Captivated by the less-developed gulf coast of Florida during my 2006 “scouting” trip, two years later in 2008 I decided to drive the trusty Pintail down again and do a solo camping journey along the “Big Bend”. Got a shuttle to the put-in from a nice fellow Capt. Russ McAllister who runs Suwanee Guides. The coast was magical and desolate – bringing maps is “a must” to find the designated camping spots and keeping a sense of your paddling speed is helpful too because the coastline is so similar looking, few landmarks. Saw no other paddlers on the first leg (few motor boaters too). Reached the campsite, set up and settled in alone “in the middle of no where” with a minimum of supplies. The idea of solitary camping away from civilization, in a place where the Florida panther is known to frequent, was exciting and somewhat stress-inducing, but I was determined to be self-sufficient in this desolate and remote place, actually began to relish the challenge of solitude - when to my surprise 3 other paddlers showed up near sunset! They hadn’t reserved the site with the Fish & Wildlife Commission (as I had) but their company was welcome. These other guests included 2 medical doctors and they had tons of extra food and wine! So if I’d been injured and starving, I would have had no trouble finding help.
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| White Pelicans - FL Gulf Coast |
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