are there really that few of us ?
who hike in Florida ? I know it's near impossible during the long summer but we do get a little cool weather.
I hiked about a month on the AT with a 70+ year old gentleman from Florida. He was a hardcore Florida hiker, had pics of himself up to his thighs in swamp water hiking "trails" in the Everglades.
I've hiked around the Oscar Scherer State park which has perfectly groomed little trails. I wasn't even tempted to hike through actual swamps. I imagine there's some middle ground between the tame little trails and the swamps.
I'll be down in Florida next month in the Sarasota area, I'll probably just stick to the nearby trails.
The Florida Trail is mostly on Facebook.
You might also want to google for orienteering.
Considering doing a few miles this winter...not on facebook.
Have just started my research.
Thinking Orlando to Olustee.
Ocala is one of my favorite sections of the Florida Trial. I hit it on long weekends about 3-4 times during the winter. The Ocean-to-Lake hike hosted by the FT Loxahatchee Chapter is also a great hike in February.
What is the water situation like on the Ocala section? I live and do a lot of winter hiking in Florida but the trails are always dry
What is the water situation like on the Ocala section? I live and do a lot of winter hiking in Florida but the trails are always dryOriginally Posted by SoFlo
Yes, ironically water is a limited commonality in some areas of the Florida Trail. A good filter with provisions to back-flush the heavy tannin's is a necessity. Check with GutHooks App or other sources for water info or plan on carrying large volumes of water.
I'm gearing up to do some backpacking again, and dreaming.... Live in NE FL. Have done a good bit of short day hikes, trails in state parks, that kind of thing. Some nice short trails but so much of it just isn't overly appealing to me unfortunately.
I was thinking hard about doing some FL trail sections for fun and practice before heading up to hills.... Read a trail journal of someone that through hiked last year. So much of it is road walking....just not that interesting to me. Kinda seemed like there aren't many stretches more than a day or two of pure trail
Alligators are the reason it's called a triple crown.
I growed up in fla , camped, played in woods, hunted, 4 wheeled, and i got no interest in hiking there for most part. Not if theres rocks and hills within driving distance.
Imagine palmetto flats , sand , piney woods , and tea colored tannic acid stained water, all day every day. Yep.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 09-25-2017 at 21:36.
Wife and I hike regularly in Florida. Summer of course is the most brutal and usually avoided.
Planning the FT Cypress Section in December.
Hope this helps.
TF
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I did all of my Florida hiking in Disneyworld.They did help me to turn my wallet into an ultralite!
"To make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from." - T.S. Eliot
Myakka State Park, near Sarasota, has several miles of hiking trails and some good overnight camping spots. It reminds me of the African savannah. Flat as a pancake of course....
Long-distance aspirations with short-distance feet.... :jump
I hike the FT in Ocala a lot, no shortage of backpackers there.
I hike a ton in FL... Its like an alien world when compared to my Maine home. I love it. The challenges are not the rugged hills and lack of civilization, but the crazy heat and storms, lack of good water, snakes alligators and fire ants.
I've hiked all of Ocala National Forest. Its beautiful.
Well spoken. I’ve seen alien-sized mosquitoes and palmetto that could devour civilizations.
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I've been hiking the same little section over and over all summer. It's 9.2 miles out and back, just long enough to knock it out before it gets too hot.
ETA: There's been a tremendous increase in mosquitoes out there since Irma came through.
Last edited by Chris_Cates; 10-05-2017 at 18:03.
Horse flies suck.
most people cannot handle all the mountains in Fla - altitude sickness and such
It's the three steps forward, two steps back in the sandy soil I object to, but cha can't beat the view.
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