Your favorite ten day loop trip out of Flamingo

[Kim Gass]

I am reading some of the summer discussions about paddling and the wish for A/C.  I just bought a catalytic propane heater for October camping in Maine.

 

That means one thing. Everglades paddling season is near!

 

All my trips so far have started in Everglades City. This time I am thinking of mixing it up and making a loop trip out of Flamingo.

 

Any favorites? I have ten days.  After that the water weight starts to sink my canoe.

[Esther Luft]

What type of distance are you looking at covering on an average day? Do you want to fish too or just paddle & camp? As if that weren't enough.

[Daniel Madrigal]

You could consider starting off in west lake, taking that out to garfield bight through alligator creek. The new shark point chickee is out there. TONS of wildlife and great mangrove tunnels. Chickee is not that good because it is about 10 feet off the water but we got to see spoonbills, dolphins, ospreys, pelicans, a bald eagle, some sharks, and the BIGGEST gator I have ever seen in my life by the alligator creek campsite. I can imagine it lives around there.

[vivian]

Kim I am planning a trip out of Flamingo this year again too. You already know about the tide deal so won't go into that for you. This one is a nice loop and takes you into the middle rivers and you can start or end at Hells Bay depending on weather and tides:

This seven day can be extended to include Camp Lonesome or just spend an extra day at Canepatch or Camp Lonesome to explore the freshwater creeks:

Flamingo to East Cape
NW Cape
Highland Beach
Nightmare to Harney
Canepatch
Labarynth to Watsons River
Lane Bay
Out

You bringing the Peregrine or Rapidfire?

[Keith W]

You could consider starting off in west lake...

Actually you can now start at the Noble Hammock put-in and take Still Creek out to West Lake.You will avoid that long open-water crossing of West Lake and the wind that can make that crossing a tough one. Hang a left at marker 60 on the Noble Hammock trail and start looking for the trail tape. You will be in for a treat when you hit the last mile before West Lake, which takes you through a spectacular mangrove tunnel festooned with bromeliads and orchids. Still Creek follows the original trail that Bill Nobles and other pre-Park moonshiners used to get to and from their whiskey stills, hence the name.

[Alex Madrigal]

Glad to see some more info posted here on Still Creek. I have been interested in paddling this as soon as the cooler weather comes in. Nice to see that I will be in for a treat!

[Kim Gass]

I plan on about thirteen to fifteen miles on a working day. Of course I am still happy paddling along for ten miles and making early camp.

Chickees ten feet up dont interest me! I will be solo in a narrow canoe thats not great to stand on the seat on. I am bringing the Nomad which is faster than the Peregrine even with a load of water. We paddled down the Lopez with the full running tide against us and were able to make headway though the Nomad did it much easier.

I will check out all those campsites. Highland is the only one I know.. too intimately!

[Daniel Madrigal]

Thats pretty cool Keith I might check this out on a day trip I didn't know they connected.

[vivian]

You have a Curtis Nomad? Would love to see one in person. BTW: I will try to get pictures of rope setup I made to stablize my Hemlock Kestrel so I can access higher platforms. It is how one of my friends gets unto those Florida Bay platforms from his touring kayak.

I do not know why those chickees in the bay were not designed with paddlers in mind.

[Terry]

Everybody listen up! Quit acting mystified over the hi-rise chickees,
here's the answer, again:
They were built high to minimize the shade impact on the grass, they didn't want
the chickees to kill more Florida Bay grass. Now everyone can argue whether they
are too high or maybe not high enough or not enough ladders or unsafe or whatever
but the reason for the height is clear.

[vivian]

If they were so concerned about killing the small patch of grass they should have not built the stupid structures. They are dangerous to use and so high you have to wear a PFD should the wind be up and you end up plunging down to your death from that platform.

I would love to spend the night on one but will not do so unless I can go via powerboat.

[Esther Luft]

Johnson Key Chickee is accessible to a solo paddler, just make sure you're boat is not longer than 16'5" You can pull in between the stairs and the piling placed about two feet off the ladder. It takes some maneuvering but it's doable. I hear there is a potential fix for what ails us being considered.

Some photos:

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/b/b/c/highres_168711...

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/b/b/b/highres_168711...

[toofaraway]

so high you have to wear a pfd! LOL!

I can see why paddlers don't like the height but at least there's a ladder. What would a gladesman do? A little ingenuity and you'll come up with something. Perhaps a 2" wide strap, secured from the chickee and around the paddlecraft, while still in the boat, would be enough to stabilize it to climb out?

Don't like the chickees? There's always Alligator Creek to camp at! Sleep tight.

But really, I do understand the concerns and hope paddlers will try making their own innovations and find a solution that works for everyone involved including the sea grass.

TFA
Seattle