After exploring the southern park the week before, I took a second trip in the north part with two of my cousins, Ann and Paige. [gallery] We had two pedal kayaks and a rented sit-inside model.
Our first day was literally “a breeze” with a warm sun and cool tailwind. We stopped to explore Sandfly Island and took the mile long loop trail. There were many interesting plants a long the way, both native and introduced. Apparently the former residents had an acre of tomatoes and other crops growing there! The freshwater spring was still running as it was the last time I visited. From there we proceeded out to Jewel Key and our first campsite…
We had a pleasant evening that ended with a small campfire on the beach. Little did we know the challenges we would face on the morrow!
We awoke to the tent flapping in a very strong wind from the northeast. We organized ourselves on leeward side of the island an prepared to cross the large stretch of open water between Jewell and Rabbit Key. Once we were away from the wind shadow it quickly became clear that the non-pedal kayak was a liability. It sat much higher in the water and was therefor much more surface to catch the crosswind. I estimated the wind to be near twenty mph. The waves were a good two feet high and periodically we’d get a group that were three feet or more. The wind also played a trick on us, becoming more and more perpendicular as we progressed (influenced by the surrounding islands). It became clear that we might be blown right past our target. On a hunch I decided to try and tow the floundering kayak. I grabbed the bow painter and dogged it on the small cleat near my thigh. To our surprise, it worked remarkably well! After about forty minutes we were all out of harms way.
Declaring my second weather emergency in less than a week, we decided not to press on, instead camping under the mangroves on northern end of Rabbit Key. The tide was out so we took a walking tour around the island as I have done in the past. The only disappointment was the lack of shorebirds, most of which were presumably roosting somewhere out of the wind. As we rested that afternoon I got a chance to start the book I had brought along The Control of Nature by John Mcphee. At dusk I spotted a flock of 15-20 Frigate Birds. (I’d only seen one or two at a time in the past.) The next day we headed inland and up the Lopez River where we stopped for lunch. At one point we had three or four Osprey Nests in view and while we were taking pictures the suddenly got very upset.
But it wasn’t us—after a few seconds a Bald Eagle appeared and flew over at treetop level. No wonder they were upset! It was the first time I’d seen an Eagle in the Park!!
We got to the Crooked Creek Chickee by about 3pm and Paige decided to take swim. It was getting warmer and as the breeze died that evening we had mosquitos for the first time in a week. The next morning was warm and wet and we hit the trail early to make time for a trip through the mangrove tunnels of Halfway Creek. There were many white birds roosting near the entrance and a lone Roseate Spoonbill! The upper creek is reliable place to see Alligators and there were two big ones sunning themselves along the bank as we passed by. After a trail lunch we made quick work of the creek and pulled into the Ranger Station about 2pm.