Lake Okeechobee to Flamingo Backcountry Mountain Bike Trip Spring 2015 5-6 days, 210 miles

[shawn beightol]

Here is the description of the ride plan so far.  I am open to suggestions to modifying the route.  It is by no means final until we start (and file our plans with the powers that be).  I'm thinking spring break next year and from my experience of riding (only on weekends) without training/conditioning, 20 -30 miles a day on back country dirt "roads" is tops (think the crossover between nobles and bundschu or monument trail without the shell).  Levee or maintained dirt roads would permit 40-50 miles per day.  I
did Okeechobee rim 4 years ago and 48 miles from Clewiston to Okeechobee City was enough to make me ready for the hot tub at the KOA...but there won't be a hot tub on this ride unless we scout something up.

 

a continuous mountain bike trip from lake okeechobee down to flamingo via levees and ORV trails.

The entire route is ~210 miles:

Day 1  ~ 50 miles on levees and decent (dirt) roads.

along Miami canal from Lake Harbor/John Stretch to the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum,

then over to Nobles Grade (FT). 

Camp off Nobles Grade by the airstrip/water tower (Dave knows this spot)

 

Day 2 ~ 21 miles on backcountry "roads"/paths (some bushwacking?)

then diagonally down (hopefully) off Crossover /"campfire trail" to mm70,

then down Concho Billie ORV trail to monument ORV trail to Loop Road

Camp off Concho Billie/Monument Trail around 26.08485, -81.16361 (see attached LO2BC-day2.jpg)

Day 3 ~ 30 miles (rough ORV trails)

Continue down Concho Billie to Monument, cross 41

down loop road (south then east) to paces dike rd

camp off paces dike (see attached LO2BC-day3.jpg)

 

Day 4 ~50-60 miles on levee roads

east along the 41 to l67ext canal. 

Here, cross 41 to north side and head east on l29 canal levee to the Krome Canal (l31) which brings you by chekika

camp somewhere between chekika park and  SW 288 st (an abandoned road that goes west into the glades) - see LO2BC-day4.jpg.

Day 5  ~ 50-60 miles

then SW 288 St west until it turns south (approx SW 300 Ave) and heads toward the pineland trail off Hwy 9336 (Ingraham Hwy) in ENP.  There's about 2 miles of unblazed prairie riding to get to Ingraham Hwy.

From Ingrahams Hwy at Pineland, ride through Nike missile site to old Ingraham's hwy then across Coe and ingraham backcountry campgrounds. 

Either Camp  at one of these and finish day 6 in the morning or continue on and finish in 5 days.  See LO2BC-day5&6.jpg

 

Notes

Warning - day 5 is already going to be tough with the distance PLUS off trail for 2-3 miles from SW 300 Ave to Long Pine Key Trail.  To add the 4 miles of unscouted Ingrahm Highway trail at the end is REALLY pushing it...probably beyond realistic abilities.  Hence the reference to 6 days.  Suggested to camp at Old Ingram, then push on in the morning, day 6.  This way, we could also add the snake bight loop to get off paved Ingrahm Highway.

 

If we camp at Old Ingrahm on Day 5, that's 38 miles including the rough going from SW 300 Ave to Long Pine Key

 

Then Day 6 would be 14 miles via Ingraham Highway to Snake Bight to Flamingo

 

We COULD significantly save on days 2 & 3 if we rode Nobles Grade down to mm 63, then crossed and took the ORV trails that parallel the FNST to Oasis.  Then we would need to ride east on 41.

 

Also, by the Nike Missile site in ENP, there's what looks to be an old road grade that runs SW diagonally to the west corner of the old Ingraham Hwy by Old Ingraham Camp (see yellow lines).  This could save 8 miles of riding on Day 5, but it would likely involve heavy bushwacking and pushing the bikes.  I don't think this would be fun.

 

More than half of this route is either scouted or verified as passable.  Some interesting scouting opportunities coming up would be the crossover to mm 70 in Addition Lands, parallel ORV trails to FT south of MM 63 to oasis (Ive ridden up from Oasis parallel to FNST and its good riding).  I think the "Old Tamiami Trail" through Seminole reservation and east of it would be interesting to ride with a machete to clear the Brazilian pepper overgrowth and open this road up to hiking and riding.  The SW 300 ave dirt road to long pine key has not been ridden by me, but Dave says he has done this.  I'd like to scout it before committing.  Old Ingraham Hwy needs scouting (the last 4 western miles to connect to park/paved road)

 

[shawn beightol]

Sign on for next year's "edge-o-glades 2016 ride and do the whole thing with us

[Swamp Hunter]

Who needs ROGG?

[shawn beightol]

Some big developers

[shawn beightol]

Just get on your bikes and ride

[Flex Kayakfari.com]

shawn beightol said:

Just get on your bikes and ride

[Roger Hammer]

I don't know if they've instigated this yet but Old Ingraham Road in ENP is destined to be designated Wilderness (or already is), which means it will be off limits to bicycles. There's even talk about digging the road fill up and removing it entirely. WTF?

[shawn beightol]

don't get me started.  that ruined my summer plan to bike in and out of ernest coe campground while I worked there.  I had to hike it until I could arrange alternative transportation.  meanwhile I couldn't ride my bike cause it would damage the environment, I documented plenty of tire tracks from their vehicles going back there...and more.

If you're interested, I sent the following to the congressmen/women who called the field hearing on Biscayne National Park for 1) rushing ahead of FWC to establish a reserve 2) ignoring public input and 3) departing from their earlier words (both specifically about BISC and generally when establishing DRTOs reserve) - that there wouldn't be a reserve.  My point in my letter is that DOI/NPS has a history of restricting access without public input.

This is the part of my letter about Old Ingraham and if you are interested, maybe we can get the bicycling community to bombard the Natural Resources committee (naturalresources at mail.house.gov <- replace at with @ and no spaces) to keep the historic old ingraham highway open to access.  Its been around since 1920s:

3) That Old Ingraham Highway in Everglades National Park was suddenly closed to bicyclists in January by a wilderness proponent interim superintendent of Everglades.  Old Ingraham Highway was suddenly closed since it is in "potential wilderness." I hope Congress will move to have this historic, scenic road left open as it has been open to bicyclist for almost 100 years until the interim superintendent suddenly closed it in january 2015 with no warning or public input.  Congress could simply tell NPS that this is a corridor exempt from Wilderness (it's a concrete highway designated as a historical road by the Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Board and eligible for the Federal Register of Historic Places) so that it might continue to be utilized by bicyclists as EVEN NPS recommended prior to the interim superintendent(http://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/biking.htm ). The world's largest publisher of English language travel and tourism information, Fodor's  agrees, calling it "One of the Top 6 Experiences in Florida's Everglades" (http://www.fodors.com/news/story_3472.html ) , as does National Geographic, calling it "The Best of the National Parks" (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/national-parks/2007/wil... ).  The irony of it's sudden, unpublicized closure is that NPS notes on its own webpage "Many sections of the pineland trail system are not suitable for hiking during the summer months due to abundant mosquitoes and mud. The Old Ingraham Highway is a good alternative with year round access. "  In other words, NPS admits Ingraham Highway is superior year round for hiking and biking...

[Roger Hammer]

According to official rules, there aren't supposed to be any man-made structures in areas designated Wilderness, and I believe the entire ENP backcountry is Wilderness, so I guess they're just pretending they don't see the chickees. Old Ingraham Highway was/is one of the least used trails in the park, and if you can't bicycle down it then it'll get even less visited. I find it interesting, too, that where you see the most wildlife in ENP is around Anhinga Trail, Mrazek Pond, and Eco Pond, all man-made. You mentioned the interim superintendent being pro Wilderness...well, the current permanent superintendent who came from BICY is pro Wilderness also.

I don't have any problem with the marine reserve in BNP. People don't need to fish in every square inch of the park and it should act as a recruitment area to help increase fishing opportunities outside of the reserve. I think they need to curtail commercial shrimping in Biscayne Bay, too.

[shawn beightol]

I'm not against the reserve either I just think that if they made promises if they have an agreement with FWC and it required to include Public input that it should be genuine public input guided decision making I think that was the big issue with Biscayne National Park is that they're moving ahead doing things that they said they wouldn't do they're moving ahead of FWC and there are important stakeholders that were not included in the decision making process so again it's not about whether or not we need the reserve it's about we need the government entities that are managing our lands and waters to be working together and with the people that we appointed and elected to represent our viewpoints and our interests

[Connie Mier]

There was public input, I put my 2 cents worth in. But, let's just assume for a second that the science behind the reserve is robust enough to warrant a no-fishing zone. Why then is public input so dang important?

[shawn beightol]

really?  are we so far removed from a democracy that we don't need the "demos" any more?

there is so much built into your word "warrant"

there needs to be definitions, goals, and objectives that we the people agree upon.

But, again, I did not see an issue with the proposed reserve.  It was small.

But the problem is the manner in which it was accomplished, again, that DOI/NPS had communicated there would be no more requests for reserves after dry tortugas, that it was agreed with local (FWC) management that a reserve would be the last strategy (and FWC's position is that they had not exhausted other management strategies).

So again, my concern is that DOI/NPS do what they want, when they want it.

And the question I hear for BISC and BICY and other resources is "this much today, how much tomorrow?"  When does it stop and when do we know?  How do we trust people with "adaptive management" plans that allow them to make policy on their own without appropriate due process?

Connie Mier said:

There was public input, I put my 2 cents worth in. But, let's just assume for a second that the science behind the reserve is robust enough to warrant a no-fishing zone. Why then is public input so dang important?

[shawn beightol]

and if you both look back, I am not addressing BISC, I am addressing Old Ingraham highway.  I merely said that I sent the letter pertaining to access and due process to the congressmen/women who held the field hearing for similar issues with BISC.  

I do not want to argue BISC.  

I want Ingraham highway to remain open as it has been for 100 years to bicycle traffic.  It is historic and scenic.