The Time-release Dose – On the slough, somewhere between hiking and paddling!

From Pahayokee Overlook to “Main Street”

on the

Shark River Slough .. aka the

“River of Grass”.

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(tap or click to read)

Here’s looking at Euclid! 😉
Pahayokee Overlook to Main Street – Probing into the middle of Shark River Slough.

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“Too deep for walking and too shallow for boating”.

 There is a well known airboat trail known as “Main Street” which runs the length of the largest slough inside of Everglades National Park. This path is not open to the general public for airboating, however it does enable paddlers to transit the length of the famed “River of Grass”. The Shark River Slough runs from the Tamiami Trail down to Bottle Creek at the south end, where navigable water leads eventually connect to the Canepatch backcountry campsite. The purpose of this trip was to to try and connect to Main Street from the Pahayokee Overlook, as a shorter alternate route to get to Canepatch!

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Full story at:

Pahayokee to Main Street – Probing into the middle of Shark River Slough.

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! BLESS

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© 2022 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / awakenthegrass.com. All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved!

…

DISCLAIMER:

The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

…

I hereby disclaim any sponsorship, endorsement, nor association with any product or service described herein. The photographs, depictions, products, and ideas presented on this site are for informational purposes only. Your results may vary, and I do not imply nor guarantee the effectiveness, suitability, design or operation to adhere to any standard. I assume no legal responsibility for the implementation of anything herein presented! Use any and all information at your own risk! By using any and all information from this website, you accept the final liability for any use or possible associated misuse!

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With that said..
Blessings friends!

🙂

 

The Time-release Dose – Adventures in the Bill Ashley Jungles of the Everglades.

An invitation to paddling forgotten trails of

Gladesmen,

Gator hunters, Outlaws and Moonshiners

in the Everglades!

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(tap or click pic to read)

The “Widowmaker” meant pushing, pulling or throwing boats over mangroves as necessary!
Crossing paths of Gladesmen, Gator hunters, Outlaws and Moonshiners: An invitation to paddling forgotten trails of the Everglades!

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The Bill Ashley Jungles is an area west of the main Park road roughly between Paurotis Pond and Hell’s Bay, and we were right in the middle of it! Historically these were productive hunting grounds for both Native American tribes and later “Cracker” gator hunters and trappers. This landscape has also changed over the decades, with brackish water intruding northwards, resulting in the predominantly wet mangrove forest habitat that we saw. It certainly did not look like it to us, but back in the 1920′-30’s there was abundant game deer to be had here! Today this is a largely forgotten area, except for the Hell’s Bay Canoe Trail that runs through a part of it. This single trail probably the single most popular paddling route inside of Everglades National Park.

Paradoxically this area is at once the most visited,

yet also the least explored!

The Bill Ashley Jungles were named after a band of outlaws who hid out in the Glades in the 1910’s-20’s called the Ashley Gang, led by John Ashley and his “queen”, Laura Upthegrove. Back then almost everything in South Florida was still the “Everglades”, so whether you were in Homestead or Jupiter, you’d still be in the “Everglades”. It was more of a question of how hard it was to get in and out. By 1924 members of the close knit Ashley Gang family were either in custody or dead. Bill Ashley, one of John’s brothers was apprehended in January 1924, and was the only one who actually survived the family “business” and then lived out his years in Pompano Beach until his death in 1940.

Incidentally, on the east side of the Park road is the Noble Hammock Canoe Trail, a short but pretty three mile loop. It was named after Bill Nobles who ran a moonshine still operation on a hammock back there during Prohibition. The trail is just a small section of Still Creek which runs down into West Lake and is well worth seeing!

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Full story at:

https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/trips-sea-stories-pics/crossing-paths-of-gladesmen-gator-hunters-outlaws-moonshiners-an-invitation-to-paddling-forgotten-trails-of-the-everglades/

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! Bless UP

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© 2022 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / awakenthegrass.com. All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved!

…

DISCLAIMER:

The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

…

I hereby disclaim any sponsorship, endorsement, nor association with any product or service described herein. The photographs, depictions, products, and ideas presented on this site are for informational purposes only. Your results may vary, and I do not imply nor guarantee the effectiveness, suitability, design or operation to adhere to any standard. I assume no legal responsibility for the implementation of anything herein presented! Use any and all information at your own risk! By using any and all information from this website, you accept the final liability for any use or possible associated misuse!

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With that said..
Blessings friends!

🙂

The Daily Dose – “Harmlessly paddling the time away in the grasslands” on the Everglades Invitational 2021!

Everglades Invitational 2021 Paddling Event:

“Craighead Pond Canoe Trail”

accessed via Nine Mile Pond.

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The event’s special guest was Daniella Levine Cava, the Mayor of Miami-Dade County. She and her husband Dr Rob Cava are both avid canoeists!
Everglades Invitational 2021 on the Nine Mile – Craighead Pond route!

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This year’s event was held in the Nine Mile Pond and Craighead Pond areas east of the Park road and just north of the mangrove forests that border Florida Bay. The Everglades Invitational 2021 Paddling Event was a success and we have resurrected a yearly Everglades tradition of sorts.

We paddled all day long, right into a glorious sunset!

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https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/events/everglades-invitational-2021-on-the-nine-mile-craighead-pond-route/

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! Bless UP

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© 2021 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / awakenthegrass.com. All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved!

…

DISCLAIMER:

The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

…

I hereby disclaim any sponsorship, endorsement, nor association with any product or service described herein. The photographs, depictions, products, and ideas presented on this site are for informational purposes only. Your results may vary, and I do not imply nor guarantee the effectiveness, suitability, design or operation to adhere to any standard. I assume no legal responsibility for the implementation of anything herein presented! Use any and all information at your own risk! By using any and all information from this website, you accept the final liability for any use or possible associated misuse!

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With that said..
Blessings friends!

🙂

The Daily Dose – Paddling down the River of Grass in the heart of the Everglades.

Adventures on the endless

“River of Grass”!

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(tap or click pic to read)

Paddling down “Main Street” in the middle of Shark River Slough in the Everglades.
Kayaking the River of Grass – a Shark River Slough Expedition.

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Out here, you hear EVERYTHING! There is silence here, but more often than not, we would hear distant rumbles and the sounds of machines.  Airboats  from the “Everglades Ecotours” tourist rides just east and north of the park, the buzz of many small and private planes flying and training overhead .. airliners on final approach to MIA. The Shark River Slough feels remote, but is not nearly as quiet as the Taylor Slough.

Paddling in this upper section of the Park is true grass paddling, a seemingly endless realm of water and grass punctuated only by tree hammocks of various sizes. Many of the larger ones were used in the past by native Indian tribes, and later by Gladesmen as hunting camps, etc.  On our route we came within just a few miles SE of the Shark Valley tower, and we could see it’s distinct shape in the distance.

On the critical section where we would come to intersect what is called “Main Street”, which is a well defined airboat trail that runs down the middle of the slough.

This trail would takes us all the way into Bottle Creek on the southern edge of the slough!

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https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/trips-sea-stories-pics/kayaking-the-river-of-grass-a-shark-river-slough-expedition/

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https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/2017/03/16/paddling-and-exploring-south-floridas-wilderness-the-sloughs-of-the-everglades/

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! Bless UP

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© 2021 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / awakenthegrass.com. All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved!

…

DISCLAIMER:

The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

…

I hereby disclaim any sponsorship, endorsement, nor association with any product or service described herein. The photographs, depictions, products, and ideas presented on this site are for informational purposes only. Your results may vary, and I do not imply nor guarantee the effectiveness, suitability, design or operation to adhere to any standard. I assume no legal responsibility for the implementation of anything herein presented! Use any and all information at your own risk! By using any and all information from this website, you accept the final liability for any use or possible associated misuse!

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With that said..
Blessings friends!

🙂

The Daily Dose – The Cane patch rest stop on the “superhighway” of the Everglades.

A a large clearing with a small dock

deep in the Everglades.

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Good morning sunshine, the air is sweet at the Cane Patch!
Canepatch camp site deep in the Everglades – a former Indian Mound (Avocado Mound).

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Canepatch is far away from everywhere,

but as they say – location is everything.

The Cane Patch  is a large clearing with a small dock maintained by the Park Service as an official campsite. Formerly known as “Avocado Mound”, it was cultivated and occupied by native peoples for hundreds of years at least, perhaps thousands. It’s location along the transition between the salty coastal mangrove forests and freshwater slough (The River of Grass) of the Everglades would be akin to a rest stop on a superhighway today. High, dry ground can be scarce to find in this region, and this site was cleared and built up as a mound by native people who also cultivated some crops. It was one of several in a network of mounds that natives built up, maintained and seasonally lived on. Certainly right up to the establishment of Everglades National Park itself there were people living and farming at Cane Patch, with the name itself giving away at least one of the crops commonly grown by cracker settlers in the Everglades!

Evidence of cultivation can still be readily seen in the vegetation which is like a small botanical garden!

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https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/trips-sea-stories-pics/random-gallery-2/florida-south-florida/everglades-national-park/interior/canepatch-indian-mound-avocado-mound/

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! Bless UP

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© 2021 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / awakenthegrass.com. All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved!

…

DISCLAIMER:

The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

…

I hereby disclaim any sponsorship, endorsement, nor association with any product or service described herein. The photographs, depictions, products, and ideas presented on this site are for informational purposes only. Your results may vary, and I do not imply nor guarantee the effectiveness, suitability, design or operation to adhere to any standard. I assume no legal responsibility for the implementation of anything herein presented! Use any and all information at your own risk! By using any and all information from this website, you accept the final liability for any use or possible associated misuse!

.

With that said..
Blessings friends!

🙂

The Daily Dose – I said Craighead, not Crackhead – Pond Canoe Trail.

Paddling under mangrove roots

on a sea of periphyton

with that big blue sky.

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“Paddling through hoops of mangroves!” – Kayakfari ART photography.
Craighead Pond Canoe Trail

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It’s a beautiful thing!

The Craighead Pond Canoe trail is about a 12 – 14 mile round trip if you start and end at Nine Mile Pond. You’ll paddle through some of the most pristine and picturesque freshwater interior Everglades territory! In the Craighead Pond area, you can paddle along and parallel to  the “reef” line and also intersect with the smaller of the two main Everglades sloughs – the Taylor Slough.

This trip should probably only be done during times of high water, otherwise you will find yourself slough-slogging at lot!

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https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/trips-sea-stories-pics/random-gallery-2/florida-south-florida/everglades-national-park/interior/craighead-pond-canoe-trail/

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https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/thematic/south-floridas-walking-coastal-mangroves-roots-paddling-photography-and-dreadlocks/

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! Bless UP

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© 2021 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / awakenthegrass.com. All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved!

…

DISCLAIMER:

The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

…

I hereby disclaim any sponsorship, endorsement, nor association with any product or service described herein. The photographs, depictions, products, and ideas presented on this site are for informational purposes only. Your results may vary, and I do not imply nor guarantee the effectiveness, suitability, design or operation to adhere to any standard. I assume no legal responsibility for the implementation of anything herein presented! Use any and all information at your own risk! By using any and all information from this website, you accept the final liability for any use or possible associated misuse!

.

With that said..
Blessings friends!

🙂

Connecting Pahayokee Overlook to the Shark River Slough – more high water paddling in the Everglades on the “Pa-Hay-Okee”.

Grass paddling to “Main Street”

on the

Shark River Slough

aka “River of Grass”!

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 With the historic high water levels in the Everglades, more and more trips are now accessible to paddle craft. During the 2020 Holiday season, seven paddlers took advantage to kayak from the Pahayokee Overlook vicinity to the center of the Shark River Slough.

There, a well known airboat trail known as “Main Street”, runs the length of the slough inside Everglades National Park. This path enables paddlers to transit the “River of Grass” from Tamiami Trail down to Bottle Creek, which eventually leads to the Canepatch backcountry campsite. On the north end, connecting routes include Shark Valley and the L-67 canal for possible access.

This trip was seven years in the making. A previous attempt to connect only reached about half way due to much lower water levels at the time! More discussion on this here at the EEN site.

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Paddling from dawn to dusk in the style of “Invitational” paddles of the past decade, we dubbed this one as the “2020 Everglades Exploration Network Invitational“! 🙂

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Happy Christmas everyone!!

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Google this: 25°30’22″N 80°48’58″W

Click pic for interactive 360 panorama:

The magnificent seven down on Main Street in the middle of Shark River Slough in the Everglades.
“Main Street” is a navigable airboat trail which runs length of the Shark Slough inside ENP.
In this aerial photo you can see it disappearing into the distance due NE!

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https://roundme.com/tour/664930/view/2106991/

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Following the further voyages of the

“Pa-Hay-Okee”

which is my customized

Ocean Kayak Trident 11 kayak, a versatile SOT craft for the back country paddler! I can paddle it as a kayak, standing SUP style or pole it. She turns on a dime and the center hatch allows easy access to photo gear.

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Previous attempt paddling from Pahayokee Overlook to Main Street:

Pahayokee to Main Street – probing into the Shark River Slough.

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Stay tuned for more high water

exploratory paddling in the ‘Glades!

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For those wondering about my aerial photography inside Everglades National Park, please note that there is no drone involved, it’s all done with poles!

A Kayak Aerial Photography Method – a behind (and above) the scenes look!

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! BLESS

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© 2020 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / awakenthegrass.com . All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved!

…

DISCLAIMER:

The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

…

I hereby disclaim any sponsorship, endorsement, nor association with any product or service described herein. The photographs, depictions, products, and ideas presented on this site are for informational purposes only. Your results may vary, and I do not imply nor guarantee the effectiveness, suitability, design or operation to adhere to any standard. I assume no legal responsibility for the implementation of anything herein presented! Use any and all information at your own risk! By using any and all information from this website, you accept the final liability for any use or possible associated misuse!

.

With that said..
Blessings friends!

🙂

In Memoriam – RIP Keith Wasserman Everglades explorer and mentor.

EEN (Everglades Exploration Network) co-founder

passes on to paddle in peace forever more..

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I was saddened to recently learn that contemporary Everglades explorer and mentor Keith Wasserman had passed away on February 3, 2017. Aside from co-founding the GladesGoDeep (EEN) community site, Keith was well known for his detailed exploratory site – the evergladesdiary.com (no longer active).

http://gladesgodeep.ning.com/forum/topics/in-memoriam-keith-wasserman

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Keith Wasserman (standing in front) during a paddling break on Craighead Pond.

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Keith’s exploratory trips in the Everglades were an inspiration to me as well as many others. The comprehensive everglades diary site was a pioneering achievement early in the digital era when little information was otherwise available. Likewise the founding of the GladesGoDeep network has created a community of dedicated Glades explorers!

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Keith in the lead canoe on a run down the Taylor Slough, with Terry Helmers, Charlie Arazoza, Frank Fernandez & Jose Rosado.

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I remember when I first signed up for the EEN site, I received a PM from Keith asking me what my intention in joining was. My reply was simply “to explore the Everglades”. It’s understandable that he was a lil confused because this site (kayakfari) did not yet exist and my profile only made a reference to an electronic music project I was toying with. It must’ve seemed like an unlikely combination to him! 😉

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Grass paddling on the Taylor Slough in the Everglades, Keith in front canoe.

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I wish I had more pictures of Keith, but I only had a chance to paddle with him on a few occasions. I believe the last time I saw him was in 2013 when he graciously re-opened the gate for me as I was running late for the Grass Paddling in the East Everglades Expansion Area invitational paddle.

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Keith paddling the mangrove mazes near Mahogany Hammock.

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Keith Wasserman after a successful transit of the Lost Portage in 2009.
Image credit: Charlie Arazoza

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Keith, along with Terry Helmers and Charlie Arazoza also made the first recorded transit of the Lost Portage connection in this century (December 2009) !

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Keith paddling the short grass at Mahogany Hammock.

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https://www.southfloridaparks.org/news/in-memoriam-keith-wasserman/

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Keith in his covered canoe.

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Although the excellent evergladesdiary.com is no longer active,

thanks to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine all the information can still be accessed at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20170914134219/http://evergladesdiary.com/

(snapshot dates from Sept 2017 – takes a few moments to load)

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RIP Keith Wasserman – paddler of the Everglades. Thank you!

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Through his efforts, exploits and writings Keith Wasserman

has left a lasting gift for all South Florida paddlers!

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BLESS!

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© 2018 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / awakenthegrass.com / decoratedreality.com. All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved!

…

DISCLAIMER:: The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

With that said..
Blessings friends!