@castoff said:
I find a single blade paddle better in a tight spot than a double.
For me it is a challenge to paddle with the paddle at full length, and I have never used it single in a gazillion miles although everyone I paddle with breaks theirs down
@JackL said:
I came around a blind corner and came face to face with a big gator. It opened it’s mouth and gave me a big hiss.
Hmm… Not exactly my idea of “fun”.
But I suppose just like anywhere else, you get used to the large dangerous wildlife. The unknown is much scarier than the known. I have lots of respect for black bears, but they are a rare sight if you keep a clean camp and travel noisily on land.
These tunnels must be man-made and regularly maintained then? Why?
Many were dug back in the early 1900’s to drain the land, either for future development or for the control of mosquitos. We have a group of mangrove tunnels at South Lido Park, Sarasota that were dug back in the 1920’s with the hopes of John Ringling (of circus fame) that he could develop the land. Those dreams were quashed by the Florida land bust of 1926. The Moses Hole tunnels were dug for mosquito control for a development that also went belly up.
I don’t know of any that are regular maintained as the hope for development faded. The tides do a pretty good job of keeping them open but I imagine the mangroves will eventually overtake them. I see a lot of mangrove crabs, birds and other wildlife paddling the tunnels but nothing to be afraid of. At times we paddle them at night which can be a little spooky but fun.
@gjf12 said:
Maybe even spiders!
Oh, gosh, you don’t have to go to exotic places for that. Anytime I paddle on little creeks at night, my canoe ends up just loaded with spiders, mostly kinds which build something similar to an orb web, spanning between tree branches and often across the whole creek. Now and then a fisher spider will get in the boat, and those become pretty frantic in their attempts to get out (they are very fast runners but they can’t climb vertically on Royalex).
Sort of like hiking early in the morning before anyone else has cleared the webs with their face.
@string said:
Sort of like hiking early in the morning before anyone else has cleared the webs with their face.
Good reason to carry a staff… Like Gandalf.
@Sparky961 said:
@JackL said:
I came around a blind corner and came face to face with a big gator. It opened it’s mouth and gave me a big hiss.Hmm… Not exactly my idea of “fun”.
But I suppose just like anywhere else, you get used to the large dangerous wildlife. The unknown is much scarier than the known. I have lots of respect for black bears, but they are a rare sight if you keep a clean camp and travel noisily on land.
These tunnels must be man-made and regularly maintained then? Why?
In the Keys and south Florida they were first made by native Indians, then the Spaniards then the early settlers,then the drug runners to get from point A to B, and no they are not maintained except by the paddlers who do it when no one is looking - Get caught cutting a mangrove and you could get fined.
The well used ones in the Everglades National Park, The 10,000 Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Big Cypress National Preserve are in fact maintained by the Park Rangers, (especially after hurricanes)
We love the mangrove tunnels! Watching for the tree snails, crabs, bromeliads, and the occasional mangrove tree snake! Not to mention orchids, owls, and otters! Good times! Thanks for guiding some great trips, Jack!
Lost? Nah, just too far south for this time of year–Reverse course and paddle north several latitudes and you’ll be fine;-
I love the mangrove tunnels on Charley Creek and also the Turner River. You go for a mile and you feel like they will never end than boom you are in a bird filled sawgrass prairie! I love the bromeliads too and the occasional masked bandit hiding. I am no good at finding snakes though I know they are there… I use a short single bent shaft canoe paddle for these twisty turny tunnels
Did Noble Hammock somehow in a fifteen foot canoe! There was almost six inches of water in it.
@tjalmy said:
We love the mangrove tunnels! Watching for the tree snails, crabs, bromeliads, and the occasional mangrove tree snake! Not to mention orchids, owls, and otters! Good times! Thanks for guiding some great trips, Jack!
Thanks Tom,
Maybe we can get together again this coming winter
Just finished the mangrove tunnels of Frog Creek, Palmetto Florida. Spiders normally don’t bite, but one did today on my left thumb.
No slimy things ??? You know those are fish. Gators and snakes are not slimy.
Young tarpon were hitting the mullet in some of the “lakes”.
Mangrove tunnels , shady creeks, and springs is where you paddle in Florida in August.
@Overstreet said:
Mangrove tunnels , shady creeks, and springs is where you paddle in Florida in August.
Ditto that!
Or mountain lakes