not before
his autobiography was written: Totch: A life in the Everglades. Loren “Totch”
Brown was born in 1920 in Chokoloskee. His parents were hardy people
scratching out a living in the Everglades any way they could. In 1930, Totch’s
father moved his family to the Huston River where he made a small income
from gator and coon hunting and cutting boat timber. The family lived in Camp
Huston for a year with nothing more than a lean-to for shelter. In the summer
of 1931, they moved a couple miles away to Liquor Still Bay.
During their stay at Camp Huston, Totch’s father had been going into Liquor
Still Bay frequently with a purpose. In a remote end of the tiny bay, he built a
shell mound and laid down a 50-ft dock of sorts that ran into a clearing he
made in the mangroves. Totch’s father moved his family to this clearing where
he had built a copper still to make moonshine (prohibition time). The Browns'
shine was exceptional in these parts, being the only whiskey aged in the
Everglades. It was stored for 6 months in charred oak barrels before being
sold (by the gallon). Moonshining was but one of many illegal ventures in the
10,000 Islands. Back then rum running from the Bahamas was common and in
later years, so was pot smuggling.
Our mission was to find that still. We knew the location of Liquor Still Bay,
provided by a rudimentary map in Totch’s autobiography (you won’t find it on
any park service map). We followed a small creek that led us to Liquor Still
Bay. We combed the shoreline keeping our eyes peeled for a shell mound, an
opening in the mangroves, and/or wooden planks. We searched along the
mangroves and then, we found it! We spotted some wooden planks that led to
an opening in the mangroves. And there it was; the old still, or at least the
foundation of it. The copper still had been replaced by an aluminum replica.
We figured Totch had done that and probably took people back in there for
tours on occasion. We were so excited to have finally found this little bit of
history in the wild Everglades. After several photos of the still, we left and
moved on toward our last destination, Lopez River.
The Lopez River campsite is only 5 miles from Chokoloskee. We arrived at the
site about the same time a couple kayak fishermen pulled up. This was the
typical combination we often see out here; one guy who is fairly experienced
and his out-of-shape friend who has never kayaked or camped in the
Everglades. The 2 men perused the campsite and decided that they would
move on. The experienced guy’s friend was over it, he wanted to get back
home to his TV (his words). So they left. The other party that was to stay here
was a no-show, so we had the place to ourselves. It seems many folks get this
far and decide they had enough of the Everglades and head straight back
home. Not us, we stay!
This particular campsite is the former site of Gregorio Lopez’s homestead, the
rainwater cistern he built still stands. You’ll find a wet-cement inscription that
says: child Lopes born April 20, 1892. The man picked the most beautiful
location for a home in my opinion. Overlooking the Lopez River is awesome
and as with the Watson Place, dolphins frequently pass by. We have a
beautiful leisurely afternoon and eat an early dinner with our celebratory bottle
of wine. It was a perfect ending to a perfect trip.
An early morning start at 7:30 am meant arriving at Chokoloskee before 9 am.
Along the way, I take several shots as the sun rises. Eventually we are on
Chokoloskee Bay and the little town is in site. There are several shoals along
the way and there are many wading birds on them. We arrive at the take-out
site about 8:45 am, where we disturb a night heron trying to catch his
breakfast. While the rest of the day will be spent cleaning gear and boats, we
first stop into one of our favorite places in Chokoloskee, Havana Café, to get
our Cuban coffee fix. Now we are ready for the drive back to Miami.
We began heading toward the gulf of Mexico from Chokoloskee Island,
crossing Chokoloskee Bay into Rabbit Key Pass. The winds were calm, but
would steadily pickup to 15-20 knots; not the best conditions for photographing
from a boat. As we headed across the bay, I saw what looked like a white wall
in the distance. As I got closer, it became clear that the wall was a flock of
white pelicans gathered on an oyster bar in the bay. White pelicans, unlike
their brown counterparts, rest on oyster or sand bars rather than in trees. At
best guess there must have been 200 of them huddled together. As my
paddling companions continued toward the pass, I detoured to get as close as I
could without disturbing the birds. I managed to get some shots, though not as
close as I would have liked. This particular island of white pelicans is a
common site this time of year.
We continued out toward the gulf. As you paddle through the islands, you’ll
witness several flocks of birds flying overhead, typically ibises, terns, pelicans,
egrets and cormorants. With the right lighting, the white flocks glow against a
blue sky and green mangrove landscape. You’ll also see several wading birds
among the mangroves and it’s not unusual to round a corner and have a
blueheron fly out in front of you as you approach. Dolphins are also commonly
seen as they follow the tides and feed in the shallows near the mangroves.
Speaking of tides, many people come to the Everglades to kayak or canoe and
believe the waters to be easygoing. True, the water is shallow in areas, but
this is not always a good thing (think of that sound fingernails make scraping a
chalkboard; that’s the same sound a boat makes when it scraps across an
oyster bar). One has to be very mindful of the shoals, especially at low tide.
True the water is relatively warm, compared to the north waters. But
easygoing? Hardly. To destroy that notion, simply head up Lostmans River or
Indian Key Pass against the tide. Imagine moving through wet cement; that
should give you some idea of the intensity of the gulf tides. Because paddling
against a tide means nothing more than pain, we avoid it at all costs. On this
day, we coasted out to the gulf, riding the tide and with the wind to our backs, it
couldn't have been planned any better.
As we entered the gulf, I noticed a very large head pop out of the water. My
first thought was manatee, but with another appearance, it was clear that the
animal was a very large loggerhead turtle. Loggerheads are the most common
sea turtles in Florida and the shell can reach 40 inches and adults can weigh
as much as 350 lb. I watched a graceful flock of terns as they dive bombed the
water several times. And of course there are always brown pelicans making
their boisterous head dives into the water from as far up as 50 feet. An
interesting spectacle when the pelicans are feeding is the occasional gull that
will hang around and when the pelican makes a dive, the gull comes in for a
landing. My curiosity was piqued by this interesting display of behavior, so
with a little research, I ran across a study that describes the pelican-gull
relationship as “kleptoparasitism” (otherwise known as mooching, among us
common folk). Here’s how it works, a gull identifies a successful pelican (the
one who catches the most fish) and hangs around the pelican waiting to
kleptoparasitize it. When the pelican comes up with a mouthful of fish, the gull
is ready to capture the small fish that spill out of the pelican’s mouth. What an
opportunist!
We arrived at Mormon Key, our first campsite, early afternoon. Mormon Key
sits near the mouth of the Chatham River and the beach area where our camp
faces northwest. Mormon Key apparently derived its name from a settler
named Richard Hamilton who homesteaded on the island in 1895 where he
lived with his two wives. From what I could tell of the island, I don’t think it
could have been comfortably big enough for the two women!
It’s our usual routine to paddle early morning before the winds kick up and
arrive at camp fairly early in the afternoon. After setting up camp, this allows
me time to explore the area and case the joint for evening photo opportunities
and more importantly to take cover before the no-see-ums make their evening
raid. We were lucky this evening, the bugs stayed low and we were able to
enjoy a fine evening on the beach, eating our dinner while watching the
sunset. And I was able to capture the moments without wearing a mosquito net
over my head. Early to bed, early to rise; the next day will bring us a new
adventure on the water.
Day 2
We are in the water by 8 am, this would be a fairly easygoing day for us, our
shortest daily distance. Depending on the tides, it is sometimes necessary to
“go wide” into the gulf to avoid the shoals that surround many of the islands.
But today, we don’t have that problem and we can take a more direct route to
our destination while passing many New Turkey, Turkey and Bird Keys.
Because we got a “late” start this day, my sunrise shots would wait another
day.
After the 2005 hurricanes, a lot of dead tree branches and trunks are scattered
about the water. When the water is low enough, they provide cormorants a
place to hang out while drying their feathers. I see several flocks of the birds
this morning, providing me opportunity to photograph. We approach the inside
of New Turkey Key, a popular fishing and camping spot. Hurricane Wilma with
her 20-ft water surge split this key in two. The camping port-a-johns use to sit
where that surge came through; they aren’t there anymore. As we pass the
island, I spot a dozen vultures sitting in a dead tree. I approach carefully and
get a few shots. I’ve never noticed vultures out here before; but this year, I see
lots of them.
As we continue paddling, I notice a flock of birds swirling around about 100 ft
above the water. They appear to be frigate birds. I’ve only seen frigate birds
in quantities of 1 or 2, never in a large flock. I’m not sure what they were, but
they were glorious to watch. Sitting next to New Turkey Key is Turkey Key
(not to be confused with one another). This key also experienced huge
devastation from the hurricanes and I passed close by to get some shots of the
mangled mangroves only to spot a bald eagle in one of those surviving trees.
Unfortunately, due to lack of zoom capacity and a significant oyster bar
between me and the bird, I was only able to get a shot from the distance. As
we get closer to Hog Key, I spot a duck-like bird about 100 feet away. It looked
very much like a loon. I never would have considered it to be a loon except
that 2 years ago while in the gulf one early morning, I heard that unmistakable
call. I was close enough to it that morning to see it clearly as it dipped into the
water on several occasions. Today, this bird would not let me get close; but I
am certain it was a loon. While I was intent on getting to the loon, a bull shark
appeared, feeding in the shallows about 20 feet from my boat. I watched its tail
and dorsal fins move in the water, as it busily ate its lunch.
We arrive at Hog Key at noon. Hog Key is so named because of the feral hogs
that inhabit the place. Their ancestors lived on a hog farm created by Richard
Hamilton. At night, before the hurricanes, it was not unusual to hear a hog
stomping around on the beach. How well they survived the hurricane is
unknown to me, but we missed the stomping that night. But, we can always
count on those rascals raccoons. They are commonly spotted among the
mangroves as you paddle and at low tide they come out to the oyster bars to
feed. Some of the locals refer to the larger versions as boar coons. If you
don't see them, you know they are there as the tell-tale tracks are found all
over the beach and all over your kayak in the morning. There is no fresh water
to speak of in the 10,000 Islands and it is a hot commodity for any raccoon.
Those little guys are smart enough to figure out how to get it from you if you
are not careful. Keep your water and food inside your sealed hatches at night.
A cloth cover over your cockpit is not enough to keep them from getting
through, so don’t leave water and food in the cockpit. If you are in a canoe,
use hard-sided containers with tightly sealed lids.
Our campsite is lovely, facing the west; perfect for sunset photography. We
have a beautiful Poinciana tree, a survivor of the hurricanes, near our site.
Although we are not the only humans on the island, it is large enough that we
don’t see the other party. A perfect, peaceful evening awaits us. But alas, our
luck ran out. Right on time, the no-see-ums descend. We figured this would
happen as there was no breeze to speak of. We ate dinner early and by 5 pm,
I had the mosquito netting on. When camping out here, always wear long
pants, long-sleeved shirts and socks. I also wear a hat and bandana; you can
spray your clothing with deet and not worry about getting it directly on your
skin. All my photos were shot that evening with that netting over my head, a bit
tricky. But I managed to get some beautiful sunset beach camping shots with
my companions going about their business. During this time, birds and sharks
come into the shallow area to feed. A lovely site! Eventually, the bugs win and
the camera and tripod were promptly packed away by 6:30 pm. Another early
evening, the next day would require a very early start.
Day 3
My 47-yr-old muscles are feeling a bit tired today as we set out at 7 am. But
the mild soreness is easily ignored, as I take the opportunity to capture the
sunrise while on the water and as we head into the beautiful and intense
Lostmans River. The river will take us out of the gulf and into the backcountry
of the 10,000 Islands. I capture several pictures along the way, while my
fishing companion tells me that people come from all over the world to fish at
the mouth of the Lostmans. She tells me this as she hooks a huge mackerel.
As usual, I am intent on capturing a sunrise in front of me and she is behind me
so that I was not able to get my 17-ft boat turned around quick enough to
capture her catch. We come into the river (at First Bay) where there is a large
shoal and several birds wading. A cluster of white pelicans form a small island,
great blue and a yellow-crown herons sit perched in mangroves. As the sun
rises, the lighting is awesome and with a telephoto lens, the bird picture
opportunities are great. We left Hog Key early so that we could ride the tide up
Lostmans, making our early morning paddle a joy. As I enjoy the beautiful
mangroves and birds, a manatee shows itself about 30 feet from my boat.
These guys are a bit elusive, and as I waited for it to come back up for a photo,
the tide rushed me on further away.
My fishing companion hooked a tarpon, which has the power of a 125 hp boat
engine, not a casual ride for a kayak. Thankfully, it managed to get itself
unhooked, by simply straightening the hook and slipping off with its powerful
“top feeder” jaws. As we arrived in Second Bay, flocks of white pelicans flew
across, sometimes forming a “V”, sometimes not. The lighting was excellent to
capture their white feathers against the blue sky. We are now officially on the
Wilderness Waterway, which means we can continue our journey by following
the markers, making navigation less “intellectual”.
To get to the Lostmans Five campsite, we cross Onion Key Bay, which
contains Onion Key, a small mangrove island. At one time, Onion Key was
slated for development. In 1925 the Tropical Florida Development Corporation
began to sell lots and construct a few buildings. Thankfully, it failed within a
few years due to the hurricane of 1926 and eventually, it all became part of the
national park (free from development). Our campsite was the site of the boat
landing used for bringing in prospective land buyers. A couple years ago, the
park decided to build a wooden platform in the campsite, due to the continuous
state of mud that exists there. This makes for a cleaner, but cramped
campsite. The park incurs a limit to campers on each designated site. Some
of the larger sites, like The Watson Place, can have as many as 20 people.
Lostmans Five is relatively small and has a limit of 2 parties and 10 people.
Tonight there are 5 of us, all kayakers.
There are 2 kinds of campsites in the 10,000 Islands, gulf keys (beaches) and
backcountry sites. Some of the backcountry sites are chickees, free standing
platforms built in the water at various locations. The other backcountry sites,
such as Lostmans Five, are built upon Calusa shellmounds and are high
enough to provide solid, dry ground. Before the park, people built homes on
these sites and cleared hundreds of acres to grow various types of crops, like
sugar cane and papayas. In fact, Chokoloskee is nothing more than a shell
mound built by the Indians, now home to several hundred residents.
Powerboaters, particularly fishermen, love to camp in the backcountry for 2
reasons: great fishing and docks at the sites. Often, we share our sites with
powerboaters and while several people I know have bad stories to tell of such
folks, my experience has generally been a positive one. Powerboat camping is
no different than car camping; it comes with 500 sq ft of tent space, a gas grill,
a generator, flood lights, radio, tables, chairs, and of course the kitchen sink. I
don’t exaggerate; fortunately, most powerboating fishermen are quite nice.
They in fact are quick to offer us ice, beer, use of their trash bags, and are
typically respectful of kayakers and canoeist, in the campsites and on the
water. At the very least, they simply leave us alone.
After setting up camp, we go back out to the water to explore a nearby river, for
fishing and exploring until its time to come back to camp and prepare for
dinner. Last year, I spent a night on Lostmans and witnessed a continuous
traffic of bird flocks cross the sky in front of our dock as the sun set. I waited
for that to happen this night, but alas, the birds did not appear as such;
possibly because of the time of year. After a nice dinner and conversation, we
are again early to bed.
Day 4
Today, we headed to The Watson Place. We leave Lostmans early and are
blessed with another beautiful day. The wind gods were kind to us as we
expected a front to come in; but, it stalled up north and we were spared (sorry,
you northerners!). Today we paddled through several creeks including Plate
and Alligator creeks. Plate creek was named by a Spanish homesteader,
Gregorio Lopez who dropped a plate in the water. He then went on to Onion
Key and because he ate his last onion there (without a plate), he named it
Onion Key. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.
The backcountry offers several open bays connected by creeks, like a string of
pearls. On the creeks, we paddle through mangroves and come close to
alligators already finding their sunspots early in the morning along with several
wading birds feeding along the mangroves. We crossed Plate Creek Bay,
where you find one of the backcountry chickees. I passed by the island to get
some photos as 5 canoeists loaded up their boats. Chickee camping is fitting
for canoes, but not so easy for kayakers when you are trying to get yourself
and your gear in and out of the boat. We call this event “Chickee gymnastics”,
not yet an Olympic sport, but definitely an exhibition (see my Hells Bay trip
story for a description). The 5 canoeists are women, paddling the entire
Wilderness Waterway (99 miles between Chokoloskee and Flamingo). We see
all kinds of people out here, I could write a book on that aspect alone. It’s not
unusual to find lone paddlers, male or female spending days on end out here.
A 65-yr old friend, Michaleen Stohrer, goes out by herself for several days at a
time. She brings a satellite phone to contact her husband daily. She has been
my inspiration and I’ve learned much from that woman. It just goes to show,
you are never too old for this stuff.
We take a small detour and explore Gopher Creek for awhile, an interesting
area where sacred Calusa shell mounds exist. The area was hit hard by
hurricane Andrew in 1992 and as a result, the mangroves along the creek are
relatively young and short. This leaves several high standing dead trunks for
birds to perch, perfect sightings for bird photos, and you’ll spot lots of them
(see my Gopher Creek story for a detailed account). From here, we head over
to Darwin’s Place, another campsite, for lunch before heading across the
rough Chevelier Bay. Darwin’s Place, located on a creek that connects a
couple bays is so named after the last private resident of this area, Arthur
Darwin. At the campsite, we meet some other kayakers from an eco-tour group
commonly seen out here. Several captains in Everglades City transport people
out to these sites, give them camping gear and leave them there a couple of
days to explore the area. This is a nice alternative for folks who don’t want to
paddle long distances. If interested in doing this (even a day trip without
kayaks), our friend Captain Charles Wright takes people to some of the most
remote spots in the park where you can photograph to your hearts content.
His website is: http://www.chokoloskeecharters.com. Before leaving Darwin’s I
caught a glimpse of an osprey swoop down toward a tree, snap off a large
branch with her talons and fly off toward her nest with the branch in her grip.
What a sight!
After lunch we head into the “very large” Chevelier Bay. Chevelier is named
after the Frenchman who came here looking for Calusa gold treasure. He was
also one of the most notorious plume hunters in the area. This was about 100
years ago during the time when egrets and spoonbills were murdered by the
thousands for their plumage in order to support a popular fashion for women’s
hats. Hunters slaughtered the adults, leaving their babies to die unattended.
Eventually, a brave woman, Mary Munroe stepped up and helped lead the way
toward banning this horrific practice. Unfortunately, several wardens (like Guy
Bradley) attempted to enforce the ban and were murdered as a result.
Eventually, the fashion statement died and so did the hunting; but the bird
populations have suffered ever since. By the way, the park recently closed a
large area (around Carl Ross Key) to boaters until March 15th, in order to
protect two colonies of nesting spoonbills. Poetic justice, I’d say!
When you look at a marine map of the 10,000 Islands, you’ll notice several
bays in the backcountry and think they are small bodies of water. In a kayak or
canoe, they are not. With 20-plus knot winds, these bays are nasty and large.
Because they are relatively shallow (2-12 ft), the winds cause a continuous
surf action across the bay, which can be tricky if the surf is coming at you from
the side. Today, we would have 15-20 knots to our backs, so we “surfed”
across that Chevelier Bay, grateful for our luck. At last we are led into the
Chatham River where a slack tide awaits us. About a mile down we come to
the infamous Watson Place.
The Watson Place is the site of Ed Watson’s home and sugar cane plantation.
Watson was infamous in these parts; he is believed to have murdered Belle
Starr (the famous woman outlaw) and came here to hide. He was a friendly
sort and got on very well with his successful farm. He built a large 2 story
home for one of his wives and several children (I think he went through a few
wives in his lifetime). The locals believe that Watson became wealthy because
he killed his farmhands rather than pay them. Eventually, his luck ran out in
1910 when he was murdered at Ted Smallwood’s store in Chokoloskee.
Apparently, the locals believed Watson to be the direct cause of a number of
people’s deaths. Several men gathered at the Smallwood’s store waiting for
Watson to appear on his boat (something he did regularly to get supplies). As
he approached, the men greeted him with guns pointed in his direction.
Watson pulled his gun and shot, but it misfired because it had been loaded
with wet shells (compliments of the 1910 hurricane). Consequently, the men
fired off several rounds and Watson was no more. For a “fictional” account of
the story, the renowned author, Peter Mattheison has written 3 books; one in a
third party voice, one in the voice of Watson’s son, and the other in the voice of
Watson himself. The books are accurate accounts of the lifestyle of the
Everglades 100 years ago, a way of life that makes chickee camping seem
luxurious!
Today, the campsite still contains several of Watson’s farm equipment and
foundation of what was probably a cistern. Totch Brown’s family lived here for
awhile before the park took it over; I suspect some of the remains on the site
are from the Brown’s short stint at sugar cane farming. I also suspect there are
a few ghosts that roam the area; perhaps one can be captured in the dark
evening with a slow shutter speed. You can easily see why Watson built
where he did; the Chatham River is gorgeous and a beautiful sunset is
captured from the dock overlooking the river. When camping on the river sites,
it is common to see dolphins come by as they travel with the tide into and out
of the backcountry. The tell-tale sound of the water spraying from their spouts
tells you they are passing by. We arrive at the campsite around 1:30 pm and
we have 6 fishermen on the site with us. The bugs were kind to us this
evening, so we hung out at our picnic table for some conversation and a little
brandy. About 6:30, a lone canoeist, an elderly man, pulled up. He had just
come from Everglades City (18 miles) and unlike my group that was going the
opposite direction, he had to fight a headwind the entire way. He left at 9 am,
so he paddled for over 9 hours! The poor man was exhausted. That morning,
he arrived at the ranger station expecting to get permits for an 8-day trip. All
that was available was the Watson Place. We felt so sorry for him, as we
helped him unload his boat.
Finally, everyone retired into their respective tents by 8:30 pm. At about 12:30
pm, we were rudely awakened by a deliberate voice giving orders and the
thunderous sounds of aluminum canoes banging against the ground and
everything else they come in contact with. We peeked out our windows and in
the dark saw several people, each with a head lamp. They looked like aliens
with their wetsuits on. The group was the notorious Everglades Outward
Bound. I’m all for exposing children to the wilderness, by why make the
experience as miserable for them as possible (my honest opinion from what I
have witnessed on more than one occasion)? They travel by night and always
arrive after everyone else is sound asleep, so no one has actually seen these
kids in daylight (except while on the water). There were 10 people, 2 group
leaders and 8 exhausted teenagers. They have a system and in the dark they
worked very efficiently to unload and get their poles and clothes line set up for
their sleeping arrangement. I guess one of the rules is that they can’t talk to
each other, so they worked in silence. Only thing was, the headlamps were
excessively bright, shining into everyone’s tents. Now, the Watson Place is
huge, lots of tent space. But, where do these guys decide to set up their
sleeping area? Right between my tent and the exhausted canoeist; I’m talking
inches apart. They set up some poles, connected by a clothes line and then
string up what look like pods to the line. The pods are nothing more than
mosquito mesh (similar to the lifestyle of 100 years ago), one for each
individual. At 1:30 am, they are all secured in their individual pods. We try to
get back to sleep, knowing very well that at 5 am sharp, those fishermen would
be starting their day. Thankfully for the outward bound group, the nocturnal
teenagers can sleep through anything!
Day 5 and 6
Our new year’s eve paddle! This trip will be a special one because we had a
mission. Today we took a detour to explore Liquor Still Bay in search of the
moonshine still built by Totch Brown’s father. We leave the pods and the lone
canoeist and head up the Chatham River toward Huston Bay. Totch Brown
lived in the 10,000 Islands almost his entire life. He died in 1996 but not before
his autobiography was written: Totch: A life in the Everglades. Loren “Totch”
Brown was born in 1920 in Chokoloskee. His parents were hardy people
scratching out a living in the Everglades any way they could. In 1930, Totch’s
father moved his family to the Huston River where he made a small income
from gator and coon hunting and cutting boat timber. The family lived in Camp
Huston for a year with nothing more than a lean-to for shelter. In the summer
of 1931, they moved a couple miles away to Liquor Still Bay.
During their stay at Camp Huston, Totch’s father had been going into Liquor
Still Bay frequently with a purpose. In a remote end of the tiny bay, he built a
shell mound and laid down a 50-ft dock of sorts that ran into a clearing he
made in the mangroves. Totch’s father moved his family to this clearing where
he had built a copper still to make moonshine (prohibition time). The Browns'
shine was exceptional in these parts, being the only whiskey aged in the
Everglades. It was stored for 6 months in charred oak barrels before being
sold (by the gallon). Moonshining was but one of many illegal ventures in the
10,000 Islands. Back then rum running from the Bahamas was common and in
later years, so was pot smuggling.
Our mission was to find that still. We knew the location of Liquor Still Bay,
provided by a rudimentary map in Totch’s autobiography (you won’t find it on
any park service map). We followed a small creek that led us to Liquor Still
Bay. We combed the shoreline keeping our eyes peeled for a shell mound, an
opening in the mangroves, and/or wooden planks. We searched along the
mangroves and then, we found it! We spotted some wooden planks that led to
an opening in the mangroves. And there it was; the old still, or at least the
foundation of it. The copper still had been replaced by an aluminum replica.
We figured Totch had done that and probably took people back in there for
tours on occasion. We were so excited to have finally found this little bit of
history in the wild Everglades. After several photos of the still, we left and
moved on toward our last destination, Lopez River.
The Lopez River campsite is only 5 miles from Chokoloskee. We arrived at the
site about the same time a couple kayak fishermen pulled up. This was the
typical combination we often see out here; one guy who is fairly experienced
and his out-of-shape friend who has never kayaked or camped in the
Everglades. The 2 men perused the campsite and decided that they would
move on. The experienced guy’s friend was over it, he wanted to get back
home to his TV (his words). So they left. The other party that was to stay here
was a no-show, so we had the place to ourselves. It seems many folks get this
far and decide they had enough of the Everglades and head straight back
home. Not us, we stay!
This particular campsite is the former site of Gregorio Lopez’s homestead, the
rainwater cistern he built still stands. You’ll find a wet-cement inscription that
says: child Lopes born April 20, 1892. The man picked the most beautiful
location for a home in my opinion. Overlooking the Lopez River is awesome
and as with the Watson Place, dolphins frequently pass by. We have a
beautiful leisurely afternoon and eat an early dinner with our celebratory bottle
of wine. It was a perfect ending to a perfect trip.
An early morning start at 7:30 am meant arriving at Chokoloskee before 9 am.
Along the way, I take several shots as the sun rises. Eventually we are on
Chokoloskee Bay and the little town is in site. There are several shoals along
the way and there are many wading birds on them. We arrive at the take-out
site about 8:45 am, where we disturb a night heron trying to catch his
breakfast. While the rest of the day will be spent cleaning gear and boats, we
first stop into one of our favorite places in Chokoloskee, Havana Café, to get
our Cuban coffee fix. Now we are ready for the drive back to Miami.
The yearly new year’s eve trip, Kayaking in the Everglades, 2006
Our traditional New Years celebration is kayaking the Everglades. This year, due to fewer holiday commitments, we managed a 6-day
paddling trip to bring in the new year. With renewed energy and a lower stress level, I’m going to convey by word and photo my
experience in the everglades wilderness; home away from home.
I brought two cameras for this trip, the waterproof Pentax Optio (the paddling camera) and the non-waterproof Canon Powershot S3 (the
camping camera). For the Canon, I also brought a circular polarizer filter, a teleconverter lens, a wide-angle lens and a tripod. I kept the
Canon and lenses in a pelican 1200 case along with the tripod inside my hatch. I used the little waterproof Pentax for shooting from the
boat and reserved the Canon for the campsite photos.
This is one of the busiest seasons in the park, so getting permits for camping is often difficult. Because the park only issues permits
within 24 hours prior (and only in person), we made an additional trip to the park station in Everglades City on Dec 26 to get out permits
for Dec 27 through January 31. We got lucky as there were at least 20 people standing in line at the station at 7:40 am (the doors open
at 8 am). Luckily, we got all the sites we wanted and happily drove back to Miami to prepare for the trip.
The itinerary was the following:
Below is a picture of the motley crew on our last night (after 5 days of paddling and primitive camping) at the Lopez River campsite.
Our traditional New Years celebration is kayaking the Everglades. This year, due to fewer holiday commitments, we managed a 6-day
paddling trip to bring in the new year. With renewed energy and a lower stress level, I’m going to convey by word and photo my
experience in the everglades wilderness; home away from home.
I brought two cameras for this trip, the waterproof Pentax Optio (the paddling camera) and the non-waterproof Canon Powershot S3 (the
camping camera). For the Canon, I also brought a circular polarizer filter, a teleconverter lens, a wide-angle lens and a tripod. I kept the
Canon and lenses in a pelican 1200 case along with the tripod inside my hatch. I used the little waterproof Pentax for shooting from the
boat and reserved the Canon for the campsite photos.
This is one of the busiest seasons in the park, so getting permits for camping is often difficult. Because the park only issues permits
within 24 hours prior (and only in person), we made an additional trip to the park station in Everglades City on Dec 26 to get out permits
for Dec 27 through January 31. We got lucky as there were at least 20 people standing in line at the station at 7:40 am (the doors open
at 8 am). Luckily, we got all the sites we wanted and happily drove back to Miami to prepare for the trip.
The itinerary was the following:
- Dec 27th - Chokoloskee to Mormon Key (14 miles)
- Dec 28th – Mormon Key to Hog Key (8.5 miles)
- Dec 29th – Hog Key to Lostmans Five (12 miles)
- Dec 30th – Lostmans Five to The Watson’s Place with a detour into Gopher Creek) (13.5 miles)
- Dec 31st – The Watson’s Place to Lopez River with a detour into Liquor Still Bay (15 miles)
- Jan 1st – Lopez River back to Chokoloskee (5 miles)
Below is a picture of the motley crew on our last night (after 5 days of paddling and primitive camping) at the Lopez River campsite.
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