This is a story about my first overnight kayaking trip to North Nest Key in the Florida Bay.
It was the first weekend in April 2010 and the weather was still giving us those gorgeous 75 degree days and 65 degree nights so it was perfect camping/paddling weather the winds were holding around 10 – 15 knots out of the East so they were slightly more than we were hoping for but not nearly enough to dissuade us from executing the plan. I called my paddling buddies Matt and Neil to find out if they were still going to brave the North Nest trip after our last trip through Biscayne bay that was taken as a trial run to make sure we could paddle 9 miles on our 12’ SOT and camp for the night, then paddle 9 miles home. Matt was in, Neil was not able to but only because he had something to do with family so he couldn’t make it (which he was not happy about). So Matt came to my house the Friday night on the first weekend of April and we loaded the kayaks and gear in his car. He crashed on the couch so that we could get up at 5am and head out. Of course I barley slept at all that night thinking about the journey to ensue the following morning. We got out on time and drove south for 2 hours to the launch site in Key Largo at Florida Bay Outfitters. It’s a kayak shop that allows kayakers to park in their lot overnight for free and they have a little ramp into the water instead of a sea wall which makes loading and boarding the kayak much easier. With nervous excitement we loaded all of our gear onto our kayaks and double checked everything not knowing what we were about to set out into. We finally set out at about 8:30am with our nicely loaded (not overloaded) kayaks including GPS and handheld waterproof VHF marine radios that to communicate with each other or call for help just in case. I also had a small survival kit in a dry bag which contained some flares, first aid kit, and a signal mirror so overall we were pretty safe and prepared. I had purchased a dozen live shrimp to throw in my live well that was built in to my kayak (that was the best feature on it). So we started off on our paddle across Blackwater Sound and into Dusenberry Creek which is a relatively long, heavily boat traveled canal you must paddle through until you get to a small channel in the mangroves that is no wake and only used by small boats and kayaks. The wind was blowing directly on our back so we didn’t have the problem with our kayaks turning, and in fact was helping us quite a bit because when you stopped paddling, you continued to move in the right direction. After negotiating the beautiful crystal clear water mangrove canal we emerged from it into another sound where we had a one mile open water crossing to another channel that would lead us out into the turquoise water of the Florida bay. Because of the wind, the silted soft bottom of the Florida bay was churned up and it made the water look like a milky bluish color that almost blended perfectly with the sky almost erasing the horizon line that was clearly visible before. As we passed through the 2nd channel we were faced with very shallow water but we were able to manage our way through. There were several people out boating and fishing as we passed by them. It was about half way into our adventure and we both felt pretty good. We made our way out to Porjoe key where we stopped to pump out our kayaks. Without getting into too much detail, we both had the Malibu Stealth kayaks and both of them leaked like crazy if you took any chop over the bow or side so a manual bilge pump was a necessary piece of gear. Once we were fully buoyant again we shoved off Porjoe and took a heading directly for the Nest Keys rather than lose time and distance by heading to the southernmost key. That crossing was a two mile open water paddle that lasted only about 30 minutes since we were able to maintain a speed of 4 mph thanks to the wind on our backs. We arrived at the southern tip of North Nest and there wasn’t a boat for as far as you could see in any direction so we thought we had the place to ourselves…
It was like arriving at your own private island. We began exploring the western coastline of North Nest for a good camp spot because of the wind. We came to the cove on the Southwest side of the key but found landing to be difficult as it was very shallow and the silt/sand mixture made it almost impossible to walk through. We pushed our kayaks back out and continued scouting the island for a good campsite. I remembered reading about someone that had found nice spots along the Northwest side of the island so as we made our way around the western peninsula and we were greeted by about 15 boats and 30+ people all beached with anchors out and cranking their loud music which is supposed to be illegal. Not exactly what you hope to find on a deserted island in the middle of the bay, especially after a 9 mile paddle but hey we were there and had to be ok with it. Luckily none of them looked like they were staying overnight. Most of them were only there for the day and it was already after 12:00pm so we started drinking some cold beers which at that point were going down very easily. We found our ideal spot on shore and pitched our hammocks as if to stake our claim. It was about 5pm when the boats started to depart and we had put away a 12 pack by that point. We felt like salty pirates and it couldn’t get much better as we finished the beer and moved on to rum as the night started to fall. All of the boats were gone now and a quiet swept over the island. There was a nice breeze and the temperature was perfect for camping. We rounded up a lot of firewood from dead mangroves and other trees around the island to get a fire going, and then cooked our traditional kayak overnight dinner which was smoked sausage over the fire, canned BBQ beans and Mac ‘n’ cheese cooked on a the compact Brunton foldable canister stove (those things are amazing). Continuing on with the rum we chilled by the fire and watched the stars which are incredible out there since you are a long way from any light pollution. Matt and I collectively made the joint prediction that it wasn’t going to rain that night and left our rain fly’s off so we could lay in our hammocks and watch the stars through our bug nets. Of course I was pretty drunk at that point and don’t remember doing much star gazing as I think I passed out the second my head hit my miniature pillow. Woke up to an amazing sunrise over a turquoise bay and it had to be one of the best moments I have had in a long time. It was just a majestic and breathtaking place to be and about the moment I was taking it all in, I felt that hot feeling come over my face and mouth start watering… I was about to be sick and I still had to unzip my bug net and get out of the damn hammock. I sprang up and managed to maintain my composure long enough to get to the shore line. As I was kneeling on the soft sand with my stomach in full contraction I was beginning to think of 9 mile paddle home and how hard it was going to be with a hangover. We didn’t have to pack up and leave right away, nor did we feel the urge to. Our hangover coupled with the sheer beauty of the place was enough to make us want to stay as long as we safely could. We made some coffee then oatmeal… A small shot of rum in the coffee and that seemed to settle our stomachs. There is a porta-potty located on the west side of the island on a dock so that was a little more convenient then digging a hole but having to jump in your kayak and paddle first thing in the morning when you really have to go is almost comical. Here is a panoramic of our campsite that Matt took with his iPhone combining 5 different pictures:
It was the first weekend in April 2010 and the weather was still giving us those gorgeous 75 degree days and 65 degree nights so it was perfect camping/paddling weather the winds were holding around 10 – 15 knots out of the East so they were slightly more than we were hoping for but not nearly enough to dissuade us from executing the plan. I called my paddling buddies Matt and Neil to find out if they were still going to brave the North Nest trip after our last trip through Biscayne bay that was taken as a trial run to make sure we could paddle 9 miles on our 12’ SOT and camp for the night, then paddle 9 miles home. Matt was in, Neil was not able to but only because he had something to do with family so he couldn’t make it (which he was not happy about). So Matt came to my house the Friday night on the first weekend of April and we loaded the kayaks and gear in his car. He crashed on the couch so that we could get up at 5am and head out. Of course I barley slept at all that night thinking about the journey to ensue the following morning. We got out on time and drove south for 2 hours to the launch site in Key Largo at Florida Bay Outfitters. It’s a kayak shop that allows kayakers to park in their lot overnight for free and they have a little ramp into the water instead of a sea wall which makes loading and boarding the kayak much easier. With nervous excitement we loaded all of our gear onto our kayaks and double checked everything not knowing what we were about to set out into. We finally set out at about 8:30am with our nicely loaded (not overloaded) kayaks including GPS and handheld waterproof VHF marine radios that to communicate with each other or call for help just in case. I also had a small survival kit in a dry bag which contained some flares, first aid kit, and a signal mirror so overall we were pretty safe and prepared. I had purchased a dozen live shrimp to throw in my live well that was built in to my kayak (that was the best feature on it). So we started off on our paddle across Blackwater Sound and into Dusenberry Creek which is a relatively long, heavily boat traveled canal you must paddle through until you get to a small channel in the mangroves that is no wake and only used by small boats and kayaks. The wind was blowing directly on our back so we didn’t have the problem with our kayaks turning, and in fact was helping us quite a bit because when you stopped paddling, you continued to move in the right direction. After negotiating the beautiful crystal clear water mangrove canal we emerged from it into another sound where we had a one mile open water crossing to another channel that would lead us out into the turquoise water of the Florida bay. Because of the wind, the silted soft bottom of the Florida bay was churned up and it made the water look like a milky bluish color that almost blended perfectly with the sky almost erasing the horizon line that was clearly visible before. As we passed through the 2nd channel we were faced with very shallow water but we were able to manage our way through. There were several people out boating and fishing as we passed by them. It was about half way into our adventure and we both felt pretty good. We made our way out to Porjoe key where we stopped to pump out our kayaks. Without getting into too much detail, we both had the Malibu Stealth kayaks and both of them leaked like crazy if you took any chop over the bow or side so a manual bilge pump was a necessary piece of gear. Once we were fully buoyant again we shoved off Porjoe and took a heading directly for the Nest Keys rather than lose time and distance by heading to the southernmost key. That crossing was a two mile open water paddle that lasted only about 30 minutes since we were able to maintain a speed of 4 mph thanks to the wind on our backs. We arrived at the southern tip of North Nest and there wasn’t a boat for as far as you could see in any direction so we thought we had the place to ourselves…
It was like arriving at your own private island. We began exploring the western coastline of North Nest for a good camp spot because of the wind. We came to the cove on the Southwest side of the key but found landing to be difficult as it was very shallow and the silt/sand mixture made it almost impossible to walk through. We pushed our kayaks back out and continued scouting the island for a good campsite. I remembered reading about someone that had found nice spots along the Northwest side of the island so as we made our way around the western peninsula and we were greeted by about 15 boats and 30+ people all beached with anchors out and cranking their loud music which is supposed to be illegal. Not exactly what you hope to find on a deserted island in the middle of the bay, especially after a 9 mile paddle but hey we were there and had to be ok with it. Luckily none of them looked like they were staying overnight. Most of them were only there for the day and it was already after 12:00pm so we started drinking some cold beers which at that point were going down very easily. We found our ideal spot on shore and pitched our hammocks as if to stake our claim. It was about 5pm when the boats started to depart and we had put away a 12 pack by that point. We felt like salty pirates and it couldn’t get much better as we finished the beer and moved on to rum as the night started to fall. All of the boats were gone now and a quiet swept over the island. There was a nice breeze and the temperature was perfect for camping. We rounded up a lot of firewood from dead mangroves and other trees around the island to get a fire going, and then cooked our traditional kayak overnight dinner which was smoked sausage over the fire, canned BBQ beans and Mac ‘n’ cheese cooked on a the compact Brunton foldable canister stove (those things are amazing). Continuing on with the rum we chilled by the fire and watched the stars which are incredible out there since you are a long way from any light pollution. Matt and I collectively made the joint prediction that it wasn’t going to rain that night and left our rain fly’s off so we could lay in our hammocks and watch the stars through our bug nets. Of course I was pretty drunk at that point and don’t remember doing much star gazing as I think I passed out the second my head hit my miniature pillow. Woke up to an amazing sunrise over a turquoise bay and it had to be one of the best moments I have had in a long time. It was just a majestic and breathtaking place to be and about the moment I was taking it all in, I felt that hot feeling come over my face and mouth start watering… I was about to be sick and I still had to unzip my bug net and get out of the damn hammock. I sprang up and managed to maintain my composure long enough to get to the shore line. As I was kneeling on the soft sand with my stomach in full contraction I was beginning to think of 9 mile paddle home and how hard it was going to be with a hangover. We didn’t have to pack up and leave right away, nor did we feel the urge to. Our hangover coupled with the sheer beauty of the place was enough to make us want to stay as long as we safely could. We made some coffee then oatmeal… A small shot of rum in the coffee and that seemed to settle our stomachs. There is a porta-potty located on the west side of the island on a dock so that was a little more convenient then digging a hole but having to jump in your kayak and paddle first thing in the morning when you really have to go is almost comical. Here is a panoramic of our campsite that Matt took with his iPhone combining 5 different pictures:
We vegged in our hammocks until about 11:00 when we decided we should probably start packing up and getting under way. I could feel the wind picking up and it was coming out of the east still which meant that easy ride over was going to be the opposite going back. The more I thought about it, the more I started to feel like it was time to leave. The hammocks, dry bags, and coolers were reloaded back into their designated spots on the kayaks and inhaled a sandwich at a final attempt to load up on as much energy as we could store in our bodies. We said a final goodbye to our home for the night as we walked the kayaks out to deeper water. As we came around the western peninsula again we felt the first effects of the wind traveling in the opposite direction as it seemed almost smack our faces in ridicule. Our forward momentum was stopped and vigorous paddling ensued to keep any kind of forward track. If you become tired and stop paddling, even for a second, your forward motion is completely halted and your momentum reversed and sent a drift backwards. Having a GPS/fish finder mounted in front of me on my kayak I was constantly watching the speed to try to time my breaks without losing too much ground. The 2 mile crossing went from a 30 minute leisurely paddle over to a 1 hour and 15 minutes of relentless wind and non-stop hardcore paddling. We came under the protection of Whaleback key and at that point we still had 6.5 miles left to go which suddenly became a harsh reality. This was no longer going to be the easy paddle out to N. Nest, this became one of the most physically and mentally demanding challenges that I would ever face and Matt agreed. For the next 6 miles it was struggle after struggle. We had to stop and pump out 3 times because of the amount of water coming in our leaky boats which was no easy feat since none of the islands had a place to pull out. We just got out in 3 feet of water and tried not to sink into the muck while we purged our kayaks of the bay water. I think at one point my sealed dry bags were the only thing really keeping me buoyant. When we made it back to the entrance of Dusenberry Creek mangrove channel where we paddled in and anchored for about 15-20 minutes while we ate another sandwich in a last ditch effort to regain some kind energy and morale. We mustered up the strength to push on the last two miles of what was probably the hardest challenge yet (little did we know). We entered the main channel of Dusenberry creek and the boat traffic once again plagued us.. We were thankful to be out of the wind but of course now we had a 1 knot tidal current flowing against us so the paddling was almost as difficult. Boats flew by us leaving their 2 ft. wakes to wash over our bow. Only a handful would slow down while they passed in an attempt at being courteous. One of which was this really cool guy that stopped and paced us for about 10 minutes and asked us about our trip. He was in a 28’ 2010 Kevlar hull SeaVee with twin 350’s and all the trimmings including radar, what a sweet boat. After telling him what we were up to he proclaimed, “well actually I am FWC (state officer), this is my undercover boat” and no sooner flips a switch to illuminate two little blue strobes on either side of his center console. We were like whoa, COOL! He chuckled and gave us a good pep talk telling us how he has rescued people on Porjoe key in better kayaks than we had and that we were brave for making it that far in our leaky toy kayaks. Our spirits were lifted a little from that even though we knew we had a two mile paddle across Blackwater Sound. Once we exited Dusenberry Creek and were again in a large open fetch with a lot of boat traffic and wind so it was a lot like paddling into a washing machine. You just never knew where the next wave was going to come from. I was paddling with my head down and shoulders were in burning knots. Energy fading quickly I began screaming profanities and growling like a rabid wolf. This would rouse my adrenal system which seemed to dampen the pain for a few minutes at a time. It was one last hard push and we were under the shelter of Key Largo once again and right up alongside a nice resort where a couple nice looking gals in bikinis were roasting their buns on the sea wall which I admit was a soothing site for sore eyes at that moment because it meant we had made it back to at least civilization. A short paddle along the coast we made it back to our launch point. It was 5:30pm and it took us almost twice as long to get back as it did to get there. We were both spent, and it was all we could do just to carry ourselves out of the water and load the car. I think my adrenaline glands were tapped dry and there was no glycogen left in the muscle stores. Our shoulders were in knots, clothes salty, armpits chaffed, and head still pounding from the rum but as we pulled away the greatest sense of satisfaction came over us like a warm blanket. We did it, almost 20 miles in 2 days and it was probably one of the most challenging and rewarding adventures I have done yet. No matter how much you prepare for something you can never know what Mother Nature has planned for you. I have since gotten a refund for the kayak I mentioned in this story and purchased an Ocean Kayak – Prowler Trident 15 w/ rudder. It is sweet and NEVER leaks no matter what conditions I take it through. I can’t wait to paddle that out to North Nest! If you’re thinking about taking a trip in the Everglades National Park then you should check out this PDF, it has a lot of great information that you will need:
http://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/upload/WildernessTripPlanner.pdf
Here is a list of equipment that we brought and quick review about it if it’s a brand name:
• Malibu Stealth 12 Kayak – DO NOT recommend; leaks and made with cheap parts.
• Humminbird 263c – Recommend; Inexpensive for GPS/fish finder, B&W display can be tough to read sometimes but overall a good unit for kayaks.
• Werner Tybee FG paddle – Highly recommend; lightweight and strong.
• Coleman Marine cooler – Highly recommend; held ice for 24 hours and cold water for almost 48.
• Eagles Nest Outfitters double nest one link sleep system – Highly recommend; Bug net and rain fly is a great way to camp. (http://www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com/)
• Bugaboo II sleeping bag – Highly recommend for camping adventures above 50F.
• Brunton compact folding canister stove – Highly recommend; small and efficient, perfect for kayak overnights.
• XPS dry bags – Highly recommend; Inexpensive and durable.
Checklist Items:
• Life Jacket
• Paddle + spare
• Anchor
• Bilge Pump
• Bow and stern lines
• Dry Bags
• Flares
• Light for operating at night
• GPS + Backup
• Nautical Chart
• Compass
• Tide Chart
• Binoculars to look for markers
• Wilderness/Camping Permit
• Fishing license and regulations
• Weather forecast
• Hammock / Bug net / Rain Fly
• Sleeping bag
• Water— at least one gallon/person/day
• Food—extra day supply
• Portable stove or grill
• Fuel for stove
• Waterproof matches and lighter
• Cooking gear and utensils
• Soap
• Strong plastic bags for storing trash
• Rain Gear
• Cold and warm weather clothing
• Lightweight long-sleeve shirt and pants
• Wide-brimmed hat
• First Aid Kit
• Flashlight and spare batteries
• Wristwatch for calculating tides
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Insect repellent
• VHF/Weather radio for weather forecasts
• Knife
• Toilet
• Trowel
• Biodegradable toilet paper
• Gun
• Fishing Gear
• Bait
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