OOPS… WELL, SEE RESPONSE ABOVE…
Just posted it it at the wrong inquiry!
Check it out, check the BOOKS out, and then NEO SC? C’Mon DOWWWWWWNNNNNnnnnnn and
Paddle On!
-Frank in Miami
If you have a fear of…
…wildlife of any kind, then you should not plan the trip you are talking about.
With that said, you should do a couple of shorter trips to see what you can expect.
I have been paddling/camping the South Florida back country, especially the 10,000 Island area for the last 30 plus years, and I only have a couple of fears which are slight:
I worry about an air boat coming around a corner at full speed in some reeds, and not seeing me, and I worry about running out of deet, and being the main course for the no-seeums.
Gators, and cottonmouths won’t bother you, and if you are swimming you should be aware of the shark factor, and wading you shoud be aware of stepping on a sting ray’s tail.
I love getting out in the wilderness there, and like to remind myself that it belongs to the wild creatures and I am just a uninvited guest, so I should respect them all.
May be “the bride” and I will bump into you down there next Feb or March.
Cheers, and stay happy!
JackL
Thanks
Thanks everyone for all the great advice. Good starting point as I plan for a Florida Expedition next winter (hopefully).
Clewiston
Please tell me more about Clewiston (sweetest city in america). Why do you like it so much? I have been toying with the idea of moving a little further South to Florida but am turned off by the crowds and development. I have a sister in Punta Gorda north of Ft. Myers. She said that she thought that most of the crowds and development was along the coast and that much of central Florida may not be that way. I like country and small towns. Any help?
lOCKS
Definately 2-3 locks on the west side of the lake.
The Gazeteer marks 2 routes, one low and across the other along the southern rim.
Brian
Sweetest City
Sweetest City in America only because of its sugar cane industry and have the city has dubbed themselves this title. If your into bass fishing its also quite popular, not much else goin gon but farming and a super walmart.
Brian
Thanks
I thought about the gator thing but didn’t want to spook him. Big gators and yahooos in airboats and bassboats.
Brian
next years Expo
might want to start at the Okeefenoke Swamp and the the suwannee river to the west coast of florida and the gulf of mexico and then continue south to the 10K’s and keys of find a shuttle back from the west coast to the east coast and travel the ICW down the coast to the keys or okee to suwannee to ochechobee to east coast to ICW. Might be able to pull off a okee to suwanee to santa fee to st johns and find your way to the ICW.
Brian
Yachting guides
Might try a marine book store such a bluewaterbooks and charts. There are many many books out there for the yachties walking them through and up and down the coasts of the world and especially Florida.
www.bluewaterweb.com also might try awest Marine
Brian
Sounds like my kind of place
Does sound nice. Water access to both coasts.
Florida Barge Canal
Anybody out there know if this unfinish canal of yesteryear exist or is useful in anyway ?
(North Florida)
Brian
Great References
Thanks Frank!
This was a great post for books and initial contacts. It sounds like you are partial to the Keys. If so, why? Is this where you paddle?
Books at Amazon
Frank,
I have been at Amazon and did a search on “paddling florida”. There were a couple of overlaps with your booklist but many did not match. Any thoughts on these:
- Canoeing & Kayaking Streams in Central & South FL - Glaros
- Paddlers Guide to Everglades - Molloy (5*)
- Paddlers Guide to Sunshine State - Huff et al
(5*)
- Florida Keys Paddling Guide - Keogh
- Kayaking the Keys = Patten
so many places to go, so little time…
I have made the trip from Sarasota to Clewiston 3 times by powerboat, the last time was last year over the 4th of July. I have no knowledge of the waterway east of Lake Okeechobee. I hate to discourge anyone from their trip ideas, but IMO there have much more interesting trips than crossing east to west on the Caloosahatchee River. Keep in mind that most of the waterway is manmade, its a ditch. there are limited areas to get out of the kayak, many areas are posted, or are livestock areas or have homesites. many areas will have rock seawalls where there is no where to tie up a kayak & since in many areas it is a ditch, one can’t really see much since there is at least a 12’-15’ berm to prevent flooding. also, keep in mind that this is a major cross Florida waterway for boats of all size includeing barges. i know i would not want to take on the wake from an 80’ trawler going 7mph on a 100’ channel.
That’s the bad news. Of course Florida has many area that would make a great multi-day trip. Get a copy of a new book that came out last month, Florida’s Fabulous Canoe and Kayak Trail Guide, authored by Tim Ohr. Also, check out the new Big Bend Saltwater Paddling Trail which is a 105 mile trail with campsites on the Gulf Coast. Of course there is always the Everglades National Park. Also, pull up www.Watertribe.com for some more long distance challenges in Florida. Just an idea, but one could also paddle north on the ICW from say Palm Beach to Melbourne & have many spoil islands to camp on. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.
Risk
Local paddlers smell like the local waters and are ignored by our critters.
Out of state paddlers are more interesting - Hmm…
I mainly know about Gators from what I read - and the many I’ve seen from shore, but only paddles with a few - none very big (5-6ft).
I mostly paddle saltwater - so rarely see any (but there is a 3-4 footer hanging out in my mostly salt canal - so they aren’t totally averse to salt).
They would not deter me from paddling somewhere - unless particularly thick with them or there were known problem gators (they are usually eying you at the put it!) but would be extra careful dusk to dawn - and also in Spring when the aggression is 100x the rest of the year. Scombrid is dead on with the feeding and territorial behavior issues.
Gators are largely harmless, but as the STRONGEST member of the crocodillian family - deserve some serious respect!
Side note: Okeechobee has some of the biggest Gators in the state - and a LOT of them - and they’ve seen plenty of boats.
Supposedly we have a pair of American Crocs in a nearby (saltwater/mangrove lined) lake. Small and extremely shy. Would love to see them, but unlikely.
Had many Manatee encounters. While completely harmless - they are also very strong and do occasionally get spooked. Instant whitewater if your in the wrong spot. It’s easy to do, as they can be invisible. I paddled right over one (didn’t see it - and it didn’t hear/see me) that spooked and threw my bow up a couple feet. Woke us both up! You could easily get injured in tight quarters around one (this was almost under a bridge).
Only thing I consider an actual threat (though still minimal if you’re not fishing) are Bull Sharks. They prefer the same nearshore/inshore areas as paddlers. Like salt, fresh, and any mix of water. Actually prefer murky shallow water.
Bull Sharks can be found in any Florida waters that connect to the sea including Lake Okeechobee, the Saint Lucie, Caloosahatchee, and most other rivers.
They are aggressive and inquisitive. Not shy like most other species. Powerful and not hesitant to tackle large prey. Bad combination. Unlikely to have an encounter, but if you got into some other trouble first, the odds start changing…
We also have Tigers, Hammerheads, and many more off the beaches, but even less likely to encounter them paddling or have any trouble if you do.
I should add Man 'O War, jellies, poisonous rays & fish and such, as you’re much more likely to get stung by a stray tentacle or step something with a poison spine than much else.
Then there’s the HUGE inland mosquito swarm, complete with West Nile Virus, etc.
Really - no animal worries, just things to be aware of. Some people’s dogs you encounter on shore pose more general risk than all of the above combined.
Real threat in FL: Fast boats and young show off operators paying more attention to passengers that what’s ahead…
Cigarette boats offshore, bass boats/airboats inland (as already mentioned), and anything imaginable in between on the bigger rivers/ICW.
Thanks for that description
Just what I had pictured (I’ve only seen the route from the air, but flown over all of it many times), and why I was also suggesting other places.
50 miles of big busy ditch with no view, flowed by 50 miles of featureless lake (75 or 80 going around) and another 50 mile of big busy ditch doesn’t sound like much of a nature paddle.
I’d always assumed someone had already done this, but if not, with the number of paddlers in FL, and the number of people who come here to paddle, there must be many good reasons.
Isn’t there a way across further North around Orlando. More twisty and scenic rivers?
Other options South too maybe? Smaller canals along Alligator Alley, but might not make it all the way? Would be tedious seeing nothing but tall grass/highway/gators for that distance anyway.
Small section of this guy’s trip
Pedal boat, bigger than yak, but kayak inspired.
“…I pedaled across Florida, into Lake Okeechobee and then down through a canal system to Stuart on the east coast. From there I took the Intercoastal Waterway north”
That’s the only relevant part of the article, but maybe you could track him down.
THE KEYS ARE OUR ESCAPE…
It’s a marvelous mix of the terrific and the tawdry, of high elegance and low class, of overdevelopment and pristine wilderness.
What’s really great is getting down to the middle & lower keys -where it’s the Gulf (Florida Bay) on one side of the road, one side of the island, and the Atlantic on the other-on the right days, shimmering hues of aqua and green and cobalt and emerald scintillating in the sun under a high blue sky peppered with cottonball cumulus gentling by on the breeze.
And its even better when on one of those magical days you can be out on the water and see the bottom, 15 or 20 feet down, and it looks like it’s only a few inches away. Where you can paddle the miles and miules of deserted backcountry flats with only the sound of your paddle swishing along to accompany the occasisional fish jumping, along with the solitary osprey cruising off in the duastance, and sharp-figured frigate birds heading out to sea at dawn, back to land at dusk…
But there’s also the riduculous to balance the sublime, of course -a few of Mike McRae’s Beachtown Rant folks at the tourist spots, throngs of hot-shot jet skiers where they’re still allowed/tolerated, throttle-happy boaters in the channels, and T-shirt shops, sandal shops, and chotchke shops up and down parts of the Overseas Highway, interspersed with a dizzyinmg array of restaurants.
Yeah, maybe so -but when you can find a place like the Largo Lodge (or the old Golden Grouper farther down, RIP), you CAN pretty much get away from the madding crowds.
ANd it’s even better if you’ve got great friends down there, like Sally & I do…;).
Sitting out on the water, having a margarita and a good cigar …man, sometimes I really don’t think it gets any better’n THAT!
And when you launch, you can always stroke away from most of the less desirable stuff and get pretty much into the nice stuff as you
Paddle On!
-Frank in Miami
Thanks for all the input
I have been doing some additional checking on my own, and from what I have found out, and what you are saying, yes, there is a reason not many try this. Lack of stops and facilities along the way, is my biggest concerns, along with boat wakes, as most of the way would not be a “no wake” zone. Couple that with limited access to emergency services, if one would need them, and the other areas of the state are beginning to look mighty good. May just have to fall back to the Keys again, which is not a bad alternative. (not to mention the great fishing there!)
Floirdas Biggest Threats
Sunburn, sunstroke, mosquito bites and the cocktail flu, Quite often in that order.
Don’t worry about the gators, crocodiles and snakes and bears.
Brian