It was past time for another trip to the glades, and Mike had read about all these previous trips and decided he would like to go.
We headed down on June 11, and planned to return on June 16. (This was National Nude Recreation week.)
Since it was Mike's first trip, I wanted to work-in both beach and chickee campsites.
We reached the park about 2 days after Hurricane Dennis had skimmed by in the Gulf of Mexico, so we asked the rangers at the visitor center if they knew about any campsite damage. They didn't.
The tide was too low to cross Chokoloski Bay, so we decided to take the Barron River to the Gulf and go South to Pavillion Key for our first night. Then we would go inland to Sweetwater Bay and spend the next night there.
After that, we planned to go South on the Wilderness Waterway to Plate Creek Chickee.
The plan after that was to return to Sweetwater bay, before going on the next day to Sunday Bay. From there, we'd return to Everglades City on Saturday.
Things didn't quite work that way. The marina on Barron River had changed hands and would not let us park the truck there.
Glades Haven Marina and Outdoor Resort on Chokoloskee both wanted $10 a night for parking! (Can you say Highway Robbery?)
So we modified our plans to launch at Glades Haven, and park at the Everglades visitor center. This made going out the Barron River impractical, so we went out Sandfly Pass instead.
We easily found the Gulf (it's that big flat wet place), and motored past the Chokoloskee Pass and Rabbit Key before zeroing in on Pavillion Key.
A storm was building as we approached Pavillion. Creator was gracious in allowing us to reach the island before the wind waves and lightning got bad. As we set up our tents, the storm passed by without really hitting us.
Also as we set up our tents, a fishing boat pulled up on the opposite side of the island from us. They didn't stay too long.
Next morning, as soon as the sun was hitting the tents and we had a breeze, we were up breaking camp. Unfortunately, the breeze didn't hold up, and the mosquitos noticed.
Without donating an excessive amount of blood, we got the boat loaded and headed Southeast.
We made a stop on Mormon Key just long enough for Mike to say he's been there, take some pics, and for me to top off the tank.
We then headed in the Chatham River. We scraped a couple of the shoals, and had to walk a few yards, but eventually passed the Watson Place and crossed the Wilderness Waterway, headed Northeast.
Without much ado, we entered the channel to Sweetwater Bay and motored on to the chickee.
We checked the fuel consumption and found there wasn't enough safety margin to continue on to Plate Creek, which was our next day's destination.
So we decided to loaf around Sweetwater Bay for the next three days.
Surprisingly, we found we had cell phone coverage and updated ourselves with our wives.
I did a little skinny dipping in the shallows of the creek to the East of the chickee, we both did a little solar cooking, and we discussed philosophy before the afternoon rain each day.
(I am now sitting on the chickee writing this into my pocket organizer to upload to the website!)
With two hammocks, we could do twice the power lounging.
It wasn't The Rapture, just laundryOn Thursday morning, I decided to do laundry. (I had had to wear clothes until we were clear of Everglades city, and in the July heat, they got pretty sweaty, as did the towel I laid on for the last three days. (I am now getting waffle-back in the hammock while the towel dries.)
Before Mike could do laundry, I had to make a side trip back to the swimming hole to find the bar of biodegradable soap I apparently dropped off the boat (I did laundry in the swimmimng hole after my bathing ritual.)
I am sort of a "Heinz 57" ethnic mix including at least two different American Indian tribes (Cherokee and Seminole), a few European nationalities, along with a bit of African. But I identify more strongly with the Indian cultures. Turns out, Mike is something like 3/4 Cherokee, and has developed an interest in his Indian heritage, so we've been having some interesting conversations.
(By the way, this is the first time I have written one of these trip reports while on the trip, thanks to my organizer. Don't know that I'll be able to do that all the time, though. Sweetwater Bay has no salt spray in the air, so I was not worried about taking the organizer out.)
Some idiot or idiots have been feeding an alligator out here. Like 8 years ago when I was here, once this gator saw the chickee was occupied, he would not go away. That is not at all normal for a wild alligator. They are quite shy and will stay away from humans when possible. When you feed them, they lose this shyness and become dangerous.
Well, it's Friday. Just another day in the wilderness. We were underway by 7:50 so we could beat the thunderstorms.
The only private structure in the Park (along the Wilderness Waterway)Once we got moving, we checked the weather for Hurricane Emily. The nice lady on 98.9 FM assured us that Emily was staying way South and would not affect South Florida's weather through the weekend.
Sunday Bay ChickeeSo here we are power lounging at the Sunday Bay chickee. As with Sweetwater Bay, we set up our tents on one platform and our hammocks, etc. on the other. If someone showed up to stay the night (possible, but not likely this time of year), then we just relocate to the one platform.
The bench was nice in the morning, but it was directly in the late afternoon sun.
For the first time ever, I found the water in Sunday Bay to be fresh instead of brackish.
This was handy since we each had had a water jug spring leaks. With Sunday Bay's water fresh, we didn't have to "ration".
Several dolphins and manatees decided to entertain us by surfacing around the little lagoon around the chickee.
On the way out the next day, I noticed more boat traffic than usual. It took a while to realize the reason - it was Saturday. (We kept our towels ready in case any got too close, but it wasn't a problem.)
The tide was rising on Chokoloskee Bay, and once we crossed it, we got a push from the tide current. The estimated "three hour tour" back to the silly-visation and the truck took just 2 hours and 20 minutes.
In all, it was a nice clothing-free six days.
