CharlestonMav Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 My buddies and I are planning a trip to the everglades around the 20th of March. We only wanted 4 going, but we now have 6, between 2 boats, my 18' 6" master angler and my buddies 17' 6" key west. We are planning to stay out there 4 to 5 days. I am looking for packing suggestions, stuff to bring or stuff to leave. We already have a list, but I wanted to reach out to a couple of different forums to cover my bases to maybe get some info that people with past experience have. We plan to share luggage bags and only bring a change of clothes or two. Also any easy food suggestions, we want to plan in case we can't get into the fish like we plan to. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsusteve Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Ice is always an issue, some publix's sell dry ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dave Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Make your meals ahead of time and use a "seal a meal" to package them and then freeze them. I make chili and spaghetti and freeze both--serves as a dual purpose too (stays frozen in your cooler until your just about ready to use it). I do the same thing with salad and corn bread, only I don't freeze those items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Float plan for both boats. Spot messenger, Delorme, sat phone, epirb, etc for emergencies. Cooler w/dry ice for all dinners to be left at campsite. Deet spray & 1 Thermacell per person w/plenty of extra butane cartridges & pads. Body cleansing wipes for your "ENP showers". 2 pairs of footwear per person.....1 pair for boat & 1 pair for the muddy campsites. Bring 5 gallons more fuel than you think you need per boat. Extra booze (keeping beers cold wastes ice!). Stealth AC/DC charger on both boats so you don't run out of juice. Tarp to go over top of tent rainfly in case it pours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 1 hour ago, conocean said: Float plan for both boats. Spot messenger, Delorme, sat phone, epirb, etc for emergencies. Cooler w/dry ice for all dinners to be left at campsite. Deet spray & 1 Thermacell per person w/plenty of extra butane cartridges & pads. Body cleansing wipes for your "ENP showers". 2 pairs of footwear per person.....1 pair for boat & 1 pair for the muddy campsites. Bring 5 gallons more fuel than you think you need per boat. Extra booze (keeping beers cold wastes ice!). Stealth AC/DC charger on both boats so you don't run out of juice. Tarp to go over top of tent rainfly in case it pours! Spot on and especially the tarp. You'd be amazed what you can do with a tarp in normal and emergency situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsusteve Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 If you're stayin inside park boundaries you have a to make reservations, no campfires either and the rangers do check or at least they did a few years back. We used to camp on the backside of New Turkey every year and run from there, outside the park you can do pretty much whatever. edit: just checked the rules, some keys are allowed campfires now Lol, also you can't make reservations any more, has to be done in person, it's been a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatwater Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 It may seem obvious but.. if you are planning on towing a long distance to get there make sure you have all of the necessary items for changing a hub/tire ect. Nothing worse than having a blowout ruin your trip before it even started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 This link should give you most of the ENP camp info you'll need- https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/upload/Wilderness-Trip-Planner-2015corrected.pdf NOTE: You must obtain a permit from the Flamingo or Everglades City ranger stations during high season. The permit can only be obtained as early as a day before you commence your trip. Many times the sites are all filled-up during high season so you will run a risk of not being able to camp where you want and when you want. I've had ENP camping plans foiled many times due to lack of site availability, especially when doing a multiple boat trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlestonMav Posted February 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Thanks for the replies. Only thing we were really missing on our lists was freezing food and a tarp. We plan to stay at different chickees in the park so I'm not sure the mud of other campsites will be an issue unless I'm missing something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Don't bother calling the Ranger Station for info. You'll take that info to the station 2 days later and the person working the station that day will have a different answer. You could even have different answers between Fmingo and Choko. Best practice is to maybe be at Ranger station the day before you plan to launch so that you can make the reservation. Day of you may miss out. If you are staying in Chickees, Make sure you get TWO (2) permits. Choko told us we only needed one for two boats. Asked if that one permit included both sides/platforms and they said yes. Our first night we arrived and someone had spent the night on the Chickee. When they saw two boats roll in they decided to move out. They were going to stay a second night. When we were headed to our next destination/chickee the following night, a Ranger from FMingo pulled us over and asked where we were staying. He then told us that we only get to use one side and that we would have company. The couple from the first night must have said we ran them off. We didn't necessarily run them off but we did tell them we had a permit for both sides which is what the Choko ranger told us. Most of the Chickees you can only stay one night. What we should have done was sent two people in, get two permits for the night and then send two more in to get two permits for the next night but all of that seems like too much trouble. If you are land camping, ignore all of the above. As for items to take... Everyone has hit on about all of the major points. You'll need an Ice cooler, Food Cooler, Fish Cooler(s) and drink or day cooler for the boat. In our Ice cooler we froze large blocks of ice. We actually froze a 5gal bucket of water and used it in our big ice cooler. Didn't notice that it melted much in 4 days. We also froze some large 32oz deli containers full of water to put in smaller coolers. We froze about 2 dozen bottles of water for the day/lunch coolers. We also had about (5) 20# bags of ice. We had no issues with ice in 4 days/3 nights but our temps never got above 80. We also only opened the ice cooler maybe twice to get out some bags of ice. One guy took a French Press coffee maker. He drinks a lot of coffee and he planned on 5 gallons of water per overnight so he took 3 5gal water containers. We didn't quite use it all. Frozen food is a great idea if you get tired of fish. We had a few frozen items to cook and it worked great. We also took hotdogs but the buns were a PITA. Tortilla shells would be a better option for dogs and lunch sandwiches. The bread just gets mashed up regardless of how gentle you are with it in totes. Yeti type insulated tumblers are great for cold beverages, soups, cereal/oats and coffee. Thermacells with plenty of cartridges and wafers are a must. Or take bug nets to wear. We had 4 thermacells that we would put in each corner of the chikee and I don't think it would have been enough if the bugs were really bad. Has anyone tried citronella candles or the tiki torches or are they too much trouble to pack? Rain gear. Garbage bags (for garbage and to double wrap things that need to stay dry in a pinch. Tarp(s). Dry Totes. Flashlights/Headlamps with plenty of batteries. Maps, GPS and backup GPS if rookies. We took a propane burner and the small bottles. Also had a propane light. We felt like the bottles were too much of an issue to pack. Next trip we will opt for some good LED battery camp lights that are small and efficient. Will also get some smaller burners and fuel carriers for cooking. Definitely need wet, cleansing wipes. You'll love them although the portajons had signs that said no wipes (see garbage bags). Definitely take extra fuel. I decided to make sure that I had enough spare fuel to get me 50 miles. That way I can either get to Fmingo or Choko in a pinch depending on where I ran out. After using all of my fuel in cans, I arrived at ramp to take out with 30 gallons of fuel. Ran about 250 miles. Sunglasses (multiple) in case some walk off. OH Yea, If you are in a Chickee, Take a Long handle Crab net in case you drop something off the side. It's a Life Saver! Make sure your first aid kit is well stocked with gauze, tape, band aids, cut cleaner, meds, etc. Be prepared to be checked. They don't leave any stones unturned. Check flare dates and fire extinguisher for current. Have a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 Good point, rubble! Yes definitely pull two permits if you can. One for each boat. The rangers will try to talk you into one permit for both boats since you're in the same "party" and sometimes they will only give you one permit for both boats when the park is packed with campers. All of the chickees are max one nite stays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE OUTLAW Posted February 19, 2017 Report Share Posted February 19, 2017 Love New Turkey campin . Roaring fire everynight ! Goin back next week ! 🇺🇸☠️🚤🥃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted February 19, 2017 Report Share Posted February 19, 2017 Lots of bug spray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 4 or 5 days. Do you think you can bring enough gas for that? I don't think you can carry all the supplies and extra gas for that long plus 3 guys per boat. I think you will have to return to get gas, if that is the case bring only the food needed for amount of days of gas you can bring. Leave the rest of the food in truck and get it when you get gas. Lots of bug spray and lots of water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted February 21, 2017 Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 I think 4-5 days is possible. We did 3 nights so fished 4 days but we had plenty of fuel. 50 in the tank and 40 in jugs. We ran all the way from Choko to Fmingo just to say we did. Wouldnt make that run again. not from the Shark thru the Joe anyway. Maybe on the outside. If just fishing, not sightseeing, Don't think we would have used as much fuel as we did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane Posted February 21, 2017 Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 I'm betting their tank is not that large, and no way they get the gas mileage you do. 2 stoke 130 on an 18MA vs F150 on a 20 Pathy. It may be possible, but seems risky to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted February 23, 2017 Report Share Posted February 23, 2017 New Turkey is a known rookie camp spot in the ENP. I havent been there since I was in college but it was quite an interesting experience. Expect loud neighbors and really good fires there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted February 23, 2017 Report Share Posted February 23, 2017 I did 5 days back in 2011 in a 16' Gheenoe with a handheld GPS without a chart. Looking back at it, it wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. . Had that Gheenoe loaded to the brim with supplies and fuel. Crossing Sunday Bay got a little sketchy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harbday Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 heres a basic list my buddy made from an everglades trip we took several years ago. we had several boats and about 8 guys. oil grill landing net pin fish trap chum (bags) cooler tent rain gear dry box plugs GPS waders flares over night bait bucket extra prop dry bag sunscreen extra fuses ipod cord for radio extra anchor cutting board filet knife sleeping bag pillow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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