Day 3
Hog Key to Graveyard
16 miles



Today is another long day as we head south to Graveyard. The wind pattern is fairly constant. IN the mornings it is pretty still. Gradually freshening from the north and then throughout the day, swings to the east and south. Most days we have several large bays to cross, formed as Everglades rivers empty into the Gulf. The southeast winds make the water choppy and the waves are always larger as we cross the bays as the wind and tide gets a longer reach to move towards us. We carry spray skirts for our kayaks in case the waves get tool large to safely cross the bays and we never really have a problem with waves breaking into our kayaks.



As we head south we encounter fewer islands and keys and more miles of damaged mangrove coastline. The tangled mess onshore makes it difficult to find areas to stop and get out to stretch our legs. Occasionally we can find a patch of sand that seems safe to land on. We pass a kayak with 2 young Brazilians paddling north. They seem to be doing much more work to move their canoe then we are paddling the kayaks. But, they can carry more supplies and even have a cooler.



Steve with a spray skirt on!


Eventually, by about 2 pm, we make it to Graveyard Campsite. This campsite is located north of the large Bay formed by the Shark River. We know there will be another low morning tide so th eguide book recommends camping in a location by following Graveyard Creek inlet. This location has a channel that will allow us to get back to the Gulf in the morning.



Graveyard is a picturesque ground site by the creek but LOTS of mosquitoes during the twilight witching hour. About an hour after we set up camp, a group of 6 men from Michigan pull into camp. They are completing a loop from Flamingo, starting in the Wilderness Waterway going north, then heading into the Gulf and returning south the same way we are headed.



We are eating well. Steve has found a great online supply of camping food, Cache Lakes, in Minnesota. The recipes are easy, light weight and tasty. A favorite is making one of their main courses, like spaghetti or mac and cheese, and then a second dish of one of their pan breads. All easy to cook. We also try several of their deserts. Steve takes care of breakfast,including making crepes from scratch. That is a real treat on the beach. We have 2 small camp stoves and use both most nights to make cooking the meals faster.

Our kayaks are left alone, but the other groups supplies get scavenged by raccoons during the night.





Next Day