We had 6 for this 10 mile shuttle hike on the Eastern Shore of Lake Okeechobee. (L-R) Andrew, Carlos (front), Douglas, Dennis, Derek, & John (me).  Douglas & Andrew carpooled to meet at the end point where we parked a shuttle car. We started within 20 minutes of the scheduled 8AM start.

Weather was exceptional. Sixties in the morning to high -seventies mid-day. Lots of sun and some high clouds. We started on the south side of the St. Lucie Canal at Pt. Mayaca adding another mile for the road walk over the bridge with switchbacks to the north side. The bridge gave a sweeping view of the canal lock & drain gates to the lake.

Douglas was our resident photographer & bird watcher and shared his knowledge & keen eye to spot numerous species local to South Florida. The high point was just before we jumped in our cars to leave an impressive bald eagle swooped in for a landing on a nearby utility pole. Douglas of course spotted it & snapped two real super photos. As of this writing, the rest of Douglas' photos can be seen separately on his personal trip page at this link: www.gayoutdoors.org/page-connect.cfm?typeofsite=profile&username=dougdutch§ion=tripreports

Andrew was our backpacker extraordinaire with his extended pack he had loaded with kitty litter & charcoal for training. Late in the hike on break we tried picking it up and it must have been 100+ pounds. Wow! Talk about stamina.

Of course we spotted the required min. 1 alligator for all SoFla hikes. In the marshes on the lake.

The trail here is paved – but it is along the Herbert Hoover dike – elevated - giving sweeping views of the lake the entire trek. A wide canal bordered to the west making for really great open vistas all day.

The south Florida water management system is a network of canals, lakes, locks & dams designed to allow as best as possible water management for co-existence of Everglades swampland & general civilization. The Everglades is actually one big slow moving river covering practically the entire south of the state.

We estimated 4 hours. 10 miles. With rest & scenic breaks. At the end we saw the Chancey Bay lock in operation for a 20 seater pontoon to get from the land side canal to the Lake. The lock operator was friendly & informative for the whole process. Turns out the lake here was not significantly higher or lower than the canal side. Turns out Lake Okeechobee is 12-13 ft. deep.

Lastly we thought we had a historic registered old hotel / inn to visit right across from the start point but it is currently privately owned & occupied as a residence. We were hoping for a haunted mansion.

See you next time!