Howdy

[Alan Gibson]

Just started getting seriously interested in glades tripping and am looking forward to it. Most of my tripping is done in Ontario so this is a whole new deal. I will ask some dopey questions so please be patient.......

I like trip reports and slide shows and frequently share......again please be patient as my contributions may miss the mark on occasion. Here is a slide show of a recent trip.
http://vimeo.com/74485430

[Amazon Bill]

Good idea with the thermos of hot water and using the pre heated water for oatmeal AND coffee.

[Kim Gass]

IMO there are a few paddling places that grab a person. For me there are three. The Yukon, Lake Superior and the Everglades.   For the last two paddling strategies are the same. Paddle early and fear not the dark.  Us northerners might shun grits but my gawd they are good..especially as an intro with a little maple syrup and raisins.  You do want a quick breakfast..those are prime minutes not to be wasted cooking!  

[Alan Gibson]

You gals got it going on.

I was actually considering skipping the GPS since my route seems fairly easy navigationally.

I detest instant oats but love old fashioned and of course that means stove. So I will fire up my stove and brave the winged menace. I have a high tolerance for them until their numbers build. A dozen no-see-ums are tolerable but several hundred is another story. After a trip or two I will probably gravitate towards your style.

Wind up by 9? Really? If you live right it is usually coming from behind though LOL........

[Terry]

I haven't yet used a GPS for WW through trips even when doing the extra

Collier Seminole State Park segment.   My first two through trips were before GPS was

invented.   My first through trip was before Gatorade, we drank Tang (do they still make that stuff),

backcountry permits didn't exist, Darwin was there, Wedge Point was a necessary ground

camp site in the middle of Whitewater Bay and the Lostman River Ranger Station was manned.

Two just-out-of-college jerks thinking we were pros for doing one night trips in the glades,

we had no idea what we were doing on the WW.   It's funny how much experience you gain after

a couple days out there.

But what's really cool, I'll be grass paddling this Saturday in the same canoe used on that first WW trip.

[Kim Gass]

GPS has really been a useful tool for me. Finding the back way to Sweetwater from Lopez was such fun! And cutting some distance off from Willy Willy to Lonesome was possible because I always knew exactly where I was. The Labyrinth coming north out of Whitewater Bay was a great exploration too.

GPS is not a necessity for the Gulf nor the WW but the tide tables on mine are a whole lot easier to read than the itty bitty slip of paper the ranger gives you.

[Alan Gibson]

So many toys.......I would like to get a hero camera with the wi-fi and mount it on the bow so I can take fish pics remotely and the occasional video sequence. And of course a new GPS since my other one crapped out. And lastly I would like a SAT phone seeing I'm getting to be old geezer status and have found out I am not indestructible after all. Probably Opt for the phone since I do a lot of stuff solo........who can go for 2 weeks at a time?

OK.......your at the chikee and have manged to get your stuff up without dumping. What the heck do you do with your boat short of drag it up? I know some of the winter tides can be as much as 5 ft. It would be a max drag to find your boat underneath the chickee flooded out or crushed.

[Jay]

My personal preference is to unload my canoe completely and bring it up on the Chickee almost every night.  I put it on the walkway to the port-o-let and there is always plenty of room to walk by. Others have very acceptable alternatives and I am sure they will chime in here.Shark River

[vivian]

We never have space on the platform for boats as we travel with others. I let the wind tell me what side to tie the canoe on and let it blow the canoe away from the dock. We also tie diagonally from one platform to another.

[Kim Gass]

Some chickees have standing timber next to the chickee.. You can moor to those  and use lines wrapped around  the pilings to get our boat away from the chickee and next to the piling.. (Of course you need access to the ends of the line so we tie those ends to the chickee.

Other times like at Harney River which is known for five foot tides we  get out of the boat and then moor each end on longish lines to each chickee. Then the boat is not next to the decking.;; Sometimes you can moor to the ladder using loose lines that are joined up high with a carabiner. Ladders are handy for preventing your boat from going under the deck if you moor next to them.

The bottom line is that you can never have too much line with you.  I would be afraid to do Jay's method unless I could tie my boat to the dock( though its hard to tell from the pic if its tied or not). At home I have had canoes leap right off my dock in wind. and had to drive a mile to pick it up at the end of the lake!  But no cars in the Everglades.

Each chickee is different..and you might have to think a bit about safe mooring depending in the wind direction and height of tide that day.

[Jay]

Yes Kim - always tied - you can barely see the line.  That particular night was a +4.5 and the water was just a couple of inches below the decking.  I have to think it washes over @+5.0 but I have never seen it.

[Kim Gass]

I ought to have known better Jay. Experienced Everglades paddlers know that losing your boat isn't good.

[Alan Gibson]

Lots of rope. Good advice and I appreciate it. Would a floating rope be best?

And what do you tie to at beach sites? Probably couldn't get a dog stake into the ground.....what about using sand anchors? Or maybe a canvas / burlap bag and small hand shovel and fill it with sand ? I am not crazy about dragging my boat to Timbuktu to tie up for the night. Or maybe just don't worry about it, what's the worst that could happen?