Everglades USA Exped – Day 7
Saturday, November 19th
USA Expedition blog: Everglades kayak Middle Cape to Graveyard Creek
by Aya
The fourth day of our kayak expedition began bright and early so that we could get a good start to what would be a long day. The previous night was the first time I made use of my brand new Quechua sleeping bag, as I was chilly after being drenched from the day’s rain. I slept like a baby all wrapped up and away from those pesky mosquitos.
We began our day with our daily dose of brown sugar and cinnamon oatmeal prepared by us young explorers. As we set off and paddling that morning, every stroke of my paddle felt so effortless with the refreshingly calm conditions we were happy to be kayaking in. Moments such as this, in the salty breeze we were able to truly appreciate the birds flying overhead and perched above in the mangrove trees
The aches in our arms were almost nonexistent when we glided over the glassy water this early morning.
The sun began to shine and we kayaked hard until we reached the entrance Lake Ingraham. We took a tour around the lake and into nearby channels in an attempt to explore some very windy and narrow mangrove passages. Eventually we pulled up to a beach for an afternoon rest. There, Mike mentioned that he had spotted an alligator a little earlier, and we then decided that the seven of us would go exploring on land, bush-wacking in search of one of these incredible creatures. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful, however, we did discover many neat looking crabs and insects along the way. After a quick snack and a gulp of water, we set off once again in open water. The wind really started to kick in and paddling became much more physically challenging on the other side of Northwest Cape. The wind resulted in very taxing and wet conditions for the day. My kayak partner was Dan, and I definitely got to know him even better after spending countless hours on the water together discussing anything and everything that was on our minds.
During the final stretch of the day, the wind picked up even more speed and we all had to push fiercely and persevere past Shark River Island and across Ponce de Leon Bay. When we finally made it to our final destination at Graveyard Creek campsite, our group was very happy to have made it. Everyone was looking forward to diggin’ into some delicious Trek’n Eat to recuperate from a long day and gear up for the amazing things to discover in the days to come.
Saturday's Kayak Excursion Log:
Middle Cape into Lake Ingraham – 4 miles
Lake Ingraham to Northwest Cape – 5 miles
Northwest Cape into Ponce de Leon Bay – 8 miles
Destination Graveyard Creek campsite – 4 miles
Saturday’s total distance traveled – 21 miles
Total distance travled so far (3 ½ day total) – 70.5 miles