Craighead's Pond?

[Gary M]

Hey,

I read the posts on the Taylor Slough paddle and have some questions about the CP area.

Does anyone know how the name came about?  I recognize the dude's name and know a bit about his legacy in the Park, but was wondering more about the area.

It would seem that starting at 9 Mile pond would make for a pretty simple day trip to the area.  I've never been that far east of the road and was wondering if its much different than the prairie environment of 9 Mile?

There seems to be some "science projects" out in that area.  Does anyone know of reliable water depth data (real time) that can be accessed?  I expect the levels will be dropping soon... and I would prefer to paddle, not struggle.

And I know this is a stretch, but... has anyone tried or even considered accessing the 7 Palm Lake area from above?  It does not look possible on the sat photos, but it sure would be cool!

[Keith W]

Frank C. Craighead was a naturalist and plant biologist that researched and wrote about the Everglades from the early days of the park through the time of his passing in the late 90s (this date might be wrong). Glen Simmons was his guide for his early explorations of the Everglades backcountry. Craighead wrote a book cataloging the orchids and air plants of the Everglades in the '60s which was authoritative for that time. He is much better known for his work with the grizzly bears of Yellowstone. I'm pulling this all from memory and there may be others here who know more about Dr. Craighead.

[Gary M]

Keith,

Thanks for replying. I'm familiar with Frank Sr. and his involvement with Park ecology (I have his book on trees) and a friend of mine actually knew (knows?) Jr... he is the grizzly expert.

I'm actually more interested in the area itself. I guess I gotta go and look at it first hand. I'm taking my grandson camping this weekend, so maybe we'll do just that.

I'll scan the real time database and see if I can locate a station with water depths somewhere relevant.

I'll post a report if anyone is interested... but it looks like I'm the only one.

[Keith W]

The last half of the Taylor Slough trip last month took us from Craighead Pond to Nine Mile (last paragraph of yakmaster's epic tale). Water was about 3 feet deep at the time. I'm sure it's much lower now but might still be passable. I'll be down with my skiff in about 3 weeks and I want to check it out then.

Didn't know there was a Sr. and a Jr. Craighead. I thought it was the same guy who just did a whole lot of stuff :-)