hiking

Nels Parson, Regional Recreational Lands Manager for the St. Johns River Water Management District, recently received the Friend of the Florida Trail Award.  This prestigious award is presented to non-members or organizations that have made significant contributions to the Florida Trail Association.  Nels’ job is to assure reasonable access to recreational lands for public groups and individuals with interests in hiking, wildlife viewing, game hunting, waterfowl hunting and preservation, horseback riding, bicycling, fishing, boating, canoeing and kayaking.  Recently, at Rice Creek Sanctuary, Nels and the District provided the inspiration and the materials necessary to widen the boardwalks, bridges and side trails to the Florida Trail, and to encourage construction of a viewing boardwalk to what is now known to be the eighth largest cypress in Florida.

I've mentioned before my participation in crafting a 27-minute video slated for PBS broadcast to showcase the natural wonders and activities you encounter along the Florida Trail. A bit of an out-take ("DVD extra") about the designation of White Springs as the first Florida Trail Gateway Community was created by our team at Seidler Productions and while I was out of town, posted online. I got a cheerful note from them this morn that it was - within 24 hours - the "Pick of the Day" from YouTube's editors for their Travel section. Pretty darn cool for White Springs AND hiking the Florida Trail! Here's the video short, see for yourself...

Remember when Silver Springs let you wander down their garden paths along the Silver River, and it cost separately to see each thing in the attraction? There was Tommy Barlett's Deer Ranch, the Aquatorium, Ross Allen's Reptile Institute, and of course the Glass Bottomed Boats. But at some point, things - and ownership - changed, and you had to pay one price to get in and see everything, even the river's shores. So I was thrilled in the 80s when the state announced it had bought land for a state park along the river.

I visit Silver River State Park at least once or twice a year, and notice that no matter the time of day or year, there are always people on the trails. This park is built for hiking. None of the trails are particularly long, and all of them have special points of interest. My favorite is the Swamp Trail, which ends on a boardwalk overlooking a spring in the river. Enjoy these freakishly cool days with a hike > check out the hiking trails on the Silver River's shores!

On February 26, I had the distinct pleasure of joining the Putnam Crew - the Florida Trail Association's volunteer trail maintainer group that takes care of the trail in Putnam County - along with Nels Parson and J.B. Miller of the St. Johns Water Management District office in Palatka, and retired forester Bob Simon to take a hike through Rice Creek Conservation Area off SR 100. The purpose: to quantify a giant cypress to which the crew had just built an observation boardwalk. It was a delight to be a part of this unique experience > here's my article on it. This is one whopping big cypress!

I've been on the road ever since the big Florida Trail Conference a week and more ago, checking out more places to hike and getting involved in some very interesting activities, including the launch of Expedition Headwaters, a 12-day traverse of the Kissimmee River basin by paddle and hiking trail - the Florida Trail - to illustrate the connectivity between the greater Orlando area and the Everglades. One of my hiking buddies, Beth Kelso, is on the journey.

Here at home, I never did quite get the chance to write about my adventures at Rice Creek Conservation Area along SR 100 near Palatka earlier this month with Nels Parson, Bob Simon, and the Putnam Crew, who led me to what we now know as the eighth largest cypress in Florida.

I've been prepping all week for the big shindig in Umatilla this weekend: Florida's Hiking Festival, the Florida Trail Annual Conference. It'll be a doozy! Lots to see and do, including taking a hike with a bear expert to look for bear sign in the Ocala National Forest, and watching the debut of a project I've worked on for the past year, a half-hour documentary entitled "The Florida Trail," which should appear on a television near you later this year. I'm signing books at noon on Saturday, too. If you're up for hanging out with more than 400 other Florida hikers, check out the program and schedule on the Florida Trail website. And en route there or back, take a hike on one of my favorite nature trails: the Timucuan Trail at Alexander Springs.

Looks like a great weekend for a backpacking trip! Back when I was working on "50 Hikes in Central Florida," discovering the Citrus Hiking Trail in Withlacoochee State Forest was like unearthing a lost gem. I cut my teeth on backpacking up in the Appalachians before I returned to Florida to live. And here, scarcely a half hour from home, was a place where there were big, rolling hills, deep valleys, rocky footpaths, and caves along the trail! At 43.3 miles, it's a heck of a loop hike and takes some serious logistical planning, since the karst topography doesn't hold much surface water. You can also bite off smaller chunks, since it's planned out as a set of four interconnected loops. It's certainly the most unique place to backpack in Central Florida, and lies just southwest of downtown Inverness.

More news: I've started an online forum for hikers, If hiking's your passion or you're just curious about it, feel free to drop by and chime in on the discussion.

I'm just as guilty as the next person when it comes to looking for a place to hike: I head to the rural areas, well away from the noise and traffic, to find the best hiking experience. I turned that typical behavior upside down this past Sunday when I explored some of Gainesville's Natural Treasures, as outlined in a brochure from the City of Gainesville. All three of the parks were firmly within city limits, one even being within a stone's throw of one of the busiest intersections in town, and yet ... it was a different Gainesville, a forgotten side where rapids (yup!) burble and Appalachian wildflowers grow on cool ravine slopes.

It's been an interesting week for pelican spotting. It all started Monday when on my way to work, I saw flocks of white pelicans circling over Paynes Prairie and coming in for a landing. They've been there ever since. It's of enough interest to the US Fish & Wildlife Service that they have spotters on hand with telemetry equipment mounted atop their trucks. So if you're never seen a white pelican, get to Paynes Prairie along US 441 before they depart! They're snowbirds, down for the season, and perhaps decided this year that the prairie would be their best destination.

Tuesday night, I enjoyed my first overnight experience at Gold Head Branch State Park. I always marvel at the things that overnight park guests see that the rest of the public doesn't. In my case, it was the hues of sunset over Little Lake Johnson as the moon rose ... a mirror of clouds across the lake's still surface as light waned ... the rockets red glare as bombs bursted in air over Camp Blanding ... the morning mist that raced across the surface of the lake ... first light streaming through the dogwood blossoms. I captured some of the experiences with my camera, and let the rest settle into memory.