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Your guide to Florida's outdoors, by Sandra Friend, Florida's hiking expert, and her co-author John Keatley, covering the Florida Trail and other trails throughout Florida.

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Articles by Sandra Friend

About Sandra Friend

2012 FNST Strategic Plan Released

July 5, 2012 by Sandra Friend Leave a Comment

2012 FNST Strategic Plan Released

In early June, the USDA Forest Service, National Forests in Florida released the 2012 Florida National Scenic Trail Strategic Plan. This planning document is the first guidance document for the future of the Florida Trail since the trail’s original inception as a National Scenic Trail in 1986.

Filed Under: Articles, Backpacking, Conservation, Hiking, News Tagged With: Florida Trail

2012 State of the Trail Report now available

October 8, 2012 by Sandra Friend Leave a Comment

2012 State of the Trail Report now available

The Florida National Scenic Trail 2012 State of the Trail Report is now available for download from the USDA Forest Service.

Filed Under: Blog, Resources Tagged With: Florida Trail

45N68W passes Florida tests

August 20, 2009 by Sandra Friend 6 Comments

45N68W passes Florida tests

Several months ago, I was contacted by the folks at 45N68W (the coordinates of the northern terminus of the AT) to test a new insect repellent they have on the market. I took it with me to the Everglades in May, but wouldn’t you know … no mosquitoes to speak of! I’ve done my best […]

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: Bug Spray, Essentials

45N68W: another success!

April 23, 2010 by Sandra Friend 7 Comments

45N68W: another success!

I’m so impressed with this product … but if I could only remember the coordinates! While speaking at Bill Jackson’s this Monday I had the inevitable question about what bug spray I recommend, and I immediately could picture the spray bottle in my mind, and the fact that neem seems to be the magic ingredient, […]

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: Bug Spray, Essentials

45N68W: beating mosquito swarms

October 26, 2011 by Sandra Friend 5 Comments

45N68W: beating mosquito swarms

45N68W does it again for Florida’s mean mosquitoes. An unintended field test comparison this week pitted a Deet-based product against swarms of oversized mosquitoes in Volusia”s Wiregrass Prairie Preserve against the all-natural 45N68W on the big loop at Wekiwa Springs. I’d forgotten to pack the bug juice for the first trek, so I borrowed what […]

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: Bug Spray, Essentials

4th of July Fireworks from the Florida Trail

July 7, 2009 by Sandra Friend 1 Comment

Dueling fireworks – Winter Springs and Oviedo – were visible from the Florida Trail the other night if you knew where to look! My friend Joan, aka Bluetrail, had a great plan – head out on the Cross Seminole Trail bridge over SR 434 after dark. Sure enough, it was a high enough vantage point […]

Filed Under: Blog

72 Hours (or so) in Hot Springs, North Carolina

September 24, 2012 by Sandra Friend 1 Comment

72 Hours (or so) in Hot Springs, North Carolina

Invited to Hot Springs to hang out with our hiker friends Chuck & Tigger, we headed back to this pleasant Appalachian Trail community for the second time this year.

Filed Under: Articles, Travel Tagged With: Appalachian Trail, North Carolina

9 to 5

July 1, 2012 by Sandra Friend Leave a Comment

9 to 5

One of the absolute truths of a thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail is that it is not recreation. It’s a job, filled with repetitive tasks. Find and purify water. Fix meals. Determine how far the feet and knees can handle. Plan town stops. Put up and take down tent. Roll out sleeping bags. Inflate and […]

Filed Under: Appalachian Trail, Treks Tagged With: AT2012

A chat with Nimblewill Nomad

May 28, 2009 by Sandra Friend Leave a Comment

I had a pleasant chat Wednesday night with one of my hiking heroes, M.J. Eberhart, aka Nimblewill Nomad, calling from Paradise. That’s Paradise, Michigan, and Eb is within a couple of days of completing the North Country Trail through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and swinging down into the rest of Michigan as he continues […]

Filed Under: Blog

A Different Perspective

May 17, 2012 by Sandra Friend 1 Comment

A Different Perspective

When you’re on foot, it’s a little strange to be walking up an Interstate ramp. This was our first interstate crossing on the AT, under I-40. Many more to come.

Filed Under: Appalachian Trail, Treks Tagged With: AT2012

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Hiking Guidebooks for Florida

Guthook GuidesGuthook Guides Comprehensive logistics and offline maps for the Florida National Scenic Trail.


Florida Trail Guide 50 Hikes in Central Florida Five Star Trails Orlando Five Star Trails Gainesville & Ocala Hiker's Guide to the Sunshine State 50 Hikes in South Florida

Updates on Florida’s outdoors


The Florida Trail Guide

Florida Trail guidebookThe comprehensive guidebook to planning section and thru-hikes of the Florida Trail.

Get the Guide!

The Florida Trail App

Florida Trail appComprehensive logistics and offline maps all in one: our guidebook is now also an interactive app by Guthook Guides.

Get the App!

The Florida Trail

Florida Trail history book

A comprehensive photo-rich history covering 50 years of Florida's favorite hiking destination. 9x12", 228 pages, full color.

Get the Book!

Latest Articles

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NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola . Apalachicola National Forest . Apalachicola River . Blackwater River State Forest . Blountstown . Crawfordville. Crestview . DeFuniak Springs . Destin . Fort Walton Beach . Ebro . Freeport . Gulf Islands National Seashore . Madison . Marianna . Milton . Navarre . Niceville . Panama City Beach . Pensacola . Ponce De Leon . Port St. Joe . Sopchoppy . St. Marks . St. Marks NWR . Tallahassee

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CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka . Belleview . Brandon . Brooksville . Bushnell . Canaveral National Seashore . Christmas . Clearwater Beach . Clermont . Coast to Coast Trail . Cocoa Beach . Cross Florida Greenway . Crystal River . Dade City . Daytona Beach . Deland . Deltona . Dunnellon . Frostproof . Geneva . Inverness . Kissimmee . Lakeland . Lake Wales . Leesburg . Melbourne . Merritt Island NWR . Mount Dora . New Port Richey . New Smyrna Beach . Ocala . Ocala National Forest .Orlando . Ormond Beach . Oviedo . Sanford . Silver Springs . St. Cloud . St. Petersburg . Tampa . Tarpon Springs . Titusville . Walt Disney World . Withlacoochee State Forest . Withlacoochee State Trail . Yeehaw Junction

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
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SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia . Big Cypress . Big Cypress National Preserve . Clewiston . Everglades City . Everglades National Park . Fisheating Creek . Lake Okeechobee . Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail . Lake Placid . Moore Haven . Okeechobee . Sebring

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Biscayne Bay . Biscayne National Park . Boca Raton . Coral Gables . Everglades National Park . Florida Keys . Fort Lauderdale . Fort Pierce . Hobe Sound . Homestead . Jupiter . Key Biscayne . Miami . Ocean to Lake . Palm Beach . Port St. Lucie . Sebastian . Stuart . Vero Beach . West Palm Beach

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