Backcountry Camping in the Lower Keys

Check out our slide show of backcountry kayak camping in the Florida Keys. We do it in style!

Also, here's a blog post from a customer on this trip. She did a great journal of words and photos: blow-by-blow of wildlife sightings, paddling routes and even menus!

Paddling in Paradise: 3-day trip

Warm and gentle winds from the south and east have caressed the Florida Keys these last few weeks and served as a good omen for the first BurnhamGuide trip of 2011 through the wide open waters of the Lower Keys Backcountry. 

When traveling by kayak, a tail wind is always appreciated; this one helped push our kayaks northwest for our nine-mile Day One journey.

At Snipe Point, low tide exposed sand flats as far as the eye could see. It seemed entirely possible to walk to nearby Marvin Key across a watery desert. Far from barren, the flats at low tide reveal hidden wonders: marine worms, whelks, Florida fighting conchs. 

Then the tide rolls back in and the sun melts like a ball of yellow candy into a dark horizon. A billion stars emerged as we sat around the fire, soaking in the moonless sky. 

Come morning, a reddish egret chased minnows in a shallow pool in front of our tent. For three days we immersed ourselves, paddling along the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, making time to indulge our passions, be it yoga, journaling, photography, or just sitting on a beach where you felt like the only humans alive on the planet. 

Always close to our minds were encounters of the wild kind. At the Inner Passage, a three-foot sand shark approached, it’s camouflaged tan body blending perfectly with the bottom. It same me and with a "swoosh" it was gone. We bid it adieu and dug in our paddles for another gorgeous day of paddling in paradise.

If you'd like to join us, BurnhamGuides still has room left on several trips in February and early March, 2011. Email or call 305-240-0650 for availability.

 

Florida Keys VolunTourism

Mary after an island clean-up

Kayaking across warm tropical waters by day and setting up camp on island beaches at night is a privilege we don’t take lightly. That’s why we try to incorporate at least one beach clean-up on our multi-day kayak trips in the Florida Keys.

If you choose to participate in a clean-up, we’ll log your volunteer hours with the Florida Keys Overseas Paddling Trail. This makes you trail volunteers and VolunTourists!

Trash is not only unsightly, it can be hazardous to marine life. While paddling through the mangroves, you may see Bill or I pull over to the side, flip open a jackknife and cut away some fishing line hanging from the branches. Birds can become entangled in the line, and animals may choke on hooks. The line can be deposited in monofilament recycling containers located at many of the public boat ramps in the Keys.

If you want to volunteer further, consider joining the Florida Paddling Trails Association, which covers all the water trails throughout the state. 

Visit www.BurnhamGuides.com to see our 2011 trip details.

Florida Keys Paddling Party

We're having a Keys Party, book-signing and slide show during Onancock's Second Friday: Nov. 12, 2010, 5-8 p.m. at SouthEast Expeditions at the Wharf, 2 King St., Onancock, VA

Enjoy a tropical evening inside SouthEast's cozy kayak shop and hear about the trips we'll be leading this winter in the Florida Keys, mid-January through March 2011.

Our small group expedition trips range from one-day paddles to Key West, easy overnights along the Seven Mile Bridge, to the infamous 100-mile paddle from Key Largo to Key West, scheduled for March 22-31, 2001, with room for several more. 

We'll be giving slide show presentations every hour starting at 5 p.m., followed by question-and-answer and signing copies of our Florida Keys Paddling Atlas and Knack Kayaking for Everyone.. 

BOOK A TRIP THIS EVENING AND GET 10% OFF THE COST! Gift Certificates available. Trip details at BurnhamGuides.com

Paddle Key Largo to Key West March 22-31, 2011

The dates are set for our annual 100-mile paddle from Key Largo to Key West, Florida, the Southernmost Point in the U.S. The 10-day trip will be March 22-31, 2011, kayak camping all the way.

We’ll launch from Key Largo, paddle between 7 and 17 miles per day, and land 10 days later in Key West, in time for the Sunset Celebration in Mallory Square. The cost of $1,500 includes everything: kayak, gear, camping gear, all meals, and instruction along the way.

From mid-January through mid-March, we'll offer customized trips ranging from one-night along the Seven Mile Bridge to 2-5 days in the Lower Keys Backcountry. The cost is $150 per person per day for however many days you want to be out.

Upon booking any trip, you’ll receive a copy of our award-winning Florida Keys Paddling Atlas so you can see just where we’ll be going! All the details are at BurnhamGuides.com with photos and video from last year’s trips here

Feel free to e-mail or call 305-240-0650 with any questions!

Hitting the Trail: Updating "Hiking Virginia"

When we’re not paddling this fall, we’ll be hitting the trail, quite literally, to update our first book, Hiking Virginia. It’s been 10 years since we did the initial research, so we are going to re-hike many of them, add new chapters (like James River State Park, which wasn’t even open back then!), and add GPS coordinates and color photos to every chapter. 

We’re excited to make this book we love even better: a National Outdoor Book Award Honorable Mention, it has sold more than 20,000 copies. 

We’ll be posting trail reports here weekly, from easy walks near cities, like Newport News Park, to the lung-busting 100-plus-mile Pine Mountain Trail that follows the high ridge between Virginia and Kentucky.  The first post will be up soon!

Florida Keys Kayaking Trips in 2011

We're now taking reservations for our 2011 Florida Keys paddling trips for mid-January through March!

Customized itineraries range from one-day paddles to Key West, Seven Mile Bridge overnights, 3-days in the backcountry to the full 100-mile 10-day adventure from Key Largo to Key West.

Join us, outdoor writers and kayak guides Bill and Mary Burnham, for multi-day kayak camping trips in the Florida Keys this winter. You'll find yourself literally paddling from the pages of the our award-winning Florida Keys Paddling Atlas.

Trips include all camping and kayaking gear, meals cooked for you, and instruction. Each couple or family will take home a signed copy of our Atlas, winner of a National Outdoor Book Award. 

We've just uploaded Customer Reviews from last year's trips.Visit BurnhamGuides.com to start paddling in paradise!  Call 305-240-3298 or e-mail with your dates.