Well I survived the Wilderness Waterway and back in the world of electricity, running water and cold beer. The trip went pretty good, no major problems at all. I ate well, slept well and had some great paddling. Some days were pretty windy which made for some hard paddling too. It was great to spend so much time outside in such a wonderful remote place. I rarely saw other people but one night I spent at Graveyard Creek I shared the night with 4 fishermen from Orlando and a guy who was sailing his 21 foot sailboat to Central America. We listened to Steve play Neal Young songs by the campfire on his accordion he brings with him in his sailboat. That had to be a first at Graveyard Creek.
I was forced to paddle the outside route because the one camp you need to get into the inside the first day was booked up for several days due to a large Outward Bound group that launched the day before I did. So unfortunately I didn’t go on the inside at all. But the outer islands are beautiful too and enjoyed spending a lot of time on the beaches. But the wind is more of a factor on the outside so I did have to change my float plan some along the way to sit out some windy days and then make up for time lost on calm days.
I haven’t really gone through all the photos yet so I will just post a few. I kept a journal while out, it gave me something to do after dark and will be sharing that on the blog later. I think I will wait till I get to Madison to post that. I only have 4 more days left of shooting here in Everglades National Park before my residency is done so I want to spend that time shooting rather than at my laptop.
I’ll post a few photos I’ve picked out so far. I’ll be posting the rest when I’m posting the journal in early February.
A red mangrove on the first night out near Jewel Key.
Pavilion Key was covered in sea shells mixed in with the roots of trees on the beach.
This is certainly the first time I’ve taken a photo of a dead fish and called it art. But with the recent cold spell there has been a large fish kill in the Everglades. With the beaches littered with dead fish, one was bound to wind up in an interesting composition.
Some driftwood on Hog Key.
Highland Beach has to be one of my favorite places in the world. Forty miles from anywhere, I had the place all to myself. I was planning on spending two nights here, but winds and large swells kept me from paddling far the day before and had to just spend one night to stay on time.
