Swamp Walk - Big Cypress National Preserve - (Ochopee, FL)

We arrived at the Oasis Visitors Center a little before our 10:00 a.m ranger-led swamp walk.

We had followed the instructions to wear long pants and shoes that could get wet and muddy.  They also said to bring a change of clothes and shoes.  They provided walking sticks.

I think there were ten of us as we gathered around Ranger Rudi as he did an introduction and told us a little about what to expect.

 

 

Linda put on her purple gaiters which help keep stuff out of her boots and add another layer of protection from the sawgrass.

 

  

We walked across the Tamiami Trail which Rudi said was the most dangerous part of our walk today.  :)

We started out walking through the sedge grass or sawgrass in thick mud.

 

 

Linda had on an old pair of hiking boots and her gaiters, but I only had on my croc-like Shimano fishing shoes.  My first goal was to not fall and dunk my camera, and my second goal was to not lose a shoe in the mud.  :)

Those tiny trees in the photo above are pond cypress.  But since they don't get a consistent level of moisture throughout the year, they don't grow very tall and they are often referred to as "dwarf" or "hat-rack" cypress. 

The protocol for this hike was walk a little and then stop for long periods and listen as Rudi told us about plants, animals, eco-systems, and the history of the area.

 

 

As we continued, the mud turned to water and mud as we made our way into slightly lower elevations.

 

 

Eventually we made it to the edge of the cypress forest where the water is consistently present and the trees grow taller.

 

 

The deeper we walked into the cypress forest, the deeper the water became and more green plants appeared.

 

 

Most of the plants were "Epiphytes" or "air plants".  Epiphytes are plants that don't root in soil, but grow on other plants.  They are not parasitic, but use the other plants, such as trees, for support where they get their nutrients and needs for survival from the air.

The bromeliads were the most common.

 

  

Spanish Moss is also an epiphyte as our many varietes of orchids and some species of ferns.  This is a "cowhorn" or "cigar" orchid.

 

 

Orchids are very specialized plants.  They have to have just the right environment to grow and they require a certain fungus to germinate.  If their seeds don't land in just the right place, they won't survive.

Rudi said the orchids are beautiful, but only the most serious of orchid hunters battle the mosquitoes and heat of the summer to find them when they are blooming.  :)

It wasn't the bright, blue-sky day like we had yesterday, and the water was chilly.  As we stood in one spot for long periods of time, it didn't take long for our feet to start to go a little numb.

 

 

After visiting a "gator hole" where there were some birds but no gators, we started to backtrack.  It was very, very informative, but I have to say we would have preferred more walking and exploring and less standing and listening. 

It was a two-hour walk and we stopped and stood for 15 - 20 minutes at a time four times.  So we really didn't cover much territory.  But, like I said, it was very informative and it was free.  :)

We slogged back to the visitors center where we all used a hose to clean our shoes and pants legs.  Linda & I had on our hiking pants, so it was easy to just zip off the pant legs.

Back home, we cleaned our gear, took showers, and relaxed the rest of the day.  One of Linda's Facebook friends said "Did you wear waders?"

It was a smack yourself on the head with the heel of your hand moment.  :)

Waders.  Duh.  We have waders.  Why didn't we take our waders?  I even considered that the day we made the reservation, but forgot.  Sheesh.  :)

By the way, here is a good link for a really short overview of the Everglades:  The Florida Everglades.

The rest of the afternoon, we got some work done and then had our leftover spaghetti for dinner.  Linda has already blown through one book on her Kindle and is on another.  The new one is a free one.

There are hundreds of thousands of free books available for the Kindle.  I was always kind of confused by the Kindle and other ereaders, but now that Linda has one, it's very easy.  Perhaps we'll do a little Journal entry on how they work if anyone is interested.

Well, we don't have anything scheduled for tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be warm, but with some rain and storms moving in.  We'll see if we manage to get out and about.  Until then.  :)

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Comments

[Donna]

Wow... I am not sure I would do that walk since I grew up in Florida... Scary!!! I love my new Kindle I just got for my birthday... I am sure people would love a post on them. Batten down your hatches because the storms coming in today and they are suppost to be BAD! I hope not but we are ptting our outside stuff in and prepared to bring in the rooms if needed.
Have fun & Travel Safe
Donna

[Debra]

Your walk sounds interesting, but I'm with you on more walking & exploring, less standing & listening. Free is always good though!
Yes, I'm very interested to hear more about the Kindle. Did you also check out the new color Nook? I know they cost more than the Kindle - so I'm just wondering if you compared them.

[Julie]

Well God love you for braving that walk. I like nature but that wouldn't be my cup of tea and even though I love the National Parks and have volunteered at several, I avoid the long winded ranger talks like the plague.

[Sherry]

Don't those DUH.........moments just drive you crazy! No harm in your case but having waders for it would have been even easier.

I for one would love a post on the Kindle and its uses and costs.

counting the days till April :-)

[Penny & Bob Wyllie]

We did that walk about 15 years ago!!! Probably when we were about your age! Doesn't look like it changed much! There are tons of great day trips in Florida but I think we have done them all in our 27 years in Florida! There is a crazy garbage house not too far from where you are staying -- built by an off-the-wall artist!