Everglades Training 2011

I had a moment today where I realized that my final paddle of the year for the last three years has been the gauntlet in the Everglades. The gauntlet, for those of you who aren't familiar, is the paddle from Highland beach in the Everglades down through Whitewater Bay to our take-out in Coot Bay Pond. Which means two things:

1) My final paddle of the year has been with adults

2) It's a really, really long time to sit in a boat.

On my Glades training we did this trip in 12 hours and 30 minutes. Last year with the army veterans, we did it in 10. A few days ago, it took about 16-18. It doesn't matter how you slice it, it is a LONG paddle. And your butt gets pretty sore during it.

At one point, I turned to my co-trainer Kim, and said "I'm over it." But that was the fatigue talking. I'll never be tired of the Everglades and I'm so pumped to spend my winter there. For me, the Everglades is the site of one of my most epic courses in Outward Bound, it's the place where I learned a ton about myself, and every time I go in there, I am truly closed off from the world for a few days. It's fantastic.

This trip was no exception. It was my first time in the Everglades as a trainer, and it was a really fun role to step into. I not only educated my peers on the various technical skills required and shared my experiences with them, but it was also an opportunity to pump them up for working with our kids in the Glades. And at the end of it, we had truly given them an Outward Bound experience, which is always a plus.

Second hour of the Guantlet as the sun went down.

I love this picture because it looks like a time lapse photo of a pelican coming in for a landing and then taking off again.

Glades Cat #3 taking off down the North River.

Nicky "birthing" a board on our first board-up night.

Paddling on the second night down the North River toward the Chocolate Chip Cookie. Sometimes, most times, all the time, I can't believe this is my office.

Photography from inside the Healy Hammock the next morning. It was one of my favorite days waking up this trip, because Kelley was standing over us saying "Good morning guys! It's a beautiful day in the Everglades!" So cheery. So wonderful.

I will say that one of my moments during this trip was when we were struggling to make it through the Nightmare at night. I was holding onto a mangrove in the stern while Dave was pulling boats through a small channel in the stern. At one point I ripped the mangrove clear out of the Everglades. Badass moment number 532 in this job. I love it.