Triathlon anyone?

Wednesday January 30, 2013
Site 16 Big Cypress National Preserve

 

* note from yesterday’s blog:  I think I may have confused folks with my “one dangerous critter” question.  I do think of all living things as creatures/critters and apparently so do Travelbug Susan and Carrie who caught the dangerous Poison Ivy hiding out with the ferns.  Congratulations to you both for being on my strange wave length although Carrie has a leg up on Susan having been subjected to it all her life.

 

We’re entered!

 

 

When we stopped by Shark Valley yesterday afternoon they had this banner flying.  We didn’t think anything about it.  But it is hiking, biking, kayaking.  Our favorite things to do. So I inquire.

 

 

Turns out it’s sort of a pseudo triathlon in my mind. 

Those of you who are familiar with triathlons, like Bill & Nancy Mills, should not laugh here.   There’s a 3.5 mile hike which is about a 5K,  a 15 mile bike ride and a 5 mile kayak.   All very doable by anyone who does these sorts of things.  But the pseudo part is that you don’t have to do them all on the same day one right after the other.  You can do them on any days you like.  Makes it pretty easy actually.  Oh but you do have to answer a question about each event and turn in your answers to get the “prize”.  Thus, everyone is really a winner.  I like that part too.  :-)

 

So why not be tri-athletes??  It may be our only chance in life.   We’ll just do them on a different days.  Each of these events begins at a different visitor center.  The hike at Oasis Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve,  the bike ride at Shark Valley Visitor Center in the mid section of the Everglades National Park and the kayak at the Gulf Coast Visitors Center in the western end of the Everglades National Park.

 

It’s a gorgeous day so we take on the hike first.

Staying at Midway Campground, we are MIDWAY between the outer two and only 2 miles from Oasis.   So today we head up to Oasis to hike the recommended trail, the loop trail North of the visitor center into Big Cypress.  

 

It doesn’t start out very impressively as we walk for at least half a mile along the fence line of the Visitor Center Property. 

 

 

 

 

Then things pick up when we see the Orange Blazes for The Florida Trail.  (Can you even see that little orange blaze in the picture below??)

The Florida Trail is a National Scenic Trail.  In this case, a long distance hiking trail running the length of the state,   1400 miles from Gulf Islands National Seashore in the north to the loop road we drove yesterday in Big Cypress National Preserve.

 

 

Not sure what you do when you get to the end on the loop road.    Flag down a tourist and ask for a ride?  Or turn around and hike back to the visitor’s center?  I guess the latter would be like the AT when you climb Mt. Katahdin and then turn around and go back down to the State Park.

 

 

You can tell by the size of his pack that this is no thru hiker. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trail gets even more interesting when we come to the mud.  I’m thinking “oh boy, a swamp walk”.

 

 

But sadly that turns out to be the wettest this trail gets at this time of the year.  Big Cypress gets an average of 55” of rain each year.  But Winter is the dry season down here and the water levels are really down.  I heard someone say the Turner River was down 2’ in the past 2 weeks.  They do need rain.  And so do we if we want a wet hike.

 

 

 

But we do get to be really friendly with the palmettos.  Make sure you have on a long sleeve shirt if you go out in the wilds here.  These guys have saw toothed stems and fronds.

 

 

The trail turns into a pine scrub.

 

 

We come to a primitive campsite for The Florida Trail hikers.

 

 

At that point we loop around to come back to the visitors center.

 

 

And look who I almost walk right in to.   It’s the younger brother of yesterday’s slithering reptile.   So coming up is another
NOTICE

Skip the next 3 pictures and go to the finished sign if you don’t want to see this small cottonmouth.

 

The distance from me to him, no zoom, when I first discover him.

 

He looks up.  Look at those colors and patterns.  The Native Peoples took their designs directly from nature and I can sure see why.

 

I think he is beautiful.

 

 

FINISH

 

And those aren’t the only lovely patterns we see.

 

 

When we arrive back at the Visitor’s Center, we answer the question on our Triathlon form.   Since I know a lot of you will also want to enter this event, I won’t put the question or its answer in the blog.  Come on out and try it yourself.

 

We return to Winnona for lunch and decide to walk Gator Hook Trail which we had seen on our dirt road drive yesterday.  It showed pictures of folks wading in the swamp.  We’re IN!

 

 

Now this is what we are looking for!

 

 

 

 

A short 120 yards takes us into a sparse stand of Bald cypress. Yea!   Do you see the bromeliad on the cypress?

 

See it now??

 

The Cardinal Air Plant.

 

After that teasing with the water, the trail turns into a saw grass prairie dotted with dwarf bald cypress. 

During the summer this prairie  can be shin deep in water but of course who would want to compete with the bugs for the privilege of hiking here at that time of the year?

 

 

 

But dry prairie is good too.  Look at this Halloween Pennant Dragonfly.  Isn’t that a great name??

 

 

This prairie is much muddier in summer and fall. 
Now only the path is slightly damp.

 

But we can very clearly see who has gone before us.

 

David’s smiling.  Swamp water yes but
notice the water lines on the trees.

 

 

Just the habitat where a bobcat or ????? might sneak up on an egret.

 

 

 

 

 

NOTICE:  narrow fellow on the log ahead

Skip these next two pictures.

 

 

What’s going on here?  This is the twice in one day and 3 in a row.

 

 

 

FINISH

 

Like stepping stones these little cypress knees lead us to what turns out to be today’s big water.

 

 

 

Looks like more swampy but dry woods ahead.   We decide to turn around and wade back through the most fun of the day.

 

My turn.   

Apparently Last week this water was mid thigh on people much taller than I.  Water levels are dropping fast.  It’s a long time until the rains come.

 

We want to come back in November or December next time.  You should too if you want to do swamp water walks.  And possibly see the swamp orchids.

 

 

But beautiful designs are all around us all the time no matter the season.

 

And now a geologic experience.

Seems pretty unusual to have a geologic experience here but the broken limestone bedrock of the Big Cypress comes to the surface and is pitted with holes  More beautiful designs but careful walking. 

 

 

Back where we began, in a beautiful beautiful place no matter the time of year or level of the waters.

 

We hiked over twice as far as we needed to for the Triathlon but that is just fine with us.

Tomorrow is part Two of the Tamiami Trail Triathlon.
Will we make it??