A launch point for adventures into the Ten Thousand Islands and the Big Cypress Swamp, Everglades City began as a trading post and sportsman’s getaway
Big Cypress
More than a million acres encompass the watery wilderness that is Big Cypress, protected in large part by a patchwork of public lands east of Naples.
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
It’s the Amazon of North America, home of the ghost orchid. Protecting more than 85,000 acres, Fakahatchee Strand is Florida’s largest state preserve and most certainly our wildest.
Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
The longer of two loops at Florida Panther NWR guarantees a wet walk through panther habitat of wet pine flatwoods and cypress domes
Florida Trail, Big Cypress
38.3 miles. Featuring the wettest, wildest wilderness traversed by backpackers in Florida, the Florida Trail in Big Cypress National Preserve is both beautiful and extraordinarily challenging.
Florida Trail, Big Cypress North
An easy ramble from the I-75 MM 63 rest area north along Nobles Grade through Big Cypress National Preserve, this wildlife-rich 8-mile segment of the Florida Trail offers several loop options for day hikers and backpackers.
Florida Trail, Big Cypress South
Traversing the wet, wild landscapes of the Big Cypress National Preserve, this 30.3 mile segment of the Florida Trail is its most remote part, and is the toughest backpacking trip in the state of Florida. It’s a hike like no other in the world.
Hiking with two new friends
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.
Ice cream and patchwork
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 […]
In the Dark
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 […]
Kicking off Hiker Season with Primrose
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, […]