Florida Everglades wilderness trail

[RayHeezy]

Hey folks! Considering the 99-mile kayaking wilderness trail through the Everglades starting at Chokoloskee and ending in Flamingo. Has anyone does the trail, staying overnight at the chickees? Just looking for any input folks may have. A guide service is asking 2300$ all inclusive, yaks, food, and the pickup ride back from flamingo to Chokoloskee. I am plenty experienced on a kayak, staying in the remote glades a little less. I've grown up in South Florida so am no stranger to the critters and gators, plenty of nearby swamp camping trips. I do not have a checklist, as this is still in the beginning stages of planning but anything that would normally be looked over would be a great suggestion.
Doable with amateur-intermediate experience? What do y'all think?

 

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[vpnavy]

...Considering the 99-mile kayaking wilderness trail through the Everglades starting at Chokoloskee and ending in Flamingo...

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[newnan man]

Hey folks! Considering the 99-mile kayaking wilderness trail through the Everglades starting at Chokoloskee and ending in Flamingo. Has anyone does the trail, staying overnight at the chickees? Just looking for any input folks may have. A guide service is asking 2300$ all inclusive, yaks, food, and the pickup ride back from flamingo to Chokoloskee. I am plenty experienced on a kayak, staying in the remote glades a little less. I've grown up in South Florida so am no stranger to the critters and gators, plenty of nearby swamp camping trips. I do not have a checklist, as this is still in the beginning stages of planning but anything that would normally be looked over would be a great suggestion.
Doable with amateur-intermediate experience? What do y'all think?

I used to put in my 16 foot boat at Chokoloskee but we stayed out in the Gulf. We would float up in the creeks on a rising tide to catch Snook. You can get lost fast up in those winding creeks. Of course now there is GPS with chart plotters. What is nice about staying out in the Gulf is when you camp on the islands they are loaded with drift wood & fires are allowed. No fires allowed on the Chickees. Trout fishing was amazing right in the surf.

 

[relicmeister]

Watch out for skunk ape and 30 foot pythons.

 

[Flipperfla]

We have done the upper third from Chokoloske…Lopez River….Sunday Bay…..Oyster Bay….Huston Bay… then off the Wilderness Waterway West. On the Chatham River to The Watson Place (Killing Mr. Watson a must read before your trip)…..west to Chatham Bend then North on the outside back to Chokoloskee.
Bottom 1/3….. launch@ Flamingo…North on Buttonwood Canal….Coot Bay……Joe River North to Shark River. On Joe River we had a pod of 5 Dolphins one on our bow and 2 on each side so close we could have touched them, escorted us the whole way to Shark River then turned and headed back to Joe. Nice Chickee on Joe. You can camp at The Watson PLace if you have the nerve. My Wife wouldn’t even get out of the boat the vibe was so dark, you can definitely feel the evil from the bad things that happed there.
IMO We plan our trips in mid Jan thru Feb, right after one of the big winter cold fronts blow thru……with the big temp drop NO SKEETERS! We have been down other times when you literally can’t get out of your truck they are that bad, for real.
On a Kayak this is going to be a very, very long trip. 99 miles. That could take weeks. I would think real hard if I was inexperienced doing a long trip like this. IMO I would definitely take a PLB , and wouldn’t even attempt this trip without a Mapping GPS, weapon, and a partner. No cell svc. anywhere.
This trip can either be a trip thru paradise or hell. You might want to try a partial for your first run to get a feel for it.
Any questions give me a shout, hope this helps and read Killing Mister Watson by Peter Matthiessen. They gunned him down just North of the Smallwood Store in Chokoloskee. It will give you a real feel for the Glades in the old days. Also the NPS patrols the Wilderness Waterway.
If you read the book I have the numbers for
Hamilton Homestead
Jean Chevelier Homestead
Richards Homestead
Darwins Place
Watson Place
Walter Hamilton Homestead
Atwells and Tuckers Homestead
Wiggins Trading Post
Lopez Homestead

 

[Flipperfla]

We have done the upper third from Chokoloske…Lopez River….Sunday Bay…..Oyster Bay….Huston Bay… then off the Wilderness Waterway West. On the Chatham River to The Watson Place (Killing Mr. Watson a must read before your trip)…..west to Chatham Bend then North on the outside back to Chokoloskee.
Bottom 1/3….. launch@ Flamingo…North on Buttonwood Canal….Coot Bay……Joe River North to Shark River. On Joe River we had a pod of 5 Dolphins one on our bow and 2 on each side so close we could have touched them, escorted us the whole way to Shark River then turned and headed back to Joe. Nice Chickee on Joe. You can camp at The Watson PLace if you have the nerve. My Wife wouldn’t even get out of the boat the vibe was so dark, you can definitely feel the evil from the bad things that happed there.
IMO We plan our trips in mid Jan thru Feb, right after one of the big winter cold fronts blow thru……with the big temp drop NO SKEETERS! We have been down other times when you literally can’t get out of your truck they are that bad, for real.
On a Kayak this is going to be a very, very long trip. 99 miles. That could take weeks. I would think real hard if I was inexperienced doing a long trip like this. IMO I would definitely take a PLB , and wouldn’t even attempt this trip without a Mapping GPS, weapon, and a partner. No cell svc. anywhere.
This trip can either be a trip thru paradise or hell. You might want to try a partial for your first run to get a feel for it.
Any questions give me a shout, hope this helps and read Killing Mister Watson by Peter Matthiessen. They gunned him down just North of the Smallwood Store in Chokoloskee. It will give you a real feel for the Glades in the old days. Also the NPS patrols the Wilderness Waterway.
If you read the book I have the numbers for
Hamilton Homestead
Jean Chevelier Homestead
Richards Homestead
Darwins Place
Watson Place
Walter Hamilton Homestead
Atwells and Tuckers Homestead
Wiggins Trading Post
Lopez Homestead

We have done the upper third from Chokoloske…Lopez River….Sunday Bay…..Oyster Bay….Huston Bay… then off the Wilderness Waterway West. On the Chatham River to The Watson Place (Killing Mr. Watson a must read before your trip)…..west to Chatham Bend then North on the outside back to Chokoloskee.
Bottom 1/3….. launch@ Flamingo…North on Buttonwood Canal….Coot Bay……Joe River North to Shark River. On Joe River we had a pod of 5 Dolphins one on our bow and 2 on each side so close we could have touched them, escorted us the whole way to Shark River then turned and headed back to Joe. Nice Chickee on Joe. You can camp at The Watson PLace if you have the nerve. My Wife wouldn’t even get out of the boat the vibe was so dark, you can definitely feel the evil from the bad things that happed there.
IMO We plan our trips in mid Jan thru Feb, right after one of the big winter cold fronts blow thru……with the big temp drop NO SKEETERS! We have been down other times when you literally can’t get out of your truck they are that bad, for real.
On a Kayak this is going to be a very, very long trip. 99 miles. That could take weeks. I would think real hard if I was inexperienced doing a long trip like this. IMO I would definitely take a PLB , and wouldn’t even attempt this trip without a Mapping GPS, weapon, and a partner. No cell svc. anywhere.
This trip can either be a trip thru paradise or hell. You might want to try a partial for your first run to get a feel for it.
Any questions give me a shout, hope this helps and read Killing Mister Watson by Peter Matthiessen. They gunned him down just North of the Smallwood Store in Chokoloskee. It will give you a real feel for the Glades in the old days. Also the NPS patrols the Wilderness Waterway.
If you read the book I have the numbers for
Hamilton Homestead
Jean Chevelier Homestead
Richards Homestead
Darwins Place
Watson Place
Walter Hamilton Homestead
Atwells and Tuckers Homestead
Wiggins Trading Post
Lopez Homestead