Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Adventures while we section-hike the Florida Trail and support other hikers on thru-hikes and section hikes
JK discovers that the weird rash on his legs since hiking south of Lake Okeechobee isn’t poison ivy at all, but something much more rare and creepy, a parasitic invasion.
On my first day on support crew, the group decided to try a slackpack day. So we were up early, much too early. The faster hikers wanted to get out on the trail by 5 AM. Slack packing would mean that we didn’t have to break camp at Big Cypress Campground, and the hikers wanted …
After our wonderful reception at the I-75 rest area, several hikers decided to backtrack a bit and camp. I decided to push on and try for a few more miles. I was rested and filled with good food. It wasn’t long after I made it through the north I-75 gate to Nobles Road that the …
Day Two of the Panhandle Trace Hike started off where we’d left the trail the day before, at Kennedy Bridge. After we dropped off our cars at the end point for the hike, McVay Road, Peggy, Helen, and other members of the Western Gate Chapter shuttled us to the starting point. We asked how long …
On January 5th, we loaded up Primrose and headed south, traveling parallel to the Florida Trail for much of the trip, starting out at Christmas. Driving south of Tosahatchee, we continued through the Deseret Ranch where we spotted our first two Florida Trail thru-hikers walking up the highway. Although they are not keeping online journals, …
Backpacking the Florida Trail from Okee-tanie to Bluff Hammock along the Kissimmee River section for the first time.
The northernmost paved segment of the Palatka-Lake Butler Trail, the Lake Butler Trail extends 4.5 miles from SR 237 to Union Depot
Rambling northwest along the backroads of rural Florida, following Sandy’s directions, we arrived in Blountstown just before dinner. There was still enough daylight to take a wander down the Blountstown Greenway section of the Florida Trail to check on changes for the new Florida Trail guide. Grabbing salads from the local Subway, we drove to …
Effective July 26, 2019, fees go up at many National Forest campgrounds, boat ramps, and recreation areas
This morning marked the first time that Florida Trail thru-hikers could get their picture taken in front of a terminus marker as found, say, on Springer Mountain in Georgia or Mt. Kathadin in Maine. Although the monument isn’t in place yet – the chunk of limestone hadn’t arrived – here’s a look at the marker …
Atop the Herbert Hoover Dike, looming nearly forty feet above Lake Okeechobee, you expect wind – headwinds and tailwinds – as you hike the Florida Trail. A shallow basin of 730 square miles, the lake plays with the weather.
It was a delight this year – Peggy Grantham’s last as hike leader – to join the Panhandle Trace and get to know the far northern reaches of the Florida Trail. It’s been 11 years since I hiked through Blackwater River State Forest and while some things remain the same, others certainly have changed. I …
