Everglades National Park
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:49 pm
This past weekend Rik, our brother Jeff from Colorado, Rik's son Adam and myself spent Friday through Tuesday camping/kayaking/fishing in the Everglades National Park.
Through lots of planning we picked Mormon Key as our destination. Rik and Adam were lucky enough to get down early enough on Thursday to secure our campsite from the rangers office. After picking up Jeff from the airport, he and I showed up in Everglades City around 7:30 Thursday night.
We contracted through Capt. Charles Wright to ferry our "stuff" out to the island. He had a charter that day so Capt. Wade helped Charles out and showed up at the dock right on time Friday morning. To say we had some "stuff" was an understatement. It is hard to pack light knowing you will be spending four days in the Everglades backcountry but we managed. Four guys, four guys camping gear, food and four kayaks really adds up.
It was a windy, and a little wet, ride out to Mormon Key but we made it safe and sound and unloaded our gear and waved goodbye to Capt. Wade. We set up camp and got organized and then set up for an afternoon paddle. It was my brother Jeff's first time kayak fishing so we set off to let him get his feet wet and get a view of our surroundings. My nephew lost a bruiser snook to the mangrove roots and not much else besides some ladyfish and jacks were found in that afternoon.
We awoke the next morning to a crisp morning and a beautiful sunrise.
As we took a walk along the beach we soon realized we did not have Mormon Key all to ourselves
We set off that day towards the Chatham River area. Getting used to river currents was a change but Rik was able to find a few fish along the way.
That afternoon my brother Jeff and I set off for a sunset paddle and we were rewarded with an awesome evening. Had to fight the "flying teeth" when we got too close to the trees but it was an absolutely gorgeous night.
Our campsite was more than adequate and was a great "home away from home". Nice area, very few bugs and plenty of firewood for some very nice "fire sculptures" at night with the driftwood washed ashore.
We did a lot of exploring and saw and fished several different areas close to Mormon Key. The fishing was not fantastic but there was enough to keep us interested. The wildlife we saw everyday was absolutely amazing-manatees, free jumping dolphing, rolling tarpon, some of the largest flocks of birds we had ever seen, it was endless.
Yes, even yours truly got into some topwater snook action.
Our brother from Colorado had a big learning curve to overcome as he is mostly a mountain fly fisherman. He finally got the hang of it and found a few snook on the topwater.
I wonder what kind of kayaks we have? I thought this was a cool picture.
In the end Capt. Wade picked us up right on time and we loaded up and headed back to Everglades City for a hot shower. It was a tremendous time with my brothers and nephew. We were blessed with great weather that gave us cool nights and tolerable days. Best of all I never used any bug spray all weekend.
This type of camping is not for everyone. But if you have done some "primitive" camping (and have the right equipment) put Everglades National Park on your to do list. You will not be disappointed.
Through lots of planning we picked Mormon Key as our destination. Rik and Adam were lucky enough to get down early enough on Thursday to secure our campsite from the rangers office. After picking up Jeff from the airport, he and I showed up in Everglades City around 7:30 Thursday night.
We contracted through Capt. Charles Wright to ferry our "stuff" out to the island. He had a charter that day so Capt. Wade helped Charles out and showed up at the dock right on time Friday morning. To say we had some "stuff" was an understatement. It is hard to pack light knowing you will be spending four days in the Everglades backcountry but we managed. Four guys, four guys camping gear, food and four kayaks really adds up.
It was a windy, and a little wet, ride out to Mormon Key but we made it safe and sound and unloaded our gear and waved goodbye to Capt. Wade. We set up camp and got organized and then set up for an afternoon paddle. It was my brother Jeff's first time kayak fishing so we set off to let him get his feet wet and get a view of our surroundings. My nephew lost a bruiser snook to the mangrove roots and not much else besides some ladyfish and jacks were found in that afternoon.
We awoke the next morning to a crisp morning and a beautiful sunrise.
As we took a walk along the beach we soon realized we did not have Mormon Key all to ourselves
We set off that day towards the Chatham River area. Getting used to river currents was a change but Rik was able to find a few fish along the way.
That afternoon my brother Jeff and I set off for a sunset paddle and we were rewarded with an awesome evening. Had to fight the "flying teeth" when we got too close to the trees but it was an absolutely gorgeous night.
Our campsite was more than adequate and was a great "home away from home". Nice area, very few bugs and plenty of firewood for some very nice "fire sculptures" at night with the driftwood washed ashore.
We did a lot of exploring and saw and fished several different areas close to Mormon Key. The fishing was not fantastic but there was enough to keep us interested. The wildlife we saw everyday was absolutely amazing-manatees, free jumping dolphing, rolling tarpon, some of the largest flocks of birds we had ever seen, it was endless.
Yes, even yours truly got into some topwater snook action.
Our brother from Colorado had a big learning curve to overcome as he is mostly a mountain fly fisherman. He finally got the hang of it and found a few snook on the topwater.
I wonder what kind of kayaks we have? I thought this was a cool picture.
In the end Capt. Wade picked us up right on time and we loaded up and headed back to Everglades City for a hot shower. It was a tremendous time with my brothers and nephew. We were blessed with great weather that gave us cool nights and tolerable days. Best of all I never used any bug spray all weekend.
This type of camping is not for everyone. But if you have done some "primitive" camping (and have the right equipment) put Everglades National Park on your to do list. You will not be disappointed.
