Notice to those thinking of Thru-hiking in 2008!!!

[woodsy]

Can't imagine catering to white man would be very high on any of the various tribe's list of things to do. That statement shouldn't require an explanation.
However, if there is some money to be had , anyone might cater a little but doubt this to be the case on the Seminole Res pertaining to hikers.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

[mudhead]

I believe if you are stopped on the res, you have the right to for the county sheriff to be present-I'd do it.

Might be like the Border Patrol asking to look in the trunk 101 miles from the border. I don't push issues like that.

[BigStu]

Ask the Irish who were nearly wiped out on their own island by the British. They spent hundreds of years killing each other. They finally learned that prosperity for Northern Ireland hinged on getting along. Maybe the Seminoles will take a hint.

That's about 600 years of history tidily wrapped up there.

[Shane! Come Back!]

Just a little more background on the Seminoles. They are they only tribe in the country that never gave in to the US military. No peace treaty was ever signed. The Army gave up trying to run them off their land and hundreds of US military died trying. It wasn't until the late 1950's that the US government even recognized them as an Indian Nation. They didn't move onto the "reservation land" that was set aside for them for decades. So they may be historically more stubborn and given to distrust of anything that appears to be demands of outsiders.

History with sugar on top, Sonic?

The Seminoles didn’t even exist when the Euros first arrived on our shores. They formed later, as a ragtag group of runaway black slaves and Indians from other tribes who banded together in Florida. (In recent times, the Seminoles tried to re-write history by excising blacks. See NY Times article, "The Seminole Tribe, Running From History," www.racematters.org/seminolesrunningfromhistory.htm)

Unconquered by the U.S. Army? At the end of the Seminole wars in 1858, there were only 300 of them left in the Florida swamps, there were no more hostilities, and the writing was on the wall: the young United States was the new government in Florida.

The Seminoles would have been "recognized" earlier by the U.S. except the Seminoles themselves requested a delay, as they weren’t ready (by their own account) to govern themselves. Today they are essentially a corporation run by a board of directors.

Bottom line, I don’t like politics with my hiking, so they have lost me as one of their well-wishers. Especially since FTAs Footprint magazine recently did a big spread on them -- a huge gesture of goodwill-- promoting their commercial enterprises.

[MOWGLI]

This thread is not about the history of the Seminoles. It's teetering into the political realm. So as the forum moderator, I am asking you all to kindly refrain from that discussion line. Please stick to discussing the Florida Trail or take it to the politics forum.

Thank you!

[Gray Blazer]

I'm going to Chipley after Christmas. Any nice sections that anybody wants to recommend around there on the FT?

[MOWGLI]

Gray Blazer:

That's not too far from Eglin AFB. A new section of the Florida Trail is apparently open in Eglin. If you haven't hiked in Eglin, I recommend it! It's beautiful.

[Gray Blazer]

I'll check it out. Thanks. Anybody else?

[Shane! Come Back!]

The Florida Trail in the Apalachicola Natl Forest gets my vote for wilderness beauty.
www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/panhandleeast/trails/apalachicola.htm
Drive time Chipley to Bristol (stepping off point to Camel Lake) about one hour.

Chipley is situated near all kinds of gorgeous Panhandle hiking outside the Florida Trail system, too.

[Gray Blazer]

Any hilly sections near Chipley?

[Shane! Come Back!]

MOWGLI16: "This thread is not about the history of the Seminoles. It's teetering into the political realm. So as the forum moderator, I am asking you all to kindly refrain from that discussion line. Please stick to discussing the Florida Trail or take it to the politics forum.Thank you!"
No rule violations intended. Sorry.

Any hilly sections near Chipley?

Not sure of hilly sections of the FT near Chipley, unless in the region of Blackwater River State Park (Juniper Trail?) Torreya State Park (not within FT) has a loop trail if you’re up to it called the Torreya Challenge. Not far from Torreya is the Nature Conservancy’s "Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve / Garden of Eden Trail." Bring your Vit I and enjoy!

Note about Eglin hikes: speaking of rules, this requires special handling, not suitable for spur-of-the-moment hiking. You have to get an Eglin Recreation Permit, $5, from Eglin Natural Resources Branch, 107 Hwy 85 North, Niceville, FL 32578, (850) 882-4164. Overnight campers also need a camping permit. FT thru-hikers, however, don’t need these permits but instead must have an official letter from FTA confirming their status as a thru-hiker and listing approx. dates of travel within Eglin. Everyone hiking in Eglin must fill out a hiker registration card at the trailhead kiosk, and carry proof of ID.... (whew,gasp! )

[MOWGLI]

Note about Eglin hikes: speaking of rules, this requires special handling, not suitable for spur-of-the-moment hiking. You have to get an Eglin Recreation Permit, $5, from Eglin Natural Resources Branch, 107 Hwy 85 North, Niceville, FL 32578, (850) 882-4164. Overnight campers also need a camping permit. FT thru-hikers, however, don’t need these permits but instead must have an official letter from FTA confirming their status as a thru-hiker and listing approx. dates of travel within Eglin. Everyone hiking in Eglin must fill out a hiker registration card at the trailhead kiosk, and carry proof of ID.... (whew,gasp! )

You also have to view a short video about unexploded ordinance before you can backpack/camp in Eglin.

[sasquatch2014]

Do they also suggest that if you hear a long whistling sound coming from over head that you duck and cover?

[MOWGLI]

Do they also suggest that if you hear a long whistling sound coming from over head that you duck and cover?

I hiked there 3 years ago. So I forget. Not a bad idea. I heard plenty of explosions in 45 miles. One explosion sounded close, but I have no idea how close it actually was.

[Gray Blazer]

Good stuff. people. Thankyou.

[Shane! Come Back!]

Do they also suggest that if you hear a long whistling sound coming from over head that you duck and cover?

Nah, Sasquatch, nothing as definitive as that.

A rather weak "should be okay" shouts out at me from Skeemer’s 2007 Florida Trail Journal: "I call Eglin AFB to notify them of my expected arrival. The lady on the phone says there is bombing going on all week in the afternoons south of the trail. At first she thinks I'll have a problem, but later says I should be okay..."
www.trailjournals.com/text/list.cfm?id=5072

[Gray Blazer]

Someone mentioned in another thread that the FT was ugly. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Here are a cupla scenes from the FT that I thought were nice. I've got a cupla more in my WB gallery.

[highway]

Boy, did the direction of this thread's topic stray way off to the side...

So, did the Seminoles sign the agreement with FTA to allow hikers to cross or not???

[the goat]

it's tragic that after their wholesale slaughter, stealing of their land, rape of their culture, these selfish native americans won't let hikers traipse through the small plot of land that the u.s. gov sequestered them to.

[Hammock Hanger]

Boy, did the direction of this thread's topic stray way off to the side...

So, did the Seminoles sign the agreement with FTA to allow hikers to cross or not???

Yes, it was signed for the 2008 season but will need to be re-signed for the 2009, 10, 11... It is a yearly lease.