East of Nine Mile Pond

[Keith W]

Who else here has paddled/poled the area east on Nine Mile Pond (other than Terry, whose epic voyage is chronicled here). Last year I poled my skiff out to where the big sawgrass starts at the western edge of Taylor Slough. Once you get past the mangrove maze just east of the Nine Mile trail, the prairie opens up and the mangroves are replaced by hardwood bayheads and cypress, a very nice change of pace from the endless monotony of mangroves you see everywhere else on the Park's paddling trails. For those who love solitude, this open prairie is about as isolated as you can get anywhere in the park. The sawgrass here is very sparse and is easy to get through in paddlecraft, at least until you get to the edge of Taylor Slough. I may try this trip again, maybe in a week or two, and make a loop straight east to the edge of Taylor, then south to Craighead Pond and back to Nine Mile.

 

Another area I have a great interest in exploring is the Reef. Back in the day, the Gladesmen would pole their skiffs from US 1 to Whitewater Bay following the Reef Trail. The Reef was a straight 'ridge' of slightly higher ground, parts of which you can still see on the aerials as a distinct line of foliage running east-west about a mile north of Nine Mile Pond Trail between the road and Taylor Slough. They would stay just outside the Reef where there was a line of deeper water, and this was the main drag for gator hunters, moonshiners, and others who travelled into the Everglades wilderness.

 

 

So much wilderness to explore, and so little time...

[Dennis McDonald]

Ok We have long pants and long sleeve shirts packed. Going to get all of our food and stuff today. No bug suits but we do have mosquito masks. Geoff I'll see you tomorrow thanks for the info. Dennis

[Kim Gass]

I admire your courage.  If you can pix please. I want to get an idea of how thick the bugs are.

[daniel]

they were only really really bad at the campsites. everywhere else wasn't that bad, though i'm sure the tunnels, bushes, etc are not pleasant. also, it's rained a bunch since then, i'm sure it's worse cause of that. 

[Dennis McDonald]

I plan on taking plenty of pics. I'll post a full report when we get back Sunday night.

[Swamp Hunter]

Some of the worst mosquitos I ever saw inland were last year in August and September. Big black mosquitos possibly blown inland from the mangroves. Even though my campsite at FMB was open and breezy, the bugs were very bad, It was hard to breath without sucking in a few with each breath.  I remember reading the sad story of 3 baby panthers that died in their den from too many bites. They tried to cover their sensitive little noses and eyes with their paws but didnt survive the onslaught. http://www.floridapantherprotection.com/pdf/Panther_Update_0907.pdf

[Swamp Hunter]

How was your trip?

[Terry]

No answer, gone, do you think.....

[yakmaster]

a little early to jump to conclusions... yet...

[daniel]

eaten by mosquitos.

[Dennis McDonald]

Nope not eaten by mosquitoes, I just had some things to get done when I got home. The trip was good. the bugs were bad but it rained almost the whole time we were in Flamingo so that may have made them a little more tolerable.

We got to Flamingo Friday around 2:00 went and set up camp  and my friend realized he didn't have the rain fly for his tent. We improvised one out of rain ponchos and duct tape (more on that fix in a minute). It was raining so we decided to go check out the park a little. We drove back up to Nine Mile Pond parking area to see where we would be putting in the next morning. Then we drove back and went up and checked out Mahogany Hammock but it started to pour so headed back to Flamingo. Geoff said to be where we wanted by 7:00 since the bugs get bad around that time. I started making dinner around 6:00 and as soon as I opened the pack of burgers and put them on the grill got swarmed by flies, must have been close to 50  buzzing around. Got dinner cooked headed inside my tent ate looked over the charts Geoff gave me and made a plan to start at 6:00. We got my air mattress blown up and only let a few skeeters in the tent and retired to our own tents by 8:00. We talked back and forth from our own tents for about half an hour then fell asleep.

I was awoke by rain coming in the window of my tent around 10:15 it was pouring. Closed the window and watched the other people who were also camping run and get in the car. I guess they had leaky tents. They ended up leaving around 3:00  in the morning. When we got to the camp ground one of their tents was one the ground. My friends tent which he had never used was leaking from every seam but the improvised rainfly was still holding. He got up and went and slept in the truck. I slept ok in my tent had some rain blow in the door but not much. It was really storming and had plenty of thunder and lightning.

I woke up around 5:30 got all dressed and went to wake my friend. the mosquitoes were bad then I turned on a light and they were thick around my legs but not really biting. I sprayed my pants with 100% deet that really helped. Headed to the store got something to drink and off to Nine Mile Pond. Got the boats all ready to go and in the water when my friend relized he had two different halves of his paddle. This is not going well. He said he would try but I said I didn't think he could paddle out and back but lets see what happens. We made it out to marker 64 in about an hour not really in a hurry. We stopped and talked it over and decided trying for Craigshead probably not a good idea. I didn't want to wear him out especially after him sleeping in his truck the night before. We made the call to just paddle around the rest of the trail and back to the parking lot.

It was not the trip we hoped to do but at least we got to see the bugs. We had very little bugs on the way out and the winds picked up around marker 76 and blew us back to the parking lot so at least we weren't paddling into them the whole  time. We didn't see much in the way of wildlife 2 gators, a gar, some other fish I didn't get a good look at and some birds. The water was really high everywhere. I have to find the cord for my camera and will add some pics. The biggest lesson learned is make sure everything is ready ahead of time. I had my stuff but he didn't. I told him I'm making a check list for him and he has to do it the weekend before the next trip and show me. I am glad we went down and saw it in the summer but it was disappointing not to make it but figured better not push him and have to tow him back. I guess there is always next time. We are going to try again before winter but not camp. It is 270 miles one way so that makes for a long day to drive down paddle and drive back, but camping with the bugs isn't really that much fun.
If you haven't done it isn't unbearable but it isn't that great either. Thanks to everyone on this site and especially Geoff for the charts and the info. Geoff it was good to meet you and hope to see you again and maybe get a chance to paddle with you some time. I'll try and find the cord for the camera.

[Swamp Hunter]

Thanks for sharing I always like reading adventures. I have had the same leaky tent problems. I find that if I use a thick air mattress, I am above the water line inside my tent. Of couse you need to camp on high ground and a bottom tarp is a must. Also go in and out as fast as you can. Shine the flashlight on the ceiling and walls to locate all mosquitos. They can usually be killed in an hour or two before you go to sleep. Also a battery operated fan is a must. I always have raincoats, tarps, survival blanket and clips. A screen porch is also good or a stand alone canopy very important. . I have no answer for flies.

 

Sleeping in the car is no good because you have to roll the windows up. Usually it becomes necessary to run the engine for AC every hour. Been there done that so many times I would like to forget.

 

Forget the rainfly and paddle? He might as well have forgotten the tent. I would consider bringing an extra paddle.  Make him a list and check it thrice. Hard to see wildlife when the water is high but its a good time to spot panthers or other animals on the road.  

 

I agree its much more enjoyable when the weather is cool.

 

I just got a call from my boss and Im going back to work in August. I will be staying in the BCNP for 4 months, hopefully longer. I love it. Stop by.

[Dennis McDonald]

Yeah an extra paddle is a good idea. We usually have a small collapsible canoe paddle but he didn't have it either. I am going to get myself an extra kayak paddle. Mine is getting pretty old and I could use a new one anyhow. We talked about a screen room. I was on an air mattress so wouldn't have noticed the water but he was in a small two man tent that isn't very big. It got thrown in the garbage. If I make it down to Big Cypress I will stop and see you. Normally I have way more gear than I could ever need but have been cutting back since the last few trips have been backpacking and don't want to carry more than needed. I wish I could spend four months in the swamp. I found the camera cord so I will be adding pictures to my gallery as soon as they load.