Hytreks

Oh, For Fun

Month: May 2021

  • Congaree National Park – South Carolina

    Congaree National Park – South Carolina

    Dates we visited: May 6th, 2021
    Where we stayed: Santee Lakes KOA

    After completing our epic adventure to Dry Tortugas National Park, we headed north through Georgia and on into South Carolina to visit Congaree National Park. Kristy found us a great campground set in the woods next to a lake. After a few weeks in the Florida heat and humidity we were relieved to be in a cooler climate.

    The bottomland

    Congaree is known as a “Bottomland” forest. This basically means that it is a forest that exists on a floodplain. Because of this, the park floods frequently, about ten times a year. Depending on the severity of the flood, the various parts of the park may be open or closed on any given day.

    Because of the wet conditions in the area, the mosquitos can be quite bad here. So bad, that the visitor center has a “mosquito meter” prominently displayed at the park entry. The official range goes from “1 – All clear” to “6 – War Zone”. Lucky for us, the park was not flooded, and the mosquito meter was at a manageable 2.5.

    The Boardwalk

    On the scale of National Parks, Congaree is one of the smaller ones. While there are a number of trails, the highlight of the park is the boardwalk trail that starts and ends at the visitor center. Canoe trips are also possible depending on conditions, but for this trip we decided to stick to the boardwalk.

    Congaree is home to a number of “Champion” trees, which are the tallest known specimen of their species. Unfortunately, several of those were lost in the last few years as hurricanes swept through the area. As we traversed the two mile long Boardwalk Loop trail, we were struck by the lushness of the green forest and the diversity of plant life. We didn’t spot much of wildlife, but we did come across quite a few birds, a lizard and a couple of water moccasin snakes sunning themselves on rocks near a pond.

    This park was quiet and the hike was peaceful. We had a pleasant day adventuring here, and really enjoyed the boardwalk trail. If you plan to visit, make sure you check the flood levels, and time it to avoid the “war-zone” level mosquitos!

    Congaree Gallery

    Lucky for us, the “Mosquito Meter” at Congaree National Park was at a tolerable 2.5 out of 6. For the record, the National Park service describes level 6 as a “War Zone”.

  • Dry Tortugas National Park – Florida

    Dry Tortugas National Park – Florida

    Dates we visited: April 29th, 2021
    Where we stayed: Boyd’s Key West

    After visiting Everglades and Biscayne National Parks, we headed down US-1 to the southern tip of Key West. This served as our launchpad to Dry Tortugas National Park , which would finish off our tour of the three parks in Florida. Located about 70 miles offshore from Key West, Dry Tortugas ranks among the least accessible parks in the National Park system. It can only be reached by boat or seaplane. We opted for the seaplane…and it was incredible! Visiting this park was surreal and was easily one of the most memorable experiences of our travels.

    A Seaplane Ride

    Dry Tortugas is about 100 square miles of mostly open water with a few small islands. If you opt for the ferry ride it takes a little over two hours each way. We chose the ~30 minute seaplane ride for a half day excursion in the afternoon.

    The amphibious DHC-3 DeHavilland plane departs via runway from the Key West airport. We visited at the end of April, but it was already hot and humid walking out on the tarmac to board the small plane. Making small talk with the pilot on the walk to the plane, I mentioned my experience as a lapsed private pilot. I was thrilled that he granted me permission to sit in the cockpit “right seat” for the journey out. Kristy and Owen claimed the front two seats in the passenger cabin directly behind the cockpit.

    The flight was incredible, with stunning views of the keys, the water, multiple shipwrecks, and Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas. Owen did great on this flight, and was super excited to have his own seat and headset. Our pilot did a fantastic job narrating the sights and pointing out wildlife, such as sea turtles and sharks, that could be seen from our low altitude flight. Make sure to check out the photo album to see some of Kristy’s photos from the flight.

    After a surprisingly smooth ocean landing, and quick procedure to beach the plane, we made our way onto the island just as the ferry full of about a hundred people was leaving. Special thanks to our pilot Kris for the great flight and for taking a nice photo of us!

    Fort Jefferson

    The on-land highlight of the park for us was the historic Fort Jefferson building. Planned as a defense post to guard the gulf of mexico, construction on the fort took place over 30 years. Work progressed between 1846 and 1875, but it was never fully completed. It was an ambitious engineering project at the time. Unfortunately, they soon realized the shifting sands on the island compromised the structure over time. After being decommissioned as a fort, the building was also used as a prison, before eventually being designated a National Monument in 1935 and then a National Park in 1992.

    There are basically no accessibility or safety features in the building, and exploring it required crossing a moat, walking up winding stone staircases, and being careful not to fall out of the windows or off the roof. All three of us were fascinated by the structure and the history of the building, and captivated by the pristine views of the surrounding shallow blue waters.

    After exploring the fort for awhile, we were ready to cool off by snorkeling around the island. Kristy and I were a little hesitant to snorkel with Owen, but it turned out he was a quick study, and he absolutely loved it. We had watched a brief instructional video at the seaplane base, but we didn’t realize Owen had been paying super close attention, and apparently absorbed every last detail. We stayed pretty close to the shore, but the island is renowned as an excellent snorkeling location with many interesting areas to explore.

    Dry Tortugas National park was an experience of a lifetime. We are grateful to have been able to explore this remote location, learn about it’s history, and enjoy an afternoon snorkeling near a pristine beach. All of us had a blast, but Owen especially seemed to revel in the new experiences of flying in a seaplane, visiting a remote island, and snorkeling. If you ever have the opportunity to visit this National Park, don’t let it pass by.

    Dry Tortugas Gallery

    Taking a seaplane to visit the remote Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles off the tip of Key West, was one of our favorite experiences of the journey so far. We also found out that Owen is rather skilled at snorkeling.

  • Biscayne National Park – Florida

    Biscayne National Park – Florida

    Dates we visited: Apr 27th 2021
    Where we stayed: Miami Everglades RV Resort

    Biscayne National Park is located on the Atlantic side of the Florida peninsula, just a short hop away from the Everglades. Kristy booked us a great campground with lots of amenities (like a nice pool to cool off in), where we were able to easily get to both Everglades and Biscayne.

    Biscayne is 95% underwater, and is best seen from on, or in, the water, so there wasn’t much in the way of hiking for us on this excursion. We opted for a socially distanced pontoon boat tour across the bay and out to several of the nearby keys (islands).

    On the water

    There are a number of tours and excursions available at Biscayne, from scuba to paddleboarding to boat rides. We opted for the “Heritage of Biscayne” boat tour offered by the Biscayne National Park Institute.

    This was a half day tour that departs from the mainland, cuts across the bay, and passes several of the keys before stopping at one of the islands for exploration / lunch. The boat ride across the bay is speedy by pontoon boat measures, and Owen took great delight in feeling the sea mist hit his face.

    Throughout the journey our guide shared several interesting stories about the history of the area before it became a National Park. There were attempts to commercially develop the beach, bay and islands multiple times before the area was reserved as a national park in 1968. It was interesting to learn about the handful of people who succeeded in fighting to preserve the ecosystem, especially folks like the Jones Family.

    Boca Chita Key

    The key that the tour stops at depends on daily conditions. We were lucky enough to enjoy our lunch in the shadow of the “lighthouse” on Boca Chita Key.

    Boca Chita was once privately owned by Mark Honeywell. Yes the Honeywell of thermostat fame. Apparently, he used the island to host exorbitantly grandiose parties. As the story goes, he started constructing a lighthouse on the island in 1938. When the coast guard caught wind of this they came over to check it out. Then told him, hey, not only are you not allowed to build a lighthouse without our authorization, but you put it on the wrong side of the island, it won’t work to warn ships away. His response was something to the effect of, that’s fine because my intent was to light it up when I throw parties to help my attendees find their way here. The Coast Guard’s retort was, yeah…no…you can build it if you want, but you can never light it up. So that’s what he did.

    In addition to its storied history, apparently this island is also a weekend hotspot for local yacht owners to hang out. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, there was a fair amount of trash on the island. There are intentionally no trash cans on the island, as visitors are expected to pack out their own trash. One of the values we try to instill in Owen is to “leave it better than you found it”, and as such we often carry a few small trash bags with us to pick up any litter we come across in the parks. But on that day, we found ourselves without any spare bags in a place that could have really benefited from a little clean up. Nevertheless, the island was still beautiful and we enjoyed a quiet and peaceful lunch right next to the famed lighthouse before the return trip back to the mainland.

    Biscayne National Park has a ton to offer ocean enthusiasts, and we loved our voyage through the park. If we get the chance to return here in the future, it would be fun to spend some time snorkeling, checking out the reefs, or exploring more of the islands within the park.

    Biscayne Gallery

    Our Biscayne experience included a guided boat tour and a picnic lunch at Boca Chita Key, which we learned was the former private party island of Mark Honeywell.