Ferguson Bay Loop

[Terry]

On Saturday 4 February 2012 Esther, Flex, Amanda, Dan, Kara and I launched 2 canoes and 2

kayaks from the Gulf Coast Ranger Station at 07:30.  It's a good loop, very open and clear the

entire way, we got back to the ranger station at 15:00.

Paddlers like mangrove tunnels but you haven't seen them like this.  Barron Creek, barely

visible on Goggle Earth from 53.000'N and 23.134'W to 53.157'N and 23.284'W, is a

hidden-from-satellite airboat size tunnel!  There's a shallow lake just to the east of Ferguson Bay

but we were able to push/paddle the boats through the thick muddy water at low tide.  Most of

Ferguson River is a more natural, deep water, beautiful tunnel through a tall mangrove forest,

the river widens as it approaches Lane Cove.

There's airboat traffic on the east side of the Everglades National Park boundary line but it's no

different than being passed by power boaters.  Even though we could hear many in the distance

we were only passed twice by the same airboat.  The passages are very channelized so paddlers

are not hidden as they are in open grass areas.  These same tight twisting channels force the

airboats to go slow so paddlers only need to get to the side when they hear an airboat coming

their way.  The airboats seem to wake up at about 09:00 and by 10:00 they can be heard in

full force, so a smart approach is to get an early start and get past the canal that parallels the

old highway to Everglades City at 52.966'N and 23.046'W.

This connects the Big Cypress National Preserve canoe trail network with the canoe trails

of northwest Everglades National Park and Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve.  Using this

route paddlers can stay in the back country all the way from Turner River to West Pass Bay.

[Esther Luft]

So do we have a date?  Sir Charles? 

[Terry]

Don't have a date yet but the next trip over to the west coast will be

to do the Figure Eight.

[yakmaster]

Charlie's in hibernation until after April 15th, I gotta do my part to fund the squestration.

 

But we could do something thereafter. Here's a pic to peak your interest...

 

 

 

Purty ain't it.