It started out so well… then the wind and waves shut us down–again. I haven’t had a “normal” Everglades trip since 2017! [Gallery]
I decided to try December to see if conditions would be better than the usual time in January. It did not make any difference in the end. On the plus side there were no bugs!
Roseate Spoonbills at the Put-In
The first day was low-key peddling the five miles out to Jewel Key. The day started warm and calm but by the time we arrived the wind was rising and the temperature was falling fast. We found a nice little place out the wind for our kitchen and I slept out in the open under the stars.
Rick slept in a small tent which we had to tie down to keep it from blowing away. We both used small cots to keep things comfortable. We saw over a hundred White Pelicans while we were there.
The next day began sunny and cold. We decided to make an attempt to sail downwind. We didn’t get very far because, even with reefed sails, there was so much wind we could not steer the boats!
Photo does not do justice to the waves!
We originally planned to do a big loop up the Lostman’s River. But we decided to bail out at Rabbit Key after being pushed around by the following seas. The problem is you can’t really see what’s coming. When a big wave strikes you are forced off course or nearly pitched out of the boat!
What had been the main campsite was in bad shape due to recent storms and perhaps lack of maintenance (?), so we took what used to be the secondary site on the point. I’ve camped here several times over the years and it’s only gotten better with powdered-sugar sand and healthy mangroves for cover.
Fortunately for us Rick brought a box of Cabernet to fortify our bivouac. We even had time for a driftwood fire on the beach.
Rick stayed in his tent while I went back in the woods to hang my hammock.
Note the cot!Note use of the rainfly as a windbreak!
We walked the entire shore at low tide and met the local Ospreys nesting there.
Our Collection of Trinkets
After two nights the wind calmed and we headed back to the take-out. We finally had a chance to sail and there was enough wind for Rick to flip over. He self-rescued quickly but we had to stop to pump water out of his boat. We got back to the car just as the sun was setting.
It had been ten years since I last visited Lake Powell. This year I went with my college friend Al and his partner Marian. [Full Gallery] Not having our own boat, we decided to rent a houseboat from the Bullfrog Marina. This turned out to be a great idea! With a few exceptions it was clean and well maintained (certain lights and the gas grill did not work). The main problem was how late in the day we got started (nominal “check in” time is 10am, we did not leave until after 3pm). For various reasons the day we left was very crowded (COVID19, low water facilitating small boat campers, last big week-end of the summer, etc.)
On Our Way!
In the few hours we had on the first day we headed north to Forgotten Canyon. It was packed with small boats and large groups of people camped on the beaches exposed by the low water level. We retreated and found a small anchorage on a large bend near a side canyon (which we explored by kayak first thing the next day).
Our First Kayak ExcursionAlcove with 100 Foot Dry Waterfall Above
On Day 2 we moved back up the canyon so we could be closer to activities on land. [We were treated both nights to inappropriate music, bad karaoke and loud boat engines. I put in my earbuds and listened to Earth Spirit by R. Carlos Nakai (Native American flute) while sleeping out under the stars.]
Defiance House Petroglyphs
That evening (after most of the day’s heat was gone) we made the first of two visits to the eight hundred year oldDefiance House Ruins. These are very well stabilized and open to the public. (Kudos to the Park Service!) The first thing you notice are the large petroglyphs on the canyon wall. There is no ambiguity as to their meaning… three warriors with shields and weapons.
Defiance House Main Structure
The site consists of two major rooms with doors facing in opposite directions. The largest is approximately 8-10 feet on a side. There is a patio beyond the structure with a vertical entrance to the Kiva. (Large Panorama)
Defiance House and Kiva Entrance (Click to Enlarge)Kiva Ceiling with 800 Year Old Soot from Campfires
We returned the next day (Day 3) and I took some additional 360° panoramas.
Defiance House Ruins (Click to Enlarge)
We then proceeded about two miles up the canyon. We saw many interesting things including ravens, flowers being pollenated (or eaten?) by large black hornets with orange wings, and what I think were three-toed dinosaur tracks!
The day was very hot so we took a siesta near a grove of small oak trees before we headed back to the boat. In spite of my best efforts I got dehydrated. The temp was in the low 90s with very low humidity. It just sucked the water out of me!
On Day 4 we left that area to do more exploring. We ended up in Lake Canyon (which apparently is a very hard place to find anchorage with higher water). It was less crowded and the people were more considerate, which was a plus. We again used our inflatable kayak to explore a side canyon in the late afternoon.
On Day 5 we headed up the main canyon in what turned out to be a delightful wet-boot hike. It was very pleasant to have running water available at all times!
Upper Lake Canyon
There were lots of trees and flowers in bloom. We saw several critters including a toad (red-spotted?) and a bat (dead?). We also passed a small ruins high on the canyon wall.
On Day 6 we again picked up our anchors and moved to Iceberg Canyon with its cyclopean rock walls—Truly Magnificent! Here we finally found some real solitude in our own little side canyon where we swam and relaxed.
Iceberg Canyon Campsite
We took out the kayak and explored the three arms of the upper canyon. We had to maneuver around hundreds of dead trees protruding from the low water.
The south arm has a rockfall that created a separate small lake. Compare with these photos [1][2] I took in 2010 to see how much lower the water is.
The next day we headed back to Bullfrog and civilization. Click on the video below for clips from each canyon we visited.
Leaving Iceberg Canyon
See the Full Gallery for more photos of petroglyphs, HDR photos, and panoramas–including my lightening tour of nearby parks Goblin Valley, Capital Reef, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Bryce Canyon. I concluded by crossing the Colorado River at the Glen Canyon Dam (which creates Lake Powell!).
The last time I went hunting for Pitcher Plants was 2017. This year I went about two weeks earlier and learned more about their distribution and lifecycles. I visited six sites in all, moving from Florida into Alabama. [Gallery] I saw mostly pitcher plant flowers as I moved west, apparently the flowers emerge days to weeks before the funnel-shaped leaves.
Clear Creek Boardwalk
My first stop was Clear Creek Nature Trail (which is actually part of Whiting Field Naval Air Station). They maintain a nice boardwalk so you can walk over and among numerous White-Top Pitcher Plants.
I had not been to this site since 2013, and the plants were just beginning to emerge. I took a few photos of what was there, and caught a cryptic denizen I did not see until I reviewed the photos at home.
Green Tree Frog on White-Top Pitcher Plant
My next stop was nearby, the Yellow River Marsh Preserve. Unfortunately for me (not the preserve) there had been a recent prescribed burn in that area. I could find only one clump of pitcher plants on the perimeter of the small pond where they had been plentiful in the past.
Fortunately I did not have to go far, just a few steps over to the ditches on either side of the local road!
There were also many Sundews present, including the “Threadleaf” species I’d wondered about in the past (saying it looked like a cross between a “sundew and a fern”). Turns out I was half right!
Threadleaf Sundew
I ended the first day at Tarkiln Bayou Preserve with about an hour of daylight remaining. They had a nice boardwalk and there were many White-Top Pitcher Plants present in one wet area, along with several Grass Pink Orchids!
Grass Pink Orchid
The next day was a bust as far as Pitcher Plants go, but I got a chance to explore two new areas that in a few weeks will probably be full of new growth. The first was Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog with extensive boardwalk over and around a large wetland. There were a few flowers emerging from the straw and lots of Fern Fiddleheads unfurling.
I also caught this Green Anole displaying his throat patch.
Green Anole
The second site was much larger, the Splinter Hill Bog Preserve (owned by the Nature Conservancy). There appeared to be several acres of last year’s Pitcher Plants with a few leaves and flowers beginning to emerge. It should be spectacular in a few weeks if there is enough rain.
I went on a long walk into a large tract of Longleaf Pine uplands and was rewarded by several unexpected sightings. After a short boardwalk I saw my first Butterwort (another carnivorous genus)!
Yellow Butterwort (Pinguicula lutea)
Then something even more surprising, peeking out of the straw along the trail were several miniature Blue Irises?! It turns out these are Dwarf Woodland Irises. The ground was not obviously wet and I was climbing a gentle hillside. Wow! I did not see that coming…
Dwarf Woodland Iris
I had planned to camp at Wright Lake in the Apalachicola National Forest but it remains closed after last year’s hurricanes. So I stayed in a motel and headed down there on my third morning not knowing what to expect. I was amply rewarded with the best showing of the entire trip!
About four miles north of the little town of Sumatra I noticed a large, recently burned area with many large yellow blooms of Trumpet-Leaf Pitcher Plants. I parked and started walking over the slightly wet uneven ground. I was not disappointed. In addition to the large pitchers there were Purple Flower Pitcher Plants, and what I think were last year’s Parrot Pitcher Plants (not yet emerging this year). There were also Orchids in abundance, at least two species of Butterwort and Sundews everywhere! A True Motherlode!!
