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.
About Sandra Friend
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.
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
4th of July Fireworks from the Florida Trail
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 […]
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.
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 […]
A chat with Nimblewill Nomad
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 […]
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.