Jewel Key

In the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast lie an area called the 10,000 Islands.  This is part of The Everglades National Park at Florida’s southern tip.  Rick and I have returned from  a week of kayaking; a warm, southern preparation for our planned Maine Island Trail trip in the summer.

Rick and I kayaked  the 10,000 Islands two years ago.  At that time we left Everglades City, where one has to sign in and present the park ranger with a night-by-night itinerary, and did a week- long loop, camping on Tiger Key, Picnic Key, Jewell Key,  and Rabbit Key.  These are Park designated campsites, of course, of which there are two types: beach sites and chickees.  The keys (and further south some mainland ‘cape’ sites) are white shell beaches, small sand coves on the windward side of mangrove islands.  Chickees are inland campsites, plastic wood platforms near the mangrove shore.  They are 10X12 feet, covered, and  in the case of the Joe River double chickee where we camped, connected by a walkway on which sits a plastic portable toilet.

In 2009 Rick and I had our leaky Folboat (with sail) circa 1972 that we’d bought over the telephone, without seeing it, on craigslist. There’d been a vague, far-away picture of the craft under sail.  We should have been tipped off by the typography of the instruction leaflet reproduced on the post.  1970′s for sure. The 10,000 islands were so beautiful we wanted to return.  This time we bought a Wilderness Systems Northstar, a plastic tandem kayak, also from craigslist, also unseen.  A better deal all around, and a better deal at $500., than a rented kayak.  Rick found (online, of course) a 50-week a year home for the kayak.  We borrowed paddles, lifejackets and other gear, too cumbersome for carry-on luggage.

In 2011 we went point-to-point, from Everglades City to Flamingo, the southern terminus of the ‘Wilderness Waterway’,  a marked 99 mile water trail inside the mangroves.  Our plan was to stay on the ‘outside’ in the gulf of Mexico because, in our opinion, the sand beaches are nicer campsites than the chickees.  And because the mangrove shores look very much alike.   On the third day, though, rain, heavy winds and a following sea made decision to go inside easy.  I’d begun to think my hat was too tight (tightened in the wind) until I realized that even in the tandem, a tank of a boat, we were wallowing enough for me to be sick.  We went into the Shark River and stopped at the Joe River chickee for the night.  Inland (the ‘Wilderness Waterway’) the waters were much calmer.  Dolphins arched in the river ahead of us, and as I watched one foot-long fish jump 20 inches out of the water, another jumped nearly into the cockpit, deflecting off my hand, it’s cold, hard fishness a shock.

I don’t often get sea-sick kayaking.  It’s like driving; one has something to do and is in control.  Our faded pink  Northstar was so stable that, not wanting to get my feet wet, I could walk along the deck to enter the forward cockpit.  Perhaps best of all, it had tightly strapped hatch covers.  There is no fresh water (except for rainfall and dewfall) in the 10,000 Islands.  Raccoons and rats will chew into soft-sided water containers for water.  We’d started with 12 gallons of water (96 pounds), way too much.  In the cool weather neither of us drank our allotted gallon per day.

Cape Sable
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