Gopher Key, etc.

[Rob Stevens]

Has anyone been to Hamilton Mound, near Hog Key, or Johnson Mound off of Lostmans River? Has any thing been written about these two or Gopher Key?

[Rob Stevens]

   I'm going to answer my own question.  Ales Hrdlicka in "The Anthropology of Florida", 1922, wrote, among other things,  about Precolumbian sites in the Everglades. Johnson Mound or Johnson's Hammock is also called the Royal Palm Hammock. Hamilton Mound is also called St. Mary's Island, I think. Hog Key might be St. Mary's Key. You can find the book on the internet. There's 15 pages on sites below Chokolososkee.

   Both of these mounds are on Waterproof Chart #39, MapQuest, and the Florida Delorme Atlas

  

[SrHite]

I got within less than a hundred yards of Hamilton Mound about a week ago on a creek. I'm planning to go back and walk to the mound this week. I'll try to get to Johnson Mound too, but it is probably going to be just about impossible.

Rob Stevens said:

   I'm going to answer my own question.  Ales Hrdlicka in "The Anthropology of Florida", 1922, wrote, among other things,  about Precolumbian sites in the Everglades. Johnson Mound or Johnson's Hammock is also called the Royal Palm Hammock. Hamilton Mound is also called St. Mary's Island, I think. Hog Key might be St. Mary's Key. You can find the book on the internet. There's 15 pages on sites below Chokolososkee.

   Both of these mounds are on Waterproof Chart #39, MapQuest, and the Florida Delorme Atlas

  

[Flex Kayakfari.com]

I visited Gopher Key mound as part of a late season 10k islands trip. It's a long ridge, obviously overgrown, but real easy to spot from a distance as the gumbo limbo trees growing on it are the tallest around!

(click pic)

https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/trips-sea-stories-pics/camping-hell...

(click for interactive panorama)

The panorama is a couple miles away on Gopher Creek (very shallow). You can see the mound in the distance - the only tall patch in sight!

[yakmaster]

Where's that panorama?

looks delicious!

[Terry]

Looks like Pelican Bay at the headwaters of Charley Creek to me.

A weird prehistoric looking place with a forbidding feel.   Before GPS

it was confusing to navigate and tide mastery is still a must.

Another WW feature for through trippers to put on their must-do list.

yakmaster said:

Where's that panorama?

looks delicious!

[Flex Kayakfari.com]

Terry's got it! I almost expected some Dinosaurs to gallop through that area ..

We had GE printouts to guide us, but had extra time waiting for more water to fill in before heading out via Charley Creek.

BTW, when you click on the pano there will be an info button you can click on and see it on the map!

[Kim Gass]

Loved Charley reek and Gopher Key..

Coming from  Maine we sorta had the tides and delays all figgered out.. to aid in the flush

[SrHite]

I didn't manage to get onto Hamilton Mound on my second attempt. Mostly due to very high tidal activity. Next winter, I'll make it to Hamilton Mound and Johnson Mound.