Camping Hell in the Ten Thousand Islands.

Fifty miles, three nights and ten thousand

skeeters in the Everglades.

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Camping in Hell under the stars on Pavilion Key in the Ten Thousand Islands.
CLICK for evil 360 panorama!

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Crazy from the bugs!! Darwin’s Place in Everglades National Park.
CLICK for interactive 360 Aerial view.

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Starting with a late departure, this trip, very late in the Everglades camping season seemed all about pushing our luck.  Ted of the Palm Beach Water Yaks meetup group came up with this trip at the last minute. The idea was to revisit the liquor still in the Everglades we had found earlier, and also see a bunch of new places and routes, especially the Gopher Key Calusa mound and Charley Creek out to the Gulf.

Thanks to skill, perseverance and some luck we were able to visit

all the spots as planned, however the camping was just plain ugly!!

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Approximate trip route totaled up right about 50 miles on this trip!

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I may have possibly been the last person to actually pay for a back country camping permit that season (the Park didn’t charge for permits in the summer season back then).

Well enough, the weather was good, tides in our favor, although we didn’t actually depart until 4:45pm. It was a 3 day and 3 night kinda trip, if that makes any sense?

Essentially we did a full day’s paddle in just about two hours to our first camp at the Crooked Creek chickee, about 9 miles away.

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Birds-eye view of kayak launch into Chokoloskee Bay at Everglades City.
CLICK for 360 aerial panorama!

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Per Ted’s suggestion we took the back route behind Chokoloskee up the Turner River a bit and then making our way SE along Mud Bay and Cross Bays to the Crooked Creek chickee.

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Going up the Turner River there’s a very large old Calusa mound or ridge on the east bank along with a historical marker sign.

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There’s a cut just off Crooked Creek where the Park positioned the new Crooked Creek chickee. It replaces the old Sunday Bay chickee which has been removed permanently.

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It’s 7:03pm .. do you know where your chickee is?
Arrival “just in time” at the newish Crooked Creek chickee.

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Gone up Crooked Creek to have a little chickee camping fun!

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The Ladies room at Crooked Creek chickee.

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Ted blows up his .. mattress, yodeled a bit like an Alpine horn~ 😉

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Camping on the Crooked Creek chickee would in hind sight turn out to be the nicest of the three nights. There were the usual no-see-ums for a while, but thanks to a breeze, hardly any skeeters! The night turned out to be nice & clear and comfortable.

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Orion setting over Crooked Creek chickee in the darkness among the stars.

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NIGHT LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY and DIGITAL ART from the EVERGLADES, FLORIDA BAY, TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS, BIG CYPRESS & BEYOND!

(click pic to enter)

ART of Darkness – Camping with the Stars! Part II
“It’s full of Stars!”

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Later on, my tent glowing red on the Crooked Creek chickee.

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Heaven or Hell: Summer paddling and camping in the Ten Thousand Islands

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Aerial bird’s-eye view of our camp on the Crooked Creek chickee in the morning.
CLICK for story!

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Crooked Creek in the Ten Thousand Islands.
Gone up Crooked Creek to have a little chickee camping fun!

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Morning brought a new day with a little bit of a nice breeze which was welcomed.

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Cruising down Sunday Bay in Everglades National Park en-route to Liquor Still Bay.

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One of the trip objectives was to re-visit Loren “Totch” Brown’s old liquor still site as detailed in a previous story:

“Moonshine in the 10000 Islands“

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At the entry to the liquor still site.. looks like could be anywhere, right!?

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Ted pointing out the shell mound walkway that Totch’s father had built in the early 1930’s !

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To help preserve the integrity of this site, I am purposely vague with our route and omitting any directions – sorry!

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Remains of an old moonshine barrel .. looks like might even be one of the original Totch era casks

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Totch Brown’s Liquor Still in the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades, April 2013.
The masonry is circa 1930 original; the top is a replica made for a documentary about Loren ‘Totch’ Brown’s life.
CLICK for interactive panorama!

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ART at Liquor Still Bay – hidden history in the Everglades

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Flask in good company.

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I had brought a lil something to raise a

toast to Totch and all Gladesmen

(and the women who put up with them) !

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CHEERS .. to Totch Brown and Gladesmen!

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This is the concrete lined pen Totch’s father built as described in his book .. to keep bugs and worms from getting into the barrels!

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Ant’ eye ground view of Totch’s liquor original still foundation and replica still.

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ART at Liquor Still Bay – hidden history in the Everglades

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“Shine on you crazy Outlaws”
CLICK to enter a time portal into the old Everglades!
ART at Liquor Still Bay – hidden history in the Everglades.

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Meanwhile, back en-route down towards Darwin’s Place you can’t help but see this very last privately owned cabin inside Everglades National Park. It’s a really nice setup!

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Continuing on past the well maintained (last) private camp in Huston Bay.

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Darwin’s Place is a ground back country campsite (no fires allowed). It was the home for many years of Arthur Darwin, a friendly hermit who had a house here. Today it’s just a dry spot for camping, but the cleared area was much larger once when people were living off the land!

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Arrival at Darwin’s Place, 4:57pm, Everglades ground site.

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Masonry foundation is all that remains of Arthur Darwin’s home.

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“The Bitches love my Britches” .. on Ted’s kayak.

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As I had suspected – this would be a buggy site. So much so that right after dinner I retreated into my tent – and was very glad that I had brought my larger tent!

Ted had a very small tent, and he looked like he was in a “cage”. We dared not put our rain fly’s up due to the heat – it was muggy and in the 80’s.

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It’s 6:40pm .. and I have retreated into my tent immediately after dinner.

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With beer and relief bottle in tent – I was all set for the next 12+ hours,

once I killed off the remaining bugs already inside my tent!

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A blood sample on my tent roof that I had involuntarily donated to a deceased mosquito.

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You keep on knocking but you can’t come in!

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Close knit no-see-um netting keeps bugs outside the inner sanctum.

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Noseeums were not as prevalent as the skeeters, but here’s an actual pic of one.
Of Bugs and Men, Chapter 1 – Noseeums.

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So what to do? It’s still light out, not yet sleepy – take close-up macros of my tent.

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My tent and my zipper
.. they comfort me!
I shall fear no evil !

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Ted, suited up, emerges from his micro-tent / cage after about 12+ hours.

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Ted is going crazy from the bugs! Frantic aerial view of packing up at Darwin’s Place.
CLICK for frantic 360 panorama!

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The morning brought a lot of clouds and dampness. We managed to pack up camp in record time!

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We got lucky and didn’t actually get rained on until out on the water! Paddling out of Darwin’s Place into Cannon Bay.

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Entering Gopher Creek from the north side.

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On Gopher Creek .. under the clouds.

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Looking for an entry into the Gopher Key (Calusa) mound. This could be one of at least two entrances. Note the two big trees..

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At the actual entry into the Gopher Key mound .. very very soft mud!

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Searching for an entry into the Gopher Key Calusa mound we paddled around the key. The high ground is easy to see from a distance since there are tall trees growing on it and it is in fact the only thing that sticks up above the mangroves! However finding what could be an entrance took a little bit of searching. Eventually I spotted what looked like a footprint in the mud, then after standing up in the kayak, I was sure that there were several footprints. It was only one set, from a single person, a smaller person I would say based on the size.

Anyway we had found the entrance into the mound!

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Once out of the boat you can see that there is a “path” to follow.

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There must be thousands and thousands of shells of all kinds which the Calusa had left and used to build up the (Indian) mound!

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Evidence of more recent activity as someone had sawed off this Gumbo-Limbo stump.

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Can you say “overgrown” ?!

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The site is obviously fully overgrown, and the mound is really more like a long high ridge, maybe just 2 – 4 feet above the water in spots.

Note: All artifacts in Everglades National Park are protected by law!

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Walking over the shell (literaly) mound. The mud coating my legs helped keep the skeeters off!

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This tree is long gone, yet leaves a presence, not unlike the Calusa and their (Indian) mound at Gopher Key.
CLICK for interactive panorama!

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Here you can see the mound, really more like a ridge going into the near distance.

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With excitement and the rush of adrenaline, I didn’t even

pay attention to all the skeeters while taking these pics.

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Wider view of the Calusa mound / ridge with healthy strand of Gumbo-Limbo trees.

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Conch shell with hole clearly made by a person. No doubt the meat was extracted, and the Calusa may then have used this shell as a sort of hammer.

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As we were leaving .. we imagined the mound or ridge as a clearing with a small Calusa settlement on top, with entries on either side and the residents eating very well, as evidenced by all the shellfish!

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Looking straight up into the Gumbo-Limbo canopy at Gopher Key Calusa mound.

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Walking back out to the boats, some really soft Everglades muck!!

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Coming out of Gopher Creek, we entered a middle area, sort of like a prairie punctuated with shallow mud puddles.

This was on low tide and the water was only inches deep!

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It’s low tide and we had some time to kill. Lunch break in the area between Gopher Creek and Charley Creek.

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Extreme wet (soft) and extreme dry within inches of each other along these mud banks.

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Surreal landscape mix of dead Buttonwood trees and fresh newer growth. Lot’s of birds in this area.

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The “Banana Boat” on the mud bank .. waiting on the tide.

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In the shade, Ted does a map check vs GPS with the Google Earth printouts I had brought.

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Parched Everglades mud!

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Large bird footprint – probably a Heron.

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The mix of dead Buttonwood trees (perhaps killed off by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, or maybe by saltwater intrusion) and newer mangrove clusters give this landscape a surreal, prehistoric look.

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Aerial panoramic of a surreal landscape between Charley Creek and Gopher Creek in Everglades National Park.
CLICK for aerial 360 panorama!

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Vertical panorama in the Everglades.

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Once past all the mud and shallows we entered Charley Creek, which is basically a long mangrove tunnel leading out to the Gulf.

Note: After Hurricane Irma, Charley Creek may be impassable.

Check with the Park for updates!

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Entering the tunnel into Charley Creek, Everglades National Park.

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Picturesque mangrove tunnel that is Charley Creek, Everglades.

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Tall strands of mangroves along Charley Creek.

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Negotiating one of the many twists and bends in Charley Creek, Everglades National Park.
CLICK for interactive panorama!

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Exit out of Charley Creek into the Gulf of Mexico and islands of Everglades National Park.

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It turned out to be a beaut of a day after all as we cruised the Gulf towards Turkey and New Turkey keys not too far away. Here I have to mention what a great pace Ted keeps up and what a treat it was to paddle together!

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Lunch break on New Turkey Key in the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades.

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Scenic New Turkey Key in the Everglades.

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Heading out in the afternoon towards Pavilion Key, I was picturing island bug-free camping. Then I noticed this cloud formation in the distance.

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Was this a sign of things to come?

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Heaven or Hell: Summer paddling and camping in the Ten Thousand Islands

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Arrival on Pavilion Key in the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades.

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Pavilion Key is a popular island campsite in the Ten Thousand Islands, inside Everglades National Park. While the beach camping is very nice, the island also hosts a surprisingly large mosquito population for an offshore island.

The island’s name harks back two hundred years to a cruel twist of fate for a young blonde virgin who was imprisoned for a time inside a pavilion made of logs and palm fronds on the isle. She was the only “survivor” of a raid on a Dutch merchant vessel by the pirate captain Charles Gibbs. The rest of the ship’s occupants and crew were murdered out on the sea, while she was brought back to this island pirate camp presumably as a sex slave for the captain. Eventually the rest of the crew grew tired of the captain keeping a live witness to their crimes and forced their leader to surrender the girl’s fate. She was reportedly poisoned in her meal and died an agonizing, slow death.

Not long after, the US schooner Porpoise discovered the as yet uncharted island and found her recent grave and the pavilion structure.

Thus the name Pavilion Key!

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Ted’s portable stove baked up some great corn bread on Pavilion Key!

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We set up camp on the north tip of Pavilion Key and enjoyed a good dinner.

Ted was even able to bake some corn bread!

Unfortunately, the winds dropped at sunset and mosquitoes came out in full force, even out here far away from the vegetation.

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After dinner, Gulf sunset over Pavilion Key, just before all the bugs came out to play ..

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Once again, we were forced to retreat to our tents.

I could hear the buzz over my head, there were a lot of skeeters!

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Camping in Hell! About midnight winds picked up and allowed me to leave the inner sanctum of my tent. Total darkness under the stars on Pavilion Key in the Ten Thousand Islands.
CLICK for evil 360 panorama!

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Protected inside the inner sanctum of my tent, I heard a roar of skeeters overhead – buzzing about seemingly for hours until after midnight when (as forecast) the winds shifted and picked up to near 15 kts! Only then were we able to get out again and put more stuff back in the boats to keep it away from the roving Raccoons. They took some interest in a dry bag of mine, even though there was no food inside, and tossed it into some brush. Looking around it was dark as could be, with only the glows from the different area towns and further distant cities.

It was a good time to experiment with some night panoramic photography!

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The Milky Way over Pavilion Key, as seen from another variant of this trip.
Heaven or Hell: Summer paddling and camping in the Ten Thousand Islands.

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NIGHT LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY and DIGITAL ART from the EVERGLADES, FLORIDA BAY, TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS, BIG CYPRESS & BEYOND!

(click pic to enter)

ART of Darkness – Camping with the Stars! Part II
“It’s full of Stars!”

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Seagrape leaf on Pavilion Key in the morning. It’s a really nice island!

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Morning aerial view camping on the north tip of Pavilion Key in Everglades National Park, Ten Thousand Islands.
CLICK for interactive aerial panorama!

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Heaven or Hell: Summer paddling and camping in the Ten Thousand Islands

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Departing Pavilion Key in the morning for the return trip home.

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Rabbit Key (not to be confused with Little Rabbit Key which is in Florida Bay) is just to the north. As we arrived on low tide, there is but one little channel on the east side of the large sandbar. Even so we had to wait a bit for more water to fill it in.

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Ted makes landfall on the Rabbit Key sandbar.

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Panoramic of Rabbit Key and sandbar on low tide. I’m standing in the little channel that allows kayaks to get through.

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The shallows around Rabbit Key were inviting for a swim to cool off and also resulted in this great aerial panoramic you see below.

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Crossing over Rabbit Key at low tide in the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park.
CLICK for awesome 360 aerial panorama!

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Cruising into Rabbit Key Pass in the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades.

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Osprey family in the nest along Rabbit Key Pass, Ten Thousand Islands.

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And then, the short road home ..

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Chokoloskee Bay and Chokoloskee island-town.

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Historic and famous Smallwoods Store in Chokoloskee. Note the large replica dugout canoe under the building!

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Everglades City Ranger Station .. well there you have it, the END!

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Continue with two other variations of this trip:

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Moonshine in the Ten Thousand Islands

Moonshine in the Ten Thousand Islands!

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Heaven or Hell: Summer paddling and camping in the Ten Thousand Islands

Heaven or Hell: Summer paddling and camping in the Ten Thousand Islands!

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You may also like:

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ART at Liquor Still Bay – hidden history in the Everglades

ART at Liquor Still Bay – hidden history in the Everglades!

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Enjoy!

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! Bless UP

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© 2013 – 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!

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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!

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With that said..
Blessings friends!

🙂