May trip - Gator Hook to Roberts Lakes Strand

[Keith W]

I have a mind to try and reach Robert's Lakes Strand from the Gator Hook Trail on the Monroe Station leg of the Loop. I know the Fl. Scenic Trail runs through the Strand on the eastern end but I have yet to hear of anybody coming in from the west. The first couple of miles of the old Gator Hook logging tram that runs southeast off the Loop has been cleared, but it's all wild after that. The line of the tram is still evident after the cleared path runs out, and I was able to follow it for about another half-mile but it gets pretty boggy in places. Anybody else have any info on this route?

[Keith W]

>>There is also talk about a trail that connects the Everglades National Park to Big Cypress

I think this idea is worthy of starting a whole new discussion thread. Look for the new discussion in this forum called 'BCNP to ENP connections'.

[Swamp Hunter]

Hello all this is my first post. Big Cypress has been my favorite hiking place for 30 years and marking the old logging tram (now called the Gator Hook Trail) to Roberts Lakes has kinda been a pet project of mine. I have hiked the old logging tram many times and few know it better than I. If its not marked soon, the middle part of the trail will be lost forever, as the vegetation is concealing it to all except those who have the time and patience to search for it. I would guess in a few more years, it will be gone completely and I dont think I can save it alone.

The railroad track steel rails have all been removed but many of the cypress wood ties are still there and spikes can be found. In the beginning part, the elevated dike has been removed, so as not to interfere anymore with the natural water flow. I wouldnt worry much about burns because it will only affect the beginning part of the trail. The old tram runs into the heart of the deep swamp, where the thousand year old Bald Cypress were logged out for coffins, gutters and PT boats and fire cannot reach. A few large Cypress remain but you need to search for them. Huge stumps and large tree tops can still be seen laying in the water when you get deep enough inside. Florida panthers have been using the elevated part, for as long as I can remember, to ambush deer, as evidenced by all the deer bones that can be found there and it must have been a concern for the workers who camped at night.

Ill try to finish my post later as I have much to share. I hope someone is interested in reading it.

[Keith W]

The spike came from the Roberts Lakes tram, and the coins are some of the scrip that the Lee Tidewater logging company used to pay their employees. They could only be used to buy supplies at J.B. Janes store in Copeland.

I am very interested in any more info that you have to offer about this trail.

[Swamp Hunter]

Cool picture, Keith. Those spikes can still be found. I didnt know about those tokens.

I started hiking on that trail when I first saw it on a 1973 Geological Survey map. I took trips, over the years, leaving before sun up and little by little, going further and further each time. I have names for the different areas. At one point I found a beautiful little dry island with a working well pump. It may have been the workers camp with pots and pans everywhere. These were the days before GPS and for some reason, I can no longer find it. Ive tried many times, and I know Im close, but its still avoids me.

I hike alone like some of you here. I used to go with friends in the 80's but nobody wants to put in the effort it will take to mark the trail. You can probably cut your way through, in a general easterly direction, like somebody mentioned here, but why not make the entire Tram an official hiking trail all the way to Roberts Lakes? Connect the whole trail. The center lost section is the most beautiful in my opinion. I love the shady forest covered with ferns, Bald Cypress, Red Maples, interspersed with tall Cabbage Palms and Oak tree islands. Ive noticed some unusual orchids in this area. This is the section that is becoming lost. Its very hard to follow. Im the one that tied ribbons on the trees, if you find them, in a attempt to keep from losing any more of the tram. But it needs to be marked with something more permanent. The Tram apparently ran on ground level in this section and its disappearing fast. Only a few sections of RR ties are visible in the mud.

Ill talk more about it later. Im glad to find others of similar interest. My last hike there was last spring. I would imagine its just too wet any other time. I have however hiked many times in the fall but only to the island with the well pump. Here I would stop to rest and eat, fill my canteen and head back. It was pretty much an all day hike to the pump and back.

[Keith W]

At least three of us in this group (Tom Caldwell, Bill Dishong, and myself) have made the full hike from the Loop to the FST at Roberts Lake. You can read my trip report here. It was my goal on this trip to try and follow the tram line for the entire distance, which proved very difficult. I was out there again in December with Alan Coulter and a friend of his from Everglades City, and water was at least ankle deep everywhere, and up to the knees in many places. We hiked out to the middle point of the 'W' that you see in the aerials of the tram line, and I agree that it's a very beautiful place. I'm going back again probably in February for at least a day trip and maybe an overnight if I can arrange shuttle transportation.

[Swamp Hunter]

Yes, I have also made the hike from Loop Road to Roberts Lakes and from Oasis to Roberts Lakes. They are full of large gators, very dangerous.

I also took the trip from Oasis to Roberts Lakes area and I headed west on the Tram road until I could no longer follow it. I agree it is very difficult.

I tried to follow the Tram line from Gator Hook trailhead to Roberts Lakes but couldnt connect to the other end. I would like to see it done.

Ill read your story when I get a chance. Thank You.

[Swamp Hunter]

I just now read your post and congratulations on making the complete trip which I have not done. I never leave trash in the woods but I have to confess that the bottle and flourescent orange ribbons were most likely mine from last winter. I was only trying to mark the trail. I used to use orange spray paint but it fades away. As you have noted, about the only sign is the railroad ties. Another way to tell is the cypress trees will be slightly smaller and closer together on the tram road. This is a very good way to find the trail. Someone marked the trees on the last leg of the W years ago and it may still be visible. You need to be careful because the main tram has several elevated dead end legs. I wish there was a way of permanently marking the main tram line before its lost.

I guess you didnt find the well pump island. Its there about the middle point of the W. I will find it again some day. The deer bones are all found on the thickest part of the raised tram where you are forced to walk off to the side. Did you see any wild hog wallows? Hogs are becoming extremely rare now in the Big Cypress.

I would love to go with you in February. You dont have to worry about me as I can carry my own gear. I have a few questions though. What kind of hammock do you use. I could never get comfortable in those things. Do you use mosquito netting at night?

[Paul Marcellini]

Just went out to Robert's lake myself about 3 weeks ago from Oasis. A huge area to explore and with the mid-calf to mid-thigh water all the way out, slow going. I would love to explore all the areas mentioned, as I love the cypress. So much more to explore, as the southern Glades has gotten repetitious to me. If anyone ever wants to go out, let me know.

[Keith W]

I camp with an enclosed Hennessy Expedition Asym hammock with an underpad and a fly. The Asym lets you lie flat without the sag that you get in a regular hammock and I sleep very well. The underpad is very nice to have in cool weather and keeps the bugs from biting you through the material. Unlike the Clark hammocks, the material that the Hennessy is made from is not bug proof, but it's much less expensive, and I think much more comfortable.

On my May trip I cut south of the tram through the middle W and this is where the brush is heaviest and the ponds are deeper. This is also where you find the old growth giants. In December we stayed north of the tram and the going was much easier. I believe Tom and Bill cut straight across country and didn't follow the tram line and they made the trip from the Loop to Oasis in one day. I have no desire to move that fast, kinda misses the whole point of being out there, for me at least. The February trip is still more of an idea than a plan at this point, and if this semester turns out to be a bear I might have to wait until spring break, first week of March, but I'd be happy to have one or both of you come along if you don't mind doing a slow overnight. At least there will be some water, not like last May when it was bone dry.

[Swamp Hunter]

It sounds as if you certainly dont need my help and I can learn a lot from you. Thanks for the invite Keith and Paul. The water pump island I speak of is south of the tram and I remember wading through water past Pond Apples to reach it. When I first discovered it in the 80's it was clearly marked by some earlier adventurer and he/she was using it as a campsite. I left it with a green plastic bucket over the wellhead. It was a deep sulphur water well and we would drink it many times. It was much better than scratching out a well which was the oldtimers way of obtaining drinking water. The NPS doesnt know of its existance or they would remove it. I cannot believe I lost it but those things happened in the days before GPS.

If you made it to my ribbons, you made it to the center of the W. Thats were I had to give up last winter. I also hiked from Oasis and there is only about a half mile section that I am missing. Its the 3rd stroke of the W and the most pretty section. Thats were the usual Pond Cypress turn into the larger Bald Cypresses. There are also mocassins and gators, Im sure you noticed.

I worked for the State of Florida these past 4 months and Im sure you have heard about the serious Python problem we are having. They are now firmly entrenched in the Loop section. We have had 12 foot 100 pound Pythons brought in from the Loop Road. The largest was 16 1/2 feet with alligators and deer hooves in its stomach. Its a serious problem in the Everglades.

[Swamp Hunter]

Here is a not too good a pic from the Feb. 1948 National Geographic showing logging activity in the Fakahatchee swamp by the Lee Tidewater Cypress Company. Notice the Royal Palms. The Bald Cypress trees would have towered above them. I would imagine the same type of logging practices were used at Roberts Lakes.

[toofaraway]

Wow Dale that's an impressive photo. My dad used to collect orchids and poisonous snakes from Fakahatchee during WWll. Now that I see the pictures of the logging destruction I don't feel so bad, besides he was just a high school kid. I just ordered that magazine for $6! Gotta love the web.

TFA