Tides - NIghtmare

[Jay]

Doing some rough planning - I have done some searching (maybe I am just bad a searching) and could not find any posting regarding tides - and The Nightmare.

At a nominal 0.0 low tide at Harney, how soon after the Harney low tide could you leave and have the nightmare be passable?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Jay

[Flex Kayakfari.com]

The 'Nightmare'  part is not about getting lost, but about being stranded for several hours if the water runs out ..

Ideally you should hit the entrance just before high tide so you'll have more than enough time to get through to the other side!

[Jay]

That's what I was afraid of.     I have high tides at 1:23am and 3:36pm with a sunset at 5:34pm.  I appreciate the input.

Jay

[vivian]

Just found out from a friend living at choko, that a few guides report Isaac made nightmare impassable. Hopefully it will be opened by rangers before season opens.

[Jay]

Good report.  Thanks.

[daniel]

remember too that soon we will have less tidal height overall... there will be less water in some of those places... summer is always a little more forgiving. 

[Keith W]

I've run Broad Creek at 2 AM and the Nightmare at 3 AM under a full moon in order to catch the high tide. It's beautiful, you should give it a try if they clear the trail by the time you make your trip.

http://www.floridaadventuring.com/everglades-national-park-broad-cr...

http://www.floridaadventuring.com/everglades-national-park-broad-cr...

[Jay]

Thanks Keith.  Yep - I'll have a full moon.  If the weather looks like it will cooperate, I might give it a try.

[vivian]

Nice write up Keith! Have you ever taken that connector creek to the wood river from the harney? Its the creek just past MM16

[Terry]

I probed that creek and found it too grown in back in 1975.

That was back when the Wood River was passable by motorboat

all the way to Camp Lonesome.  But, things change, is it passable now?

This is in Buckley's territory.

Somebody was talking about that creek a while back, I think on this

website.

[Kim Gass]

Last January we attempted to paddle the Nightmare but we knew from the tides we would never make the whole way.  We paddled between marker 12 and 17 on a lowering to low tide. We did not notice any entry creeks anywhere,  Maybe on a high tide there might be something.

 

At 17 we looked at sandbars across the river going through the Nightmare and exited via Broad Creek to the Gulf.

[Terry]

I've used the Nightmare on all my through trips, it's a WW feature.

I only got stuck once on a dead low tide.   The slog was only about

50 feet right in the middle at the tightest spot but that was the nastiest

mud I've ever been in.  A mud/marl mix that holds you tight as you

sink up to your butt.

You shouldn't have a problem as long as you go through at mid

to high tide.

[Jay]

Any updates on the status of the Nightmare - RE: Isaac?