Travel – Page 15 – Richard Rathe's Reflections

Solo Everglades Kayak Trip 2015

My eighteenth trip and my first solo! I finally made my way around Cape Sable, and explored some new places along the way… [Gallery]

I started out at Flamingo, where the marina is split in two by a dam. I put in on the north side and proceeded up the Buttonwood Canal to Coot Bay.

From there it was a fairly uneventful trip up to the North River Chickee.

Saw this lone Osprey next to his nest right at the confluence of the two main channels. I think he was trying to attract a mate.

The next morning I loaded up as shown here…

[Note the two items behind the seat, foul weather gear in the orange bag and my big camera in a black waterproof box. This made both accessible without much turning.]

…and headed northeast up one of the many channels of the North River…

The Bladderworts (carnivorous plants) were blooming.

I went as far as I could go and almost lost a shoe in the mud. Got a bit lost on the return trip. It was a real maze! I made it back to the chickee just in time to share dinner with my friend Larry Rooks and his cousin who were on a fishing trip with a powerboat. Serendipity!

After dinner I skedaddled and made it to the Watson River Chickee just as darkness fell. The bugs were out so I retreated to my extra large tent and sat in my backpacker’s chair. Like having my own private screen porch….Sweet! There was no moon so the stars were brilliant, especially Orion and Sirius.

On the third day I headed up through The Labyrinth on my way to the Shark River.

Spotted my first White Pelicans soaring…

My plan was to stay as far north as possible and come down Graveyard Creek to the campsite at it’s outlet. This was a bit of extra work at low tide, but passible. The campsite was totally different from what I remember. It was overgrown and very buggy. I headed to the tent early, sat in my chair and read a book.

The next morning was something that had to be endured. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of no-see-ums on the tent! When I finally got out, I was under attack the entire time I was packing up. The only relief came from walking about the site to keep ahead of the little bastards. Worst I’ve seen. I was so glad to get out on the water!

I began sailing almost immediately. and quickly crossed Ponce de León Bay (the mouth of the Shark River). Met another solo kayaker named Steve on the way. The wind increased and the waves grew until I judged it to be too dangerous to sail (15-20 knot wind, 2-3 foot waves). The coastline was rather uninviting, with a fence of fallen trees and no beach showing. At Big Sable Creek I found one little spot that got me out of the wind and waves. After that I had an uneventful peddle to Northwest Cape. This gave me a bit of relief from the waves so I decided to sail again. I tacked downwind at about ten knots ever watchful for an involuntary gybe. This became a real possibility due to the growing waves that changed my heading 30° or more in a few seconds. [Video] I put the sail down when I reached the Lake Ingraham Inlet (that’s Middle Cape in the distance below).

Once I reached the Cape I found a nice little campsite out of the wind with a view of the sunset. This was the only night I was not alone. There were two kayak parties and several fishing boats.

The next day I started out on a port tack and sailed almost all the way to Carl Ross Key without turning (something like 14 miles!). As I passed East Cape I looked up and saw the fluke of a Manatee as it dove. I planned to eat lunch there but then my rudder failed. So I peddled on and steered with my paddle. It wasn’t bad, I only had to put in a stroke every ten seconds or so. I ate lunch in the boat and cruised the eastern side of Carl Ross and the larger Sandy Key. The later is off limits to humans and as a consequence there were birds in abundance, including rare White Herons and Bald Eagles.

From there I crossed an enormous shallow bank for another ten miles to get to the Johnson’s Key Chickee. This one is a bit different, built higher (for the waves?) with a dock at the waterline. The place was filthy with bird droppings due to its location. I swabbed the deck with my bucket and my foot, and got my abode for the night tolerably clean.

The water was reasonably warm and very clear so I went for a swim before dinner. Afterward I just sat in my chair and took in the vistas. Beautiful place! While I was sitting there saw a Horned Grebe fishing for his dinner. In the near distance I could hear and see yet another Bald Eagle.

The next morning was spent mostly following a marked channel because everywhere else was too shallow. The floating seagrass kept fouling my drive. There were lots of White Pelicans feeding in small groups all the way across the bay. I arrived back at the marina but now on the low side of the dam. A easy finish to a great trip!

Everglades Sail Kayak Trip 2014

There were many firsts on this trip: First time we drove all the way from North Florida to Flamingo and started the trip in one day. First time we’ve spent a significant amount of time traveling at night. First time we got lost. First time we sailed on Whitewater Bay. First time we declared a weather emergency and did not camp at our designated site. First time we got skunked on more than one campsite. Oyster Bay was closed for repairs and Shark and Watson River Chickees were booked solid. We were so busy I didn’t have much time for photography, but I got a few good shots and panoramas. [gallery]

Larry and I started at the Hells Bay Trailhead just as the sun was setting. It was a full moon and the temperature quickly dropped into the 40’s. This is the one part of the park that has trail markers so navigation was no big deal. We got to Lard Can around 10:30pm only to find an extra party camped there (they were novices who didn’t make it to Pearl Bay). We found the last bit of dry flat ground, put up the tent and went to sleep.

The next day we made it to the Hells Bay Chickee before I realized I had left my sail at the last stop. I pedaled back to retrieve it and this wasted an hour or two complicating our late start. (As a conciliation I did see a Manatee as I crossed Pearl Bay!) We got down to Whitewater Bay late in the afternoon and headed north. My goal was to get into one of the two branches of the North River before it was completely dark. Sadly this was not to be, and it was very dark with no moon by the time we got up there. The compass and map weren’t much use as we poked around in the mangroves. Then we got the idea to turn on Larry’s iPhone. (The GPS part works even when there is no phone service.) I thought I could get longitude and latitude and locate us on the map. It turned out to be easier than I thought it would be, a low-resolution map of the area was still cached in the phone’s memory. There was just enough detail to allow us to see that the river was just around the corner. (What a relief!) After that we pedaled along without incident up to the North River Chickee. Again it was after 10:30 and we went to bed without bothering to cook dinner. (Note: Thinking about it the next day I realized my camera also has GPS, so we could have gotten long/lat from there as well.)

We got up late on the third day to try and synchronize with the tides later in the day. Once we were back in open water we sailed about eight miles across upper Whitewater Bay. This was great of course. We had a rest and ate an impromptu meal on the Oyster Bay Chickee, which had a tent and gear on it from a fishing party. (Little did we know we would see them again!) We then headed down the Shark River with the outgoing tide. This was a good plan, until we came around the last bend and faced a stiff breeze and three foot waves on the Gulf. I had intended to pedal the mile or so across Ponce de León Bay to our campsite near Graveyard Creek, but the water was so rough we did not think it wise to proceed. So we turned around and retraced our route back up the river in the dark. We decided to return to the Oyster Bay Chickee and see if the fishermen would take pity on us.

The current was not as fast as I had feared and the pedal kayaks helped us make good time. At one point we were surrounded by a pod of Dolphins feeding. We could hear them splashing and breathing all around us. I saw a dorsal fin cross three feet in front my bow at one point. Everything turned out well when we finally got there. It was the first day the double chickee was back in service and they were the only party. They helped us get organized and even gave me a beer. We pitched our tent and for the third night we went to bed about 11pm without cooking dinner.

The next day we headed back across the bay. We decided that the opportunity for more sailing and an early arrival outweighed exploration of the small creeks and ponds to the north of Whitewater Bay. (It had been my intention to travel up the northern branches of the Shark River if we had camped at Graveyard Creek.) It was calm when we set out, but a light breeze rose before we got to the halfway point. By the time we got to the other side we had plenty of wind. We kept the sails up as we maneuvered into the mouth of the Northern Fork of the North River (not as easy as it sounds) and proceeded to sail all the way up to the Chickee. We cooked our first hot meal and Larry even had some time to fish.

The fifth day was a breeze. We continued north to the Roberts River Cut Off. (This is one of several lateral connections between rivers in the Everglades, which can be very convenient!) We proceeded down the Roberts River and passed several huge houseboats pulled up at the next Chickee. Seemed a bit unfair since they could throw out an anchor almost anywhere and legally spend the night. The Roberts shares its mouth with the Lane River, so as we rounded the corner we again sailed up river almost to the Lane Bay Chickee by about 2pm. After lunch I took some time to read while Larry went out on the bay to fish. They weren’t biting. After dinner and just at dusk larry took a few casts off the chickee and almost immediately hooked a Ladyfish. Apparently this species is not very good to eat, but lots of fun to catch and release, which he proceeded to do for the next twenty minutes or so. One of them even jumped in his kayak!

On the final day we got up early and headed back down to Hells Bay. On the way we passed what must have been a group of Outward Bound campers who were bivouacked on top of their canoes back in the mangrove. We got back to our car about noon and just as we were tying the kayaks down, it started to rain. We changed into dry clothes in a fast food restroom before heading up the turnpike and home. I was destined to repeat the journey the next day for a second trip with my cousins.

Galapagos Islands 2013

We recently visited Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. After many hours of editing the first complete Gallery of Photos is ready. I will add to this post periodically. Here is my overview of selected highlights…

We arrived about noon and proceeded to nearby Black Turtle Bay where we saw Sea Turtles, Sharks, and Golden Rays amongst the mangroves. If you have enough bandwidth you should also view the 12 Minute Video I’ve prepared to see them in motion!

After an overnight cruise we awoke the next day anchored in Darwin Bay on Genovesa Island (basically the flooded caldera of an extinct volcano!). After a wet landing on a sandy beach we had our first encounters with Sea Lions and nesting Frigate Birds. (With many, many more to come!)

After snorkeling and lunch we climbed a narrow stairway to reach the top of the island. Over one million birds nest here according to our guide. We saw thousands of Petrels, Shearwaters, Frigate Birds, and Boobies in the air and on their nests. We also saw their top predator, the Short-Eared Owl. [I should note that the panoramas below were taken with my iPhone 4s, which did a remarkable job under the circumstances! See Video to get a feel for the thousands of birds flying overhead!]

We again cruised overnight and woke up anchored in Sullivan Bay near the iconic Pinnacle Rock of Bartolomé Island. The landscape is stark and strangely beautiful almost beyond words. We first climbed to the Bartolomé summit for one of the most famous views in all of the Galápagos. We were standing on an old cinder cone almost completely barren of plants. In the near distance was the pinnacle and our barkentine sailboat the Mary Anne. Beyond a narrow channel was Santiago Island with black lava flows and red rock outcrops. Spectacular!!

On the ascent I spotted a Galápagos Hawk feeding on an iguana…

We then took a snorkel around the pinnacle and came across Galápagos Penquins sunning themselves on the rocks…

After lunch we crossed the narrow passage and landed on Santiago Island at the site of extensive lava flows dating from the 1800s. We walked for more than two miles over black Pāhoehoe Lava with endless patterns, swirls and cracks.

The next day we arrived at Rábida Island with its prominent red cliff and red sand beach. We took an extended dingy ride along the coast (to the right in the photo below). The hillsides were covered with dormant Sandalwood Trees and Prickly Pear (Opuntia) Cactus. [See Video]

This was our first encounter with the quintessential Blue-Footed Boobie, a magnificent bird! There were also Marine Iguanas, Sally Lightfoot Crabs and Sea Lions playing in the surf.

We went for a hike around a point overlooking a blue water bay, and then went snorkeling.

Several Sea Lion Pups decided we were good targets for playing chicken! [See Video]

In the afternoon we landed at a point called Cerro Dragón.

The “dragons” in this case are large yellow Land Iguanas. We also encountered a lovely Large-Billed Flycatcher. It was so unafraid it landed on a branch about four feet from me!

As the sun got low in the west we encountered a pair of Flamingos busily feeding in a small lagoon. [See Video]

The next day we spent traveling around in the dingy, cruising the coastline and landing on a small island called Mosquera, which is a sea lion resort! [See Video]

Someone had gathered the bones of a small Beaked Whale and assembled them on the beach.

Next day we moved down the coast of Santa Cruz and landed on the small South Plaza Island. This is a wildlife and photographic paradise! Sea Lions, Marine and Land Iguanas, Cactus Finches, Mocking Birds, Swallow-Tailed Gulls… you name it!

The island gently slopes from a shoreline to a forty foot cliff. There we saw several Red-Billed Tropicbirds as they flew in the updrafts close to the cliff edge.

That afternoon we proceeded south to Santa Fé Island for a different species of Land Iguana, Tree-Sized Cactus and a large Sea Lion Colony.

Our final day on the water brought us to Española Island with its high cliffs and unique residents.

The Marine Iguanas were the most colorful we’d seen…

A pair of Blue-Footed Boobies did their courtship dance on the trail as we walked past…

Young Fur Sea Lions cavorted in the surf…

And finally the Waved Albatross courting and nesting along the trail… [See Video]

The next day we got in a van and drove through the Santa Cruz Highlands back to the airport. Along the way we had the opportunity to visit a water hole with several Giant Tortoises lounging in it. A perfect coda to an outstanding trip!