DAY 5-PLATE CREEK CHICKEE TO SWEETWATER CHICKEE

Today, day 5, David is going to meet up with me on the water and accompany me back to Everglades City for the final day. During the evening I manage to send a couple of text messages to my friend Dee. I let her know of my position and that I am safe. I ask her to relay a message to David for “a Subway turkey sub with mayonnaise and to tell him to meet me at Sweetwater chickee the next day”.  For a brief 30 seconds I’m able to contact my friend David by cell phone before getting disconnected.

Every day in the Everglades is totally different than the previous. I witness a fantastic sunrise and enjoy a high carbohydrate breakfast. I’m on the water by 8:30 AM. Stefan and Alex will paddle with me today. Severe thunderstorms are predicted later today so we travel quickly.

There is a submerged wreck on the chart in the bay near the chickee. I investigate it. I plunge my paddle into the shallow water but don’t hit anything solid. Off we head towards the north.

The early morning wind is strong, particularly on the larger bays. I keep a close ear to the weather reports on a VHF radio courtesy of Colleen and Fred (www.FullMoonKayak.com) We cross Dad’s Bay, then find white caps on Alligator Bay. I become confused on the water and head for the wrong side of the bay. Had I followed my GPS and the map, I would have sticked close to the waterway markers. Water and wind are smashing our port sides (left side).

We come into narrow Alligator Creek, then cross Cannon Bay before stopping off at Darwin’s Place (ground site) for a breather. There’s a group of Outward Bound kids clearing out non-native Brazilian Pepper trees from the site. The mosquitoes are thick despite the high wind. I shoot a couple of minutes with the video camera then we’re off.

We cross another big bay--Chevelier Bay. The wind is at our backs and we make great time. I hold the paddle over my head and use it as a sail.  The 3 of us pull up along side marker 99 and study the charts. We’re going to split up at this point. Stefan and Alex are headed north to Lopez River campsite and I’m headed northeast to Sweetwater Chickee. I tell them about a closer chickee site on Sunday Bay then wish them a safe journey (just like in the old movies--good luck sailor).

The wind is at my back on the eastern edge of Last Huston Bay. I’m fairly familiar with the area since David and I had checked out Sweetwater a year prior and I had a GPS waypoint of the chickee. I’m headed up along the edge of the mangrove and I’m super confident that the chickee will be up around the corner.

My GPS tells me precisely how far I am from my destination by just a matter of feet. I enter a calm circular bay and I’m faced with a dead end and NO CHICKEE! I stop to catch my breath and look closely at the chart. When the chart was designed, it wasn’t clearly obvious where the chickee was. I ended up only 300 feet from the chickee but on the other side of the impenetrable mangroves. HELL!

With a big storm approaching, I’m forced to turn around, paddle into 30 mph winds, and white caps. A little drama in one’s life is not a bad thing. I paddle on, make the appropriate turn up the correct channel, and a mile later Sweetwater Chickee appears in all it’s wooden glory!

I’m thoroughly beaten up at this point. I climb up onto the chickee and pull my kayak up. I feel really gross today. It's a good thing nobody from civilization is around as I'm offending myself with my own odor. I wash my hair and face with some fresh water and soap. Aaaaaaah relief!

The winds are still strong and showing no signs of letting up. I set up my tent and tie it to the platform so it doesn’t blow away. Before too long, the wind dies down and the temperature drops. Soon after the rains come and I’m forced into my tent. The wind whips up the tent and I’m getting quite comfortable inside.

Off in the distance I hear a motor approaching the chickee. I’m confident that David wouldn’t attempt a trip out here in these hazardous conditions. I crack the zipper on the tent and look out to see who this “crazy person” is. Sure enough it’s Mr. David “the Panoramic Scribe” McNeely. He’s an Everglades photographer who specializes in wide panoramic high resolution images. Check out his work at www.ScribePhotos.com

I’m really glad to see the man who is carrying my Subway turkey submarine sandwich with mayonnaise and cold beverages. He pulls up to the chickee and we tie off his boat. He sets up camp for the evening and he’s brought enough provisions for another week on the water!

I woof down the turkey sub and he cooks cheeseburgers on his propane stove. We enjoyed a fairly dry evening fishing and I tell him all about my previous 5 days on the water. We stay up “super late” tonite (8:30 PM) then retire for the evening. The rain stops and I take the rain fly off of my tent.