Fakahatchee River

[Terry]

Vivian asked on 26 January "...is the Fakahatchee River open?", I take that as an

invitation to the next probe.   Faka Union River and East River shown here as

white lines are open excellent canoe routes.  The Fakahatchee River, the blue line, has

the best landing and would make another great addition to a loop trip connecting with

either Faka Union or East River.  The only little reconnaissance I have heard so far is

it's closed up.   Does anybody know anything about the Fakahatchee River from

Tamiami Trail down to Fakahatchee Bay?

[Jay]

Just landed in Brazil.  Following the crew on the SPOT.  Wishing I was there.....Good luck!

[Jay]

Wow - huge gap on the SPOT - and they are heading up the East River!  Way to go!

[Flex Kayakfari.com]

I thought you guyz had given up when the Spot track stopped .. nice going!!

My keys were in the garage, no wonder I couldn't find 'em~

[yakmaster]

Sorry folks, we seem to have  had technical difficulties with the spot along with assorted general difficulties. I will post a complete track tomorrow and I'm sure there will be trip reports as well...

 

All feet dry & successful!

[yakmaster]

OK boys & girls there it is!

The definitive Fakahatchee route. I am posting a picture and the Garmin Track.

 

 

But a word of warning, while this track is the way, it may not be the only way. And while it may not be the only way, many other ways that look like the way, are not. So be VERY careful using this track and even more careful deviating from it.

 

This is not an easy route by any means. This route's speeds are not measured in miles per hour, but in hours per mile.

 

Special thanks to Terry for making it all possible and to Jay for his probes, they really helped.

I am sure trip reports shall foillow

[Amazon Bill]

You all brought another major route back to life!  That one section near Lat 54.65 has many switch backs like over 25.  I would like to hear the stories from that section. How narrow was the creek in all that cover?

[yakmaster]

Some of the clusters are gps variations during breaks. Others are cluster f***s (site policies prevent clearer expressions of the reality on the water) of a different nature.

[Amazon Bill]

That's  Cluster Flusters :)

[Flex Kayakfari.com]

I've been upset that I missed it, call it "Combination Platter"

[Esther Luft]

Extremely challenging route.  Great trip with amazing scenery.  As Charlie said, many promising paths leading nowhere.  This is a counter-intuitive route.  The tight opening was usually the correct route. 

We launched a little before 7:00 a.m. and made back before 5:00 p.m.   Proper vessels are short and narrow; that includes canoes.  Long boats should stay home.  The easiest access was had Mark in his 10' kayak and Tim in his 12' Old Town Canoe (32"beam).  Regardless of what vessel was in use, everyone encountered difficult obstacles at some point in the route.

My ride -- Old Town Explorer, 14'8" with a beamy 36" at it's widest point.  It was just too wide for several parts of this trail.  Had it been just 2' narrower it would have been ideal.  What did that mean?  Well, there was a lot of tree climbing and boat lifting to clear tight areas, mostly mid-route.  Special thanks to Dan and Lee who helped (Kathy, my paddling buddy for the day and myself) lift our boat over the tight points. Keep in mind that after they helped us, they had their own canoe to deal with.  Their canoe was little narrower than ours and still several areas required lifting.  Obstructions were frequent but manageable.  The length was not a significant issue.  There was enough water to pull over most downed logs.  Mind you, the top of the route was mostly a pull through route. Tight passage was had between mangroves and marshland, still navigable though.  There is a lot of dry land out there right now.  Dan and Lee just got out and turned their canoe instead of fighting to paddle.

The lower end of the route, before reaching the open river, was stunning with tall trees and a tall lush canopy.  You could hear birds signing throughout the route.  Despite a toasty 84, the temperature on the route was comfortable compliments of the shade provide by the canopy.  For those seeking a less challenging adventure in the 10,000 islands, the lower end of this route provides an amazing opportunity to paddle a seldom traversed river. 

The most difficult part of the paddle, for me, was the open section of the river leading to the bay.  It was windy, the tide was flooding and we were getting blown around like leaves in the wind.  Talk about paddling hard!   With Kathy's help, we made it to the East River.  We had to paddle hard.  If you know me, you can appreciate the difficulty.  Kathy never quit.  I was very impressed.  Most women would have pooped out.  

East River update -- all the marking tape leading nowhere is now gone.  What a relief.  If you ever paddled that river you know that some folks went tape crazy over time marking paths and dead ends all the same.  Yikes.

SPOT does not broadcast well under a thick canopy and must be flat facing up in order to work properly.  Nothing is perfect, it's still a great device.  Verizon worked the entire way through with good signal strength.  That means you can cheat with Google Earth.  Just remember, all GPS devices have a deviation, usually in the 9' range (phones greater than handheld devices).  In wilderness areas such as this, two-feet can be the difference between the right path and wild goose chase to nowhere.  Keep that in mind whenever using electrical devices on your route. 

My special thanks go to Kathy for sharing my ride after Flex's unfortunate key situation that caused him to miss the trip, Mark who stayed back to make sure all the chickens made it safely to the coop, Dan and Lee for their amazing assist and of course Terry, for assembling such a lovely batch of mixed nuts.  See you on the next adventure.

[Terry]

An excellent trip and many thanks to everyone that made it possible.

The Fakahatchee River could be the best of the trio, East River and Faka Union River, in that area.

Weaver Station is a large grassy area with plenty of room to park and prepare.   Even entering

the dry season the river had good water depth for the entire length.   Why oh why has the

Fakahatchee been let go to get overgrown, reminds us of Turner River before the canal was

filled in.  If there's ever a river that screams out for care and maintenance it's the Fakahatchee.

[Jay]

Great TR's.  I am interested in the conditions you faced between the ends of my two probes.  When I stopped going northbound on probe 2, it looked like things were closing up.  Just wondering how long after I turned around from Probe 1 did it start opening up?  Was is very gradual?