Bring dry socks

There's no escaping it: you can't walk the Florida Trail without getting your feet wet.

One of the many secrets to hiking in the swamps is to bring an extra pair of socks and shoes ... and yes, also bring water!

There's no better feeling than getting off the trail and into dry foot gear after a good days hike!

Alpine lake

Here's a shot of the Kissimmee River flowing into Lake Okeechobee.
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Wait a minute, that's not right!
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This is Ferry Basin Lake, also in Olympic National Park. It's appears to be similar to Lake Okeechobee in that it doesn't have a "natural" outflow channel ... unless it's obscured from view on the left-hand side of the photo.
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This photo was submitted by Steve Fradkin.

Olympic peak

Here's a photo of a "mountain peak" and a snow-melt fed alpine valley in Olympic National Park.

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The Olympic peninsula rivals, and exceeds, the Florida peninsula in terms of rainfall. But its a mixed bag: the mountains squeeze most of the water from the clouds on the western side of the range, leaving it considerably drier to the east.

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The photo was submitted by Steve Fradkin.

Dry boots

Any backcountry hiker doing any serious distance along the Appalachian Trail will tell you the same:

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Keep your boots dry.

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You can't do that on the Florida Trail, especially during the "wet season."

Florida's Trail

The Appalachian Mountains have their trail.

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(I'm proud to say that I hiked to its northern terminus in Maine's Baxter State Park, better known as Mount Khatadin.)

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Florida also has its own trail too, called the Florida Trail.

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Its southern twenty miles passes through the heart of Big Cypress Nat'l Preserve ... and its end point is Loop Road, at the sign shown in this photo.

Bill Williams

Here's another view of Sweetwater Strand, taken from a slightly different angle.

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Wait a minute, they aren't cypress trees ! And that isn't south Florida!

This is a scenic view of the Bill Williams River in southern Arizona, a tributary in the Gila River Basin, and home to cottonwood forest along its riparian fringe.

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The riparian corridors are the "jewels of the desert."

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This photo was taken by graduate student Scott Simpson and submitted by Professor Tom Meixner of the University of Arizona.

Big Cypress Bend

Fakahatchee's Big Cypress Bend boardwalk, with dramatic clouds in the background.

Another view of Sweetwater

Another view from Sweetwater Strand, in Big Cypress National Preserve.

Sweet water hurdle

Waters are deep and flow fast at Sweetwater, but it's not navigable from a traditional canoeing standpoint ... at least not without getting out and getting wet, and possibly looking an alligator in the eyes.  

Actually, there were no alligators to be found.  They tend to disperse into the swamps during high water.

Running the rapids

Always be safe and prepared when rafting: personal floating device (pfd), a helmet, and familiarity with the water are essential to a safe passage through waters of all shapes and sizes.

Photo was submitted by Gerald Eder of Austria.

Rafting the Nile

The hydrologist's ultimate quest?

To find the"source of the Nile" ... and then get home safely.

This is a photo of the Nile's headwaters, in Uganda,

submitted by and featuring (front left) Gerald Eder of Hydrophil.

Periphyton forest

It would be fun to scuba dive down into this underwater forest-in-miniature.

The only problem? The water is just 1-2 feet deep.

And even assuming it was possible, the thought of running into a giant crayfish sends shivers up my spine.

This photo was taken by Paul Murphy using a water-proof camera case in Big Cypress National Preserve's Little Marsh, located a few miles north of I75.

Photo was submitted by Christine Clark.

When it rains ...

... it pours in south Florida.  Photo was taken along the Tamiami Trail near Port of the Islands, looking south.

The wet season lives!

The wet season is still alive.  Storm clouds rising out of the Everglades and moving into Naples earlier last week.

Calm waters

View of gulf earlier this summer.

Waves from Gustav

We didn't get any wind from Gustav, but for a day or so it gave us some unusually rough surf on the gulf shore beaches.  It's hard to tell from this photo, but the swales "packed a punch," especially by gulf standards.

Gustav also had the unfortunate timing of churning up the biggest waves during a spring tide.  That wiped out most of the turtle nests.

Canal meets wetland

Here's a photo of the Tamiami Canal, looking north, in Big Cypress National Preserve, during the heart of the "wet season" following Fay.

Water levels have dropped slightly in the month since Fay, but it's still peak water season.

Alligator's eye view

Not exactly that low, but I had my eye out for alligators, and had to cut through some dense (and tall) flag to get to one of our hydrologic monitoring stations, that's located in a marsh enclosed by a perimter of cypress.

Wetland shoreline

Wetlands look flat to the naked eye, but water has a way of highlighting where the liliputian valleys and mountains of the wetlands lay, ... and where there was a recent fire that burned away the ground cover. 

That's what's giving this photo the illusion of a wetland shoreline.

The photogrpah was shot from a helicopter just north of Upper Wagon Wheel Road in Big Cypress National Preserve.

Florida Trail Waterway

Here's a photo of the southernmost end of the Florida Trail.  The trail is always under water during the wet season, but it was an especially deep walk in the weeks following Fay. 

Fahka or Faka

Apparently, the spelling of the canal is up for grabs: is it "Faka" or is it "Fahka" as printed on the bridge.  That's why I always go by the bridge number: 030145. 

Faka Union

Flow over the weir of the Faka-Union Canal, a few days after Fay.  The current was sweeping lots of hydrilla downstream, which attracted quite a number of manatee under the bridge (to left out of photo).

Wave break

The waves were big with well defined curls on Naples Beach when Gustav passed by.  High tide covered the whole beach, and flooded out sea turtle nests.  This shot was taken at Third Avenue South.

"Birds eye" of Birdon ...

Road, looking north, in Big Cypress National Preserve

Braided alpine brook

Here's a close up of the braided section, also submitted by Martin Pfaundler.

Swiss-Italy border

Come mid September, I think all Floridian's get an itch to "escape" up to the alpine country ... if just for a day or two.

Well wait no longer, here's a photo of the Alps. 

More specifically, the photo was taken near the Monte Disgrazia (Swiss-Italy border).

Take note of the anamalous pairing of a meandering channel just 100-200 meters away from a braided river section, all on the same brook.  

This photo was submitted by Martin Pfaundler of Switzerland.

Ochopee-to-Naples commute

Mullet Slough monitoring

A hydrologic monitoring station located in the Mullet Slough region of Big Cypress National Preserve.

Ochopee

Tamiami Trail near Ochopee, looking west, following Fay.

Pine islands

Some of the pinelands still had dry ground following Fay. The darker green areas in this photo, near Turner River Road, are pinelands.

Cypress slough

Another photo of Mullet Slough, looking north, after its inundation from Fay.

Over the top

Water flowing over Loop Road, about 2 weeks after Fay.

Tamiami Trail

Fay's water backing up behind the Tamiami Trail, about 5 miles west of Monroe Station ... looking north.

Street sweeper

I heard this rumble in the middle of the night, about two weeks after Fay. It was the Collier County street sweeper passing through to clean the road of sand and debris.

Dwarf cypress

Also at Mullet Slough. Dwarf cypress -- and old ones -- are a common site in this part of the preserve.

Mullet Slough

Helicopter in Big Cypress National Preserve's Mullet Slough, very near to where it spills into the Everglades.

Cloud reflections

Waters reflecting clouds in Big Cypress National Preserve, a week after Fay.

Fay-swept Kissimmee

Fay inundated its fair share of hydrologic monitoring stations. This one was up on the Kissimmee River, near its tailwaters. Photo was submitted by Karl Snyder.

Mud Lake

Here's Mud Lake, looking north.

Rain gage

This rain gage is located near Mud Lake in the middle of Big Cypress National Preserve. The photo was take a week after Fay.

Mighty Rhine

And here's a photo of the Rhine itself. I'll admit its not the best photo: but its the only one I have. It was shot on our way to the airport in Dusseldorf.

Rhine Bridge

Speaking of international water bodies, here's a photo of a bridge that crosses over the Rhine River, in Germany.

Wetlands are not wastelands

I had no idea they had wetlands in the Bahamas: but they do have a lot of coastline, so they must have their fair share of mangroves.
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The sign says it all.
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This photo was submitted by Todd Hopkins.

The call of the gulf

The turtles cover quite a bit of sea between there short stay on the beach. Yet again another topic I have to research. This day the gulf was very calm, almost glass-like.

Another turtle nest

Here's another view of a sea turtle nest. It's a painstaking job finding and fencing off these nests. Hats off to the team and individuals that do it.

No lifeguard on duty

I've never been to a beach in southwest Florida that had a life guard on duty. That's a big difference to what I remember growing up and vacationing along the Maryland shore.

Shells of paradise

Never remove a live shell from the beach. Collier County Code Chapter 246, Section 246 - 28 (b) (13)

Do not disturb

Sea turtle nests are protected by Florida Law Chapter 370 and the US Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Turtle nesting season

Here's a photo of a protected turtle nest along the beach at Naples Lowermilk Park, looking north

Muscovy duck

This muscovy duck looks hungry. Someone once told me that the muscovies are the only ducks native to north America. I'll have to check up on that.