My Trip Along The Wilderness Waterway- The Culmination Of A Thirty Year Quest

Beginning in early winter 2008 I determined to fulfill my dream of canoeing the length of the Wilderness Waterway running between Everglades City and Flamingo Florida. That is a ninety nine mile crossing. By January 2009 I was ready to give it a try. At the beginning of February I finished the journey. It was a great adventure.

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THE FIRST RULE OF USING THE WILDERNESS WATERWAY- LEAVE IT AS PRISTINE AS YOU FOUND IT
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Everglades National Park

Here is a LINK to the web page the Park Service has for the Everglades National Park.

Part way down the page, on the left, is a link titled "VIEW PARK MAP" which opens to a good map of the park, and includes the Wilderness Waterway and its related campsites. Once you open the map hit the + button to enlarge and you can see everything.

The Aftermath

Could I have found a more ominous title for this section? That word always conjures images of witnessing carnage. I'll have to consider another word, perhaps prologue is better, for there was nothing but good things and great memories and the usual equipment maintenance following my return home. Well, maybe not the usual maintenance, but certainly needed repairs and the satisfaction of a job well done when the broken is fixed. Take the stern for example. Rotten inside the fiberglass, it was an unstable platform when the waves kicked up. And, it really showed when I crossed those passes between White Water bay and the South Joe River. The wind had tossed that water into huge waves, and the pounding caused the motor to shift, it would have come off the vessel if I hadn't turned and rode with the cresting waves when I did.

These pictures show the scars on the stern where the motor moved, and the state of rot within the motor mount block. and, finally, that job well done I spoke of, the reworked motor mount; solid now baby!



Other highlights for the prologue must include the inclusion of my photo Dolphin Splash in Ann and Holly's book, (see above), the numerous times I've been able to relive the adventure as I bent one after another ear of friend and stranger alike; talking about has been almost and much fun and doing it, and starting this site as a chronicle (even if I have never found it possible actually finish this), the anticipation of doing it again and the hashing out of what I'd do differently and where I'd go next time. More on that last point to follow, (that's not a promise, it is just a goal).