rice creek

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.

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.