Backpacking/Packrafting in the Everglades?

Manfred,

The first backpacking trip I ever did was in Florida, five days on the Florida Trail. It was great – lots of cool plants I had never seen before. The highlight of the trip was at the end we rented a canoe and did a six mile float, complete with seeing a large alligator. I don't have any useful beta, but I think your trip is a great idea!

I had friend who did the Everglades but I don't think it was his favorite trip. I think he liked the Suwanee River a lot better. Lots of cool springs to swim in, alligators and pretty scenery. A canoe might be better on a big river then most packrafts.

Or you could do a trip in Big Bend or the Guadalupe Mountains.

It's also the most expensive and crowded time of year there. Don't forget that noseeums are native to the Glades. Would be better in a canoe or kayak as you can camp on a system of Chickees. Sawgrass and underwater hazards would be a concern of mine with inflatables also. You certainly don't want to be in the water with the gators and water moccasins.

I lived in Broward County FL '76-'87

Everglades are awesome. Definitely worth a 2, 7, or even 14 day trip. A refreshing change from bakcpacking. Incredible birds and wildlife. (We've even seen a dolphin birth!). My wife and I have paddled just about everywhere in ENP, and many places outside it.Sometimes going out for 8-10 days and covering a couple hundred miles.

for me, a long fast kayak definitely the best choice.
tandem kayaks are awesome if you can fit all your gear and water. (my wife and i can)
canoe ok as well. not quite as fast as a kayak. a few issues taking on water in the gulf if you aren't skilled and the wind kicks up–but definitely larger carrying capacity and much, much faster than a packraft

packraft not well suited to the everglades
there is essentially no hiking or portaging so no advantage to carrying it.
you will eat in in the wind, either on the gulf or the large inland bays–possibly not being able to cross. on the gulf, if the wind is wrong, you cold risk being blown out to sea. even with no wind, the packraft is very slow compared to kayak or canoe. you are covering long distances, sometime against river currents with an additional tidal flow and/or headwind. trip cold take a very long time.

capacity also a big issue for packraft.
you need to carry all your fresh water
not really seeing it feasible to have all your gear, 7 days food and 30 liters of water in your raft. also you need to protect your water every night from raccoons (park req't). so you either need hard-sided, raccoon-proof water containers (not really seeing those fitting in a packraft),

ideally its great to store water safely in a kayak compartment with the hatch securely shut. or canoes have large capacity so can handle large and awkward hard-sided water containers.

Never been to the everglades, but I don't know about paddling a tiny little inflatable raft with all the gators and water moccasins.

I've only done a couple of full-day (no overnight) kayak trips in the Everglades, and it was lots of fun, but I wouldn't want to be in an inflatable banging around in the mangroves with all the funky critters. Cool place, though — my friend had a manatee swim right near him (I was so far away I barely saw its shape)…

Maybe a different trip that what you're thinking, but I had a wonderful time in the very Northern section of the park in early February a few years ago, in an area call 1,000 Islands. This isn't backpacking, but it felt pretty much the same. Highly recommended.

A buddy and I rented an aluminum canoe in Everglades City, applied for permits the very morning of departure, and headed out across the bay to a campsite called Tiger Key. Given we were using a canoe, forget about the lightweight philosophy! Coolers are in, bring water, and very definitely, bring your fishing rods. Using standard NC lake lures, I caught pompano, sharks, rays, green catfish…fishing for idiots….we ate well. You should consider metal leaders because they have teeth! We actually had a dolphin swim underneath our canoe and turn upside down so he could look at us..amazing. It was like a mini-vacation on Gilligan's Island.

If you're more adventurous, head South on the 100 mile canoe trail and camp on the raised platforms, called "Chickies". Got to think that would be better in a sea kayak and you’d work your arms instead of legs. Go for it!

Manfred,

Always another great adventure, huh?

My wife propels herself around Florida rivers most winters but in a long (7 m), skinny (23 cm) rowing shell. Don't fret about the gators and snakes – they're sluggish in winter and you're really not their preferred menu.

To do miles and miles of flat water, I'd lean heavily towards a canoe rather than a pack raft. If you have no portages, weight and style don't matter a lot. If you do have some portages, then Royalex is much lighter (and quieter) than aluminum. Fiberglass even better and wood or kevlar best, but you won't find that in anyone's rental fleet. If you have portages, it is critical you have a center yoke – all decent canoes do. But some rental fleets have $350 plastic boats from Walmart and while they have 6 cup holders, they have no portage yoke.

What you want is someone like me (friendly, good-looking trail angel with a canoe to loan) 4000 miles to the SE. I can imagine some other plays like finding a canoe on craigslist and offering them $100-200 to delay selling it in order to rent it to you and then sell it a little later. Or maybe someone on BPL knows someone who knows someone.

All else being equal (or close), more wetted waterline lets you cruise faster, straighter and with less paddling input.

If rentals are hard to find or exorbitant, (and you have no portages), you could get the $350 version yourself, strap it on the rental car (BTDT), and leave it at the end with a "It's free" sign on it.

Being who you are (a hell-or-high-water kind of guy), consider a double sea kayak. You'll have to pack tighter and leave the ice chest behind, but you're great at that. The thing a sea kayak allows is to beat upwind or crosswind on days that others have to hole up and hunker down.

My offer of a nice portaging canoe on the Kenai Wilderness Canoe Trails or singles or a triple kayak in Prince William Sound still stands, but I can understand that in December, Michele might want to head south instead of north.

I have paddled a flipflop of the Wilderness Waterway and thoroughly enjoyed it. Or as my paddling partner told me afterwards: He had had more adventures in two weeks in the Everglades with me than on an entire PCT thruhike.

You can find the trip report here on my blog:

As others have already pointed out you a canoe or kayak is much better here than a packraft. But I still highly recommend the Everglades – this is a unique ecosystem.

If the boat problem is too much of a hassle for you there is a great hike in the area: the first section of the Florida Trail through Big Cypress from Tamiami Trail to I 75. This stretch can be hiked (or waded) in about 3 days.

I have hiked 32.000 km now but absolutely nothing equals this stretch. It is strenous because you are literally wading through mud for 3 days. But hiking through a swamp is a unique experience that cannot be compared with anything else. Orientation is a big issue because there are no landmarks in the swamp and you blindly have to follow the orange trail blazes of the FT. There is a parallel trail as well so you can do some sort of a loop trail. Camping is only possible in very few elevated areas and you will have to drink swamp water. But still: This is some really impressive hiking and the best stretch of the entire Florida Trail.

You can find the trip report here on my blog: