We
gathered our party in Homestead before driving into the Park.
Things appeared very dry, with cracked mud showing in the cypress forest
along the road. We reached the small dock at the head of Hell's Bay
Canoe Trail by about
3pm (about an hour later than we had planned). It took us the better part
of an hour to get our boats in the water and the gear loaded. Everyone was
excited to finally be on the trail!
We
spent about two hours winding our way through the mangroves before the light
began to fail.
Fortunately this part of the trail is pretty well marked with
white poles every few hundred feet. It became totally dark about the time
we reached the first small bay near the Lard Can campsite.
The night was
fair with partial moonlight and city glow from the clouds. We quickly reconnoitered
our position on the map. It was not that different from navigating during
the day! At one point we discovered that we had preformed a complete 360
on the small creek leading to Pearl Bay. Once we were in the bay, we
headed due north and soon saw a light from another party on the chickee.
The evening was splendid with a light breeze. Fortunately the insects
were mild as we made dinner, set up our tents, and went to sleep. »»»