Inland Route - Flamingo / Cape Sable

[Terry]

Inland Route - Flamingo / Cape Sable

Before Hurricane Andrew the preferred paddle route between Flamingo and
Cape Sable was the Homestead Canal. Avoiding the open bay provided a
wind protected route and separated paddle craft from power boats. It also
guaranteed solitude and remoteness by staying in the back country wilderness.
The 1992 hurricane damaged Homestead Canal with downed trees making passage
very difficult. As it became less traveled, foliage growth accelerated and
the 2005 storms made the canal impassable. After Hurricane Wilma a plan was
created to reopen the canal and a volunteer group headed by Tom Rahill and
Jim Brack took on the project. They cleared the canal to Bear Lake and
reopened the Bear Lake Trail which loops through Mud Lake and comes back
down Buttonwood Canal to the Bear Lake parking lot. The section of
Homestead Canal between Bear Lake and Gator Lake remained impassable,
cutting off the inland route to Cape Sable.

Sue Cocking, Bill Evans, Terry Helmers and Jay Thomas devised a plan to
survey the damage to the canal west of Bear Lake and search for an alternative
passage through a body of land between the waters of Bear Lake to the east
and open water to the west. Previous trips by Thomas had identified
the narrowest section of land between these two waters which was called 64M
but there was another slightly wider area of land that warranted
investigation. If a navigable route could be established through these two
bodies of water the entire stretch of Homestead Canal between West Lake and
Gator Lake could be abandoned. It would also establish a natural route from
Coot Bay Pond to Cape Sable - the ultimate trophy. The group also had heard
reports of a route that went into Bear Lake with a portage over the narrowest
piece of land between the canal and the lake.

On 18 January 2014 the four set out in 3 canoes from Bear Lake parking lot
and went directly to the narrow area between the lake and canal. The last
time Helmers had paddled the canal was 28 years ago when there was nothing
at this narrow spot. This time, the explorers found ruins of what appeared
to be a dock that could have been built to assist portaging. It's assumed
that shortly after Hurricane Andrew an attempt was made to keep the
Inland Route open by using as much of the lake as possible to shorten the
length traveled in the canal. Today there's a small break in the narrow spot,
making it easier to slide a canoe through this slot and back into the canal.
After doing this, the group continued west through near impassable
"jack straws" (a sawyer term for criss-cross piled trees) but after making
headway of only a couple hundred yards in an hour the effort was abandoned
and the canoe party returned to the lake to continue west in Bear Lake and
then across the lake to its' west. Since Thomas had already examined the
narrowest portion of land barrier between the east and west the decision was
made to continue directly to the other narrow spot just south of 64M. After
negotiating mud bars a small creek-like opening was spotted. Although there
was a 3 foot mat of pneumatophore roots to be portaged, the creek continued
west with a hard twist to the north then west again to the open water of the
"other side". After the search party spooked a spoonbill at the west mouth
of the creek it was quickly dubbed Spoonbill Pass. Knowing "this was it" all
agreed to ignore 64M and paddle the shallow but open water to Gator Lake.
How ironic that paddlers spent decades paddling back and forth in a straight
as an arrow canal, how ironic that a large dock was built to go over the
narrow spot between Bear Lake and the canal, how ironic spending the effort to
keep trying to push through the canal between Bear Lake and Gator Lake when
there was a beautiful natural creek waiting for paddlers at Spoonbill Pass.

On 20 January 2014 Terry Helmers launched at Coot Bay Pond to
specifically survey and map the Spoonbill Pass area. Although launching at the
pond meant it took 2 and a half hours to get to the pass, it reduced the
paddle distance in the canal to just 200 yards between Bear Lake Trail and
Bear Lake. Two additional non-portage creeks were mapped with the optimal
route going from 09.858'N and 59.397'W to 09.857'N and 59.447'W. After two
rewarding explorations, a natural route from Coot Bay Pond to Lake Ingraham,
Cape Sable has been established.

To use the Inland Route, study and printout or download maps of the area.
Carry a spare GPS unit. There's a lot of shallow water throughout the trip
but it's all open paddling.

[yakmaster]

Jay

You're going to the cape. I believe I will be joining Terry's band of merry misfits...

So, you can follow that crew @:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0djHtvn...

then again, that might lead to the cape as well, not sure where I'm sleeping but 75+ degrees and 100% humidity at night (and my wife) are lobbying for airconditioning.

Jay said:

Anyone not out there that wants to follow along can do so here.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=02UqTsz...

It should go live @ 7:30 - someone please remind me to hit the "track button".

[Roger Hammer]

The Acting Super may very likely be Alan Scott. I talked to Dan Kimball today while he was stuck in traffic trying to get to a meeting at the Big Cypress and he said they're going to advertise his position nationally for a permanent replacement. With the freezing weather all over the country there may be a lot of applicants.

Dan is hoping to stop by my hacienda soon to partake in my VERY expensive rum.

[Esther Luft]

Keep in mind that not all clearings are handled by the same people.  I can only speak for that which I have been part of, BLCT, and a few other small probes that did not get further approval beyond some superficial cleaning (literally, trash pick-up).  Some people go out and mess it up for the rest of us.  Rahill's group hasn't been the way of West Lake. 

[Amazon Bill]

Terry, Jay. Check your mail :) have fun out there!

[Esther Luft]

Another SPOT link for group 3  BLCT to Fox Lakes

  http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0tCUeAP...

[Connie Mier]

Greetings from East Cape! 2-3 Ft water through RP. Almost too easy!

[Roger Hammer]

Woo hooo!!! I knew Plan A would work!!!!

[Amazon Bill]

I watched Jays SPOT today, and it looked like a good trip out to East Cape. Departure from Coot Bay at 7:19 AM and arrival at East Cape by 3:19 PM. Eight hours. I'm looking forward to photos, phish, current and wind reports. Great Job team!

The 'Terry's Kids' Team 'went dark'  during a mysterious 5 hour data gap from 11:47 AM when they approached the corner at the south/east bend in the canal and when they made it back to Raulerson's prairie around 4:20 PM.  Sounds like a tall tale of adventure and discovery is yet to be told. We will see when they post their trip log.

[yakmaster]

Looks good! I was concerned about the mudflats, but they seem to have been cruising right along.

Hope to hear good things from Vivian & Jay.

In the meantime...

Great things from Terry's misfits! We did go dark and so did out prospects trying to make it to the two creeks that seem to go north from the homestead canal, after I lost my rudder & broke a paddle, we decided it wasn''t working (not my spot, the trail). But that was not the end, just the beginning of an EXCELLENT ADVENTURE in the Fox Lakes.

I will be posting a full trip report on a new thread shortly. Fresh off the water and complete with tracks and more!

Amazon Bill said:

I watched Jays SPOT today, and it looked like a good trip out to East Cape. Departure from Coot Bay at 7:19 AM and arrival at East Cape by 3:19 PM. Eight hours. I'm looking forward to photos, phish, current and wind reports. Great Job team!

The 'Terry's Kids' Team 'went dark'  during a mysterious 5 hour data gap from 11:47 AM when they approached the corner at the south/east bend in the canal and when they made it back to Raulerson's prairie around 4:20 PM.  Sounds like a tall tale of adventure and discovery is yet to be told. We will see when they post their trip log.

[yakmaster]

The Cape Crew is halfway home. So we should have a report soon!

Jay's spot

[Connie Mier]

Got back to marina around noon, give or take an hour for entire group. Yesterday's paddle was a walk in the park compared to today with relentless 15 knots, gusting 18-20 knots from the east. A slow go with outgoing tide. Will let Jay and Viv talk about yesterday's route, including a fishing report. Water levels from RP7 to the canal were 2 or more feet all the way. Most difficult part was through spoonbill pass area. In summary, The east cape canal group took the easy route from what I hear from Terry's group.

[Roger Hammer]

Some of the worst paddling experiences I've ever had in ENP were from East Cape to Flamingo across Florida Bay. It's worse if you have an incoming tide and a strong east wind pushing against it because the chop gets frantic, bouncing in every which direction. I found it better to keep heading south and get in the shallows of the First National Bank and go from there.  Good to hear the intrepid crew made it roundtrip.