February 27th, 2008 Sandra Friend
One trueism about Florida waterfalls is that they’ll always look more spectacular after a rainfall. All significant natural cascades in Florida are in the northern part of the state and the Panhandle, and most are entirely dependent on a high water table or recent runoff. The Suwannee River’s tributaries provide some scenic falls, including the easily-accessible Falling Creek Falls, barely a mile from Interstate 10 at US 41, north of Lake City.
I’m pleased to report that recent upgrades by the Suwannee River Water Management District include an expanded parking area, playground, restrooms, and a new loop trail that you should take on your way back from the falls to do a little exploring upstream. It adds just enough to the hike to round out the round-trip to about 3/4 of a mile. With new photos and audio, I’ll be updating that little YouTube video of the falls at some point!
Learn more about Falling Creek Falls.
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February 24th, 2008 Sandra Friend
As I was in White Springs this weekend to provide an orientation to volunteers who’ll be leading the hikes at the first-ever Florida Hiking Festival in March, I had a chance to do a couple short hikes with folks who’ll be helping out. This morning, it was Big Shoals, and with the Suwannee River roaring with fresh rainfall over the region these past few days, the shoals were the best I’ve seen yet (and noisy!). It was a nice out-and-back walk on the yellow-blazed Trailwalker trail; we’d hoped to do the loop using the blue-blazed trail but it’s closed due to logging. This is Florida’s ONLY Class III whitewater, and it was in rare form this morn - perhaps even Class IV in places. This shot is from a bend along the trail, looking ahead at the whitewater to come. Learn more about the trail here…
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February 16th, 2008 Sandra Friend
Now here’s an idea … a multi-use path paralleling the Tamiami Trail from Naples to Miami. Seem incredible? Not to a new coalition calling themselves the River of Grass Greenway, advocating for the construction of such a path, presumably as part of the overall plan to raise the Tamiami Trail up and create an ecopassage much like the one along US 441 over Paynes Prairie, where water and creatures can pass freely beneath the highway. Granted, it would not be a very shady 90 miles or so, but would certainly open up Big Cypress National Preserve to more non-motorized public use, since campgrounds are already in place along the route. And what better way to see this splendid habitat than at human-powered speeds? Check out their website to find out more.
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February 6th, 2008 Sandra Friend
Featured in my book 50 Hikes in Central Florida, Geneva Wilderness was one of the first hikes I did as an adult returning to live in Central Florida. I was looking for somewhere, anywhere to hike in the middle of summer, and disappointed that no trail clubs near my home did any hikes then. Along came Joan Jarvis, who saw my online plea back in the summer of ‘99 and invited me to show up for one of her now-famed TGIF summer hikes near Oveido. It thunderstormed that night, so we scratched the hike and went for a group meal - my introduction to Black Hammock Fish Camp, as I recall - but I stayed over and hiked with Joan and several others the next morning at Geneva Wilderness. It features one of the shortest backpacking loops in Florida, easy to start your kids on, and beautiful flatwoods ponds with edges that sparkle ruby red with carniverous sundew plants. I’ve been back several times, but this time it was to learn how to use my Nikon D-80. Take a look at the results in my gallery.
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February 6th, 2008 Sandra Friend
On Feb 2, I was pumped to get outdoors - too many days spent indoors of late - and to celebrate both Florida Hiking Trails Month and a morning spent with my good friends Joan Jarvis and Jon Phipps, plus guest and fellow F-Trooper John Mahoney, Joan drove us to a Seminole County wilderness area I hadn’t seen before: the Black Hammock Wilderness. Located at the far, far end of Howard Road (off DeLeon Rd, which leads to the well-known-in-these-parts Black Hammock Fish Camp) in the Black Hammock Agricultural Area, this preserved shoreline and floodplain of Lake Jesup is also a 0.9 mile walk from the Barr Street Trailhead, if you follow the Cross Seminole Trail down a rough track. With 4.5 miles of hiking, including two very lengthy boardwalks across the fern-filled floodplains, and a variety of habitats, it’s a great new spot to explore. We did less than half the round-trip walk, due to my own time constraints, but I’ll certainly be back to scope this one out in earnest, with GPS in hand.
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