Florida Trail: Tamiami Trail to I-75

This past weekend I joined a group of hikers for a 3-day backpacking adventure through the section of the Florida Trail that crosses Big Cypress between the Oasis Visitor Center on Tamiami Trail to Mile Marker 63 on I-75.  We were a group of 10 hikers with 2 others joining us just for one night who were then heading back to Oasis.  The weather had been pretty warm leading up to the trip but temperatures dropped quickly a few days before, which meant we wouldn't have to worry about bugs!  We met early on Saturday morning at the Oasis Visitor Center and finished some quick packing and making sure everyone was prepared with proper footwear and hiking poles.

We finally started hiking around 8:30 AM.  The trail was a lot easier than we thought it would be with water never being higher than ankle deep.  We stopped for lunch at 7-mile camp.  After eating, one member of our group who had hiked this section over 25 times took us into a cypress dome nearby to see the remnants of a Marine Bomber plane that had crashed there in the 1940s.  On the way there, we saw a Fish & Wildlife officer on a swamp buggy and invited him to join us in the dome.  It must have been a bad plane crash since pieces of the plane were all over the dome.

We headed on for the last 3 miles to 10 mile camp, some of which had some very sticky mud that wore us out.  10 mile camp was very large.  It was nice, flat pineland with many scrub palmettos with many tent sites available.  We pitched our tents then headed to the nearby cypress dome to filter water.  We were able to collect lots of firewood for that evening since we knew it would get down to around 40 degrees.  We had a relaxing evening around the campfire.  Because the site way fairly open we were able to view the stars and watch the moon rise.  We were all in bed by 9:30 though.

Relaxing at 10 Mile Camp

Our tent

Being fashionable at camp

Sunset at 10 Mile Camp

The next morning we got a bit of a late start at 9 AM.  According to our maps, we had 12.2 miles to get to Oak Hill Camp.  The plan was to stop at 13-mile camp for lunch.  13-mile camp is actually 7 miles north of 10-mile camp but is 13 miles from I-75.  The first bit of trail was very muddy and wet.  But the whole morning we were in and out of cypress/mud and pines/grass.  The neat thing about hiking in shallow mud is being able to see all the animal tracks.  We saw panther, coyote, deer, and raccoon tracks all along the FT.  At one point we were on dry land for quite a while which allowed us to pick up some speed.  We got to our lunch spot at around 1 PM.  13-mile camp is quite overgrown and not very large.  It is dry, though, with some palms and pines.

Heading out from 10 Mile Camp

Trail at start of Day 2

We were under the impression that it was only another 5.2 miles to get to Oak Hill Camp with a halfway point at what was marked as "Barbed Wire Fence" on the map.  Leaving at 1:45 PM we figured we would get to camp in plenty of time.  Unfortunately, we did not know what type of terrain lied ahead.  I ended up hiking mostly with my dad in the afternoon and the first section wasn't too bad but we kept wondering why it was taking so long to find the fence.  We finally got there around 3:30 PM.  That meant we still had 2.6 miles to go with sunset being at 6 PM.  After leaving the fence, you find yourself in complete cypress forest walking through knee deep, uneven sticky mud and water.  

Very wet trail

This slowed us down tremendously.  I had chosen to wear Keen sandals which was not smart since the mud was pulling them off my feet every 10 steps, slowing me down even more.  We were already tired from hiking so this section just sapped the rest of our energy.  What else was frustrating was that the sun was slowly getting closer to the horizon and there were no pine trees or dry land in sight.  Finally around 5:45 PM when we only had about 15-20 minutes left of day light, we saw some pine trees up ahead.  We figured we could at least stop there and retrieve our headlamps to navigate in the dark.  You can imagine our excitement when we realized that this was our campsite.  2 others from our group had already arrived and had the fire going.  However, there were still 6 other hikers way behind us.  We collected water and tried to have things ready to help the others when they arrived after dark.  The last group finally arrive at 6:15 PM.  Just as the last rays of sun disappeared.  According to our trip leader's GPS, we had hiked 14 miles that day, without ever leaving the trail.  This meant that the map numbers were not accurate for that section.  Exhausted and dehydrated, we ate dinner and sat around the campfire.

Relaxing at Oak Hill Camp

In the morning we were able to appreciate the beauty of Oak Hill Camp.  There are oaks, palms, and many other types of trees on this small area of raised land in a sea of cypress swamp.  There are a few tent areas with a main trail going through the "island".  The best place we found to collect water from was right on the trail.  There isn't a whole lot of privacy here and when nature calls you end up having to bushwhack through some brushy areas.  Luckily, the weather was chilly because had it not been, this would have been mosquito heaven.  Overall, I would recommend camping at Oak Hill Camp, but if coming from 10-mile camp, make sure to get an early start.  On our last day, we packed up camp and got a bit of an earlier start at 8:30 AM.  Our pickup time at I-75 was set for 3 PM and we didn't want to make anyone wait.  It was 7-8 miles back to the highway.  We agreed to meet at Ivy Camp for lunch.

First part of trail on Day 3

The last morning was by far the worst part of the trail.  I didn't know there were that many types of mud. Throughout the trip we hiked through sticky mud, dry mud, shallow mud, cottage cheese mud, squishy mud...you get the picture.  The 4 miles between Oak Hill Camp and Ivy Camp were through knee deep water with squishy/sticky mud and uneven ground underneath it.  Not being the front, you can't see the bottom so you have no idea if the ground you are stepping on will be 4 inches under the water or 12.  The best way to described it is that you feel like a drunk, blind person trying to walk on sand with bricks tied to your feet.  Normally, I only use one hiking pole but I think I would have been better off with two since I kept my pole in my right hand and was grabbing onto any small cypress tree I could with my left.  To fix my shoe situation, I had wrapped the tightening elastic around my ankles, which caused the plastic piece to dig into my skin which hurt a lot but it was really the only choice I had.  We were exhausted after 1.5 hours of hiking and found we were only doing about a 45-minute mile.  It tooks us 3 hours of non-stop hiking to get the Ivy Camp.  Ivy Camp was very small with almost no privacy but it did have to beautiful cypress domes nearby.

Stopped for lunch at Ivy Camp

Seven of us had our lunch there while waiting for the last three hikers.  After 45 minutes, we called them on our hand held radios and they said they were stopping at a previous hammock we had seen for lunch since they were too tired but would get back on the trail soon.  We told them we were going to head out and that instead of taking the trail the whole way, we were going to take a service road to shave off 1/2 mile.  The service road was mostly underwater but at least the mud underneath was a bit firmer and easier to walk on.  We were able to blast through the last 3-4 miles in no time.  The FT eventually merges with this road and we arrived at I-75 around 2:45 PM.  The 3 hikers in the back had only reached Ivy Camp at 2 PM due to water filtering issues and assumed the afternoon was going to be as difficult and radioed to us that they probably wouldn't be out until 6 PM.  We told them to take the service road since it was much easier and it wouldn't take them that long.  Unfortunately, they missed the road turnoff and followed the trail back, but got there around 4 PM.

We made it!

The Florida Trail makes the Appalachian Trail seem luxurious with all its shelters and picnic tables.  On the Florida Trail, you're just happy to have dry land.  This was one of the most exhausting trips I have even been on.  I haven't yet decided if I would do it again.  For anyone interested in doing this section, here is some advice:

Footwear:  Do not wear Keens or any other type of sandal that allows in debris.  The first 2 days, I wore Keens with no socks and I was constantly stopping to pull twigs and rocks out of my shoes.  These types of shoes also build up a 1/2" layer of mud between the sole and your foot.  On day 3, I wore socks with them and this kept out most of the debris but they were still full of mud.  Keens are just not built to withstand this kind of abuse since mine were brand new when I started and by the time I finished, a lot of the glue and stitching had come undone.  The hikers in our group who had no problem at all were all wearing minimalist sneakers.  Even my dad just wore a basic pair of Reebok sneakers and didn't have any issues with the mud.  Also, I highly recommend socks because we found that those without socks were getting bitten by black water beetles.

Pants:  Wear long pants!  Yes they were get a bit heavier from being wet, but if you don't your legs will be completely cut up from the sawgrass.

Weather:  Most of the campsite would be insanely buggy if it were not cool out, especially Oak Hill and Ivy Camps.  Make sure to pack bugspray if it is not going to be cold out.

Pack weight:  Walking on that kind of terrain already throws your balance of tremendously, so having a light pack is key.  No one in our group had a pack over 30 lbs and no one had problems with their weight.

8th Annual Ten Thousand Islands Canoe Trip

This past week, the usual suspects geared up to head out to the Ten Thousand Islands again.  Luckily, my husband was able to get the time off work to join us this year for his second time.  We wanted to further explore some of the northern islands so we chose to again leave from Port of the Islands.  However, to avoid the boat ramp fee, we left from a park just on the north side of the road on the water.  

Phil, Alec, and I at the launch site

We brought 2 of our own kayaks and rented 2 canoes from Everglades Adventures through the Ivey House.  They were by far the best place we have rented from any year.  They were on time (even though we weren't), flexible, and had great pricing even for non-hotel guests.  We got started about an hour later than intended which made us nervous since we didn't want to end up fighting the tide.  We still had plenty of time to make it out of the long, boring channel though before the tide changed and even saw some wildlife.  

Roseate Spoonbills

White Pelican

We weren't 100% sure of where we wanted to camp yet but knew it was between the north side of Panther Key, Hog Key, or Whitehorse Key.  We stopped for a quick lunch on the south side of Panther Key then headed around the gulf side, passing some feeding Bull Sharks,to head to Hog Key. While Hog Key looked beautiful from far away, it was definitely lacking in camping options.  Over the years we have become somewhat of campsite snobs and now only the prettiest will do.  We jumped back in the canoes and decided to head back to Panther Key.  We chose the spot right near the lagoon entrance.  

Our campsite at sunset

The next morning we decided that we would keep our campsite for the next 2 nights and just do day trips to explore the other keys in the area.  We first headed back over the Hog Key to check out a beautiful cove Eric told us about.

Path to cove on Hog Key

Cove on Hog Key at low tide

Next we headed over to Whitehorse Key since we had seen many beaches on it on Google Earth.  Whitehorse Key ended up being gorgeous with many beautiful beaches to camp on.  We ran into a couple of guys from Tennessee who said the rest of the group was on the other side of the island but we didn't hike all the way around.  

Exploring Whitehorse Key

Next, I wanted to go check out Dismal Key, where a hermit used to live.  We still haven't learned our lesson and yet again did not have a GPS, but it looked easy enough to find on the map.  Unfortunately, somewhere we took a wrong turn and ended up in some lagoon.  We were able to backtrack and get back to our campsite but I was super disappointed.

That evening while we were cooking dinner, my husband set up a fishing line baited to catch Bull Sharks.  Sure enough, within 30 minutes we heard the whirl of the reel and we hooked a bull shark.  Everyone took turns reeling it in so we could get pictures before releasing it.

The next day we decided again to attempt to find Dismal Key.  This time, Eric gave us good directions since he is expert navigator, and we found it without any problems.  I had read the autobiography written by Al Seely (one of the former hermits of Dismal Key) and had been wanting to visit it for awhile.  I had studied on Google Earth where the house and other buildings had been located and by following the tree line was able to find it!  Other than the cistern, there's not much left in terms of buildings.  We found the ruins on an old dock, the cornerstones of where the 1935 cabin used to be, and possibly the remains of an outhouse.  We did find tons of old bottles, cans, and other home furnishings such as pieces of rugs, the old icebox, and a bed frame.  I'm not sure which hermit it was since there were 2 in the later years but someone really liked Busch Beer since we found hundreds of beer cans out there.  It's a great lesson in recycling.

Dock remains

Cistern

Pile of old trash where center of house was

Cornerstone of house?

What's this? (We believe it was an ice cube tray from fridge)

Outhouse ruins?

Playing archaeologist on Dismal Key 

Different plant life than on other keys

We were also interested in the very different plant life on Dismal as opposed to other keys.  Dismal Key is almost entirely made up of an old Native American shell mound which makes it much taller than other keys.  It also contains a huge variety of plants such as Gumbo Limbo trees, wild poinsettia, and many types of cactus. After exploring Dismal Key, we ate some lunch on the oyster shell beach.  On our paddle back to Panther Key, we had to fight some strong winds, which made us feel as if we earned our beer when we got back to camp.

Relaxing in the water after returning to camp

That evening we caught another Bull Shark while prepping dinner.  Eric also caught some Redfish so we grilled those up for the omnivores.  For some reason, we were surrounded by bees while cooking dinner.  They weren't threatening in anyway but just annoying.  So we created a bee feeder out of a lid filled with Mountain Dew and that kept them focused on that and not us.

The next morning we had planned on paddling all the way back to Everglades City but Eric's weather radio was warning us of headwinds up to 19 knots.  We decided our best bet was to wake up incredibly early since the wind usually picks up in the afternoon.  We woke up at 6AM and launched by 8AM, but when we rounded the point of Panther Key we were smacked with strong winds.  We quickly came up with a plan B of going back to Port of the Islands and calling Everglades Adventures and having them pick us up there.  Unfortunately, with this decision we were fighting the tide the whole way back.  However, it was still the better option since those winds would have slowed us down tremendously and tired us out.  

It was, again, a great trip with good people and good food.  That's all you need!

Heading home

Movie Dome and Double Dome

Yesterday (Saturday) I met up with the Big Cypress Florida Trail Association group for some cypress dome exploration in Everglades National Park.  No, the Florida Trail does not go through this area, but we wanted to branch out and see something different with less hiking since it is definitely in the middle of wet season.  We met up at the park entrance in Homestead and carpooled to our first spot.  We first quickly walked the half mile Pineland Trail to see some tree snails.

We then headed over to another spot, parked on the side of the road and had to meander about a half mile over to Movie Dome.  I am not sure where the name came from, but I was told that park rangers lead tours here sometimes.

Approaching Movie Dome

The ground was very wet (thigh deep) and inconsistent so this was pretty difficult to traverse and a few people fell in.  As we entered the dome, my dad, a huge birder, immediately spotted a Barred Owl hanging out on a tree branch right in front of us.

He allowed us to gawk and him and take some pictures before flying off to find a more peaceful spot.  We explored the inside of the dome, saw some beautiful bromeliads, pond apples, and went for a swim.  

Center of Movie Dome

Pond Apple (edible but gross)

After exploring this dome we headed back to the cars to check out Double Dome.  This dome was right on the side of the road so we were able to enter it immediately.  It was completely different from Movie Dome. Double Dome had different weeds in the water and more ferns than bromeliads.  It was also filled with Butterfly Orchids, which are very common in this area.

Inside of Double Dome

Butterfly Orchids

We also saw wildlife here.  We saw 2 brown water snakes, a wasp nest and another Barred Owl.

We already plan to head back there in two weeks to explore 2 other domes so stay tuned for those pictures!