florida trail

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...

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.

It's a beautiful time of year for hiking, and I've been busy - managed to visit 7 trails this weekend while attending a couple of special events in North Florida. I'll post details soon. But in the meantime, I wanted to remind you of Florida's biggest annual gathering of hikers, coming up on March 16-18 in Umatilla: The Florida Trail Annual Conference.

Why go? You'll meet hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of hikers from around the state and have a chance to chat about gear and trails. There are more than 20 seminars and workshops led by pros, ranging from Nature Photography and Beginning Birding to Tracking the Florida Black Bear and Plein Air Painting, as well as Family Adventures for the kids. If you own a tourism-related business, the workshop on the "Sustainable Green Dollar" may be of special interest to you. And lots of us will be clamoring to go out on the guided hikes and paddling trips.