Everglades Canoe Trip 
February
2006
Day 1
Islands
This
year's trip almost didn't happen. As late as February 1st, large
portions of the park were closed due to damage caused by Hurricane
Wilma. Most of the chickees had only reopened the week before we left.
Our mid-February departure worked out well however, and we were
able to get all the ports-of-call we requested. Our main competition
for campsites turned out to be snook fishermen since the season
had just opened.
The wind was coming out of the north, so we decided to venture out into the Gulf and take advantage of the tailwind. Our destination for the first night was Pavilion Key.
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Wildlife
were abundant right from the start. As we entered Sandfly
Pass we passed small groups of white pelicans who seemed unconcerned
by our close approach. We stopped briefly at Sandfly Island to
see the old homestead and freshwater spring there. As we got back
in the boat, a family
of dolphins (two adults, one baby) came by. They stuck with us
for what seemed like a hour, sometimes coming as close as 30 feet!
The
wind remained steady at 15 to 20 mph out of the north. As we
moved downwind the seas rose to the point we were taking in significant
amounts of water over the gunnels. We reached Rabbit Key and took
a short break on the beach out of the wind. We decided to continue
by a more indirect route, moving in between the small islands
to avoid the open water as long as possible. We had to make our
final push at a 45° angle
to the wind and surf in order to reach the calm water behind Pavilion
Key.
Pitching the tent on the sand in a brisk wind proved to be a challenge. We roped up old conch shells and buried them as anchors on the windward side, which turned out to be an excellent solution.
Our
evening on Pavilion was spectacular! The nearly full moon was already
high in the sky as the sun set. The wind was cool and kept the bugs
away. We had a no-cook dinner of tabouleh and humus.
The tent remained very stable with two corners and two poles
secured to our shell anchors. As always, sleeping on sand was
very comfortable. We had a peaceful night, too peaceful as it
turned out! Continue...