The approaching end of Florida’s winter-spring backpacking season perhaps calls for reflection on where I’ve been this season. Having focused this season more on the eastern portions of the Florida Trail closer to Orlando (as well as the Ocala National Forest), my favorite trip of the year so far may have been the one-nighter I … Continue reading The Bull Creek Loop is a Gem on the Florida Trail’s Eastern Corridor
Tag: backpacking
Lake Kissimmee State Park: Hiking, History, and Hog Heaven
In my first book, I describe my first nine backpacking trips, six of which were at Florida state parks. One of my favorites is Lake Kissimmee State Park near Lake Wales, which introduced me for the first time to hikers-only trails. With two hiking loops of more-than-minimal length and two gorgeous primitive campsites and tons … Continue reading Lake Kissimmee State Park: Hiking, History, and Hog Heaven
Eating, Drinking, and Cooking on the Trail: Tips for Weekend Backpackers
Perhaps the most creative adaptations new backpackers learn to make are culinary. Regardless of what you like to eat or cook at home, your choices change when you have to carry your kitchen and pantry on your back. Although camping brings to mind visions of s’mores and roasting hot dogs over an open fire, the … Continue reading Eating, Drinking, and Cooking on the Trail: Tips for Weekend Backpackers
Concerned About Fire on Your Trail? Use This Link to Know Before You Go
Hopefully I'm not the first person to learn the hard way when I arrived at a trailhead that I'd have to find my way around a controlled burn. It's happened twice, most recently when a controlled burn begun on a Wednesday was still smoldering in several trees on the side of the trail when I … Continue reading Concerned About Fire on Your Trail? Use This Link to Know Before You Go
Chuluota Wilderness Area and the Bronson State Forest: Flatlands, Wetlands, and Much More
In my quest to get acquainted with more sections of the eastern corridor of the Florida Trail, I celebrated this past New Year’s Day backpacking on the Florida Trail in the Chuluota Wilderness Area and the Bronson State Forest. A week earlier (yes, on Christmas Eve), I had done the same in the busy Little … Continue reading Chuluota Wilderness Area and the Bronson State Forest: Flatlands, Wetlands, and Much More
About to Backpack for the First Time? How to Suffer Outside by Diana Helmuth is the Book for You
It is with great pleasure that I am finally writing my first book review on this blog, and it could only be for How to Suffer Outside: A Beginner’s Guide to Hiking and Backpacking. As its title suggests, this award-winning book is the handbook for all things backpacking. But even if you have no interest … Continue reading About to Backpack for the First Time? How to Suffer Outside by Diana Helmuth is the Book for You
Hills in Florida? The Croom Tract in the Withlacoochee State Forest Has Them
About 1½ hours east of Orlando near Brooksville, a playground for outdoor enthusiasts beckons for hikers that offers that rarest of commodities in our state: Hills. Anyone who has driven on I-75 north of Tampa has passed through them. By Florida standards, they are a bit rugged. They are also a great place to backpack … Continue reading Hills in Florida? The Croom Tract in the Withlacoochee State Forest Has Them
Thank you to Sandra Friend for Posting My Piece on FloridaHikes.com!
I was honored today to have Sandra Friend, the author of The Florida Trail Guide and many other great books on backpacking, post my first article on the FloridaHikes.com website and feature me as an author there. The piece, titled "It's Raining in the Ocala National Forest," is a humorous account of my first backpacking … Continue reading Thank you to Sandra Friend for Posting My Piece on FloridaHikes.com!
Florida Hikes is THE website for anyone hiking and backpacking in Florida
Anyone who has planned a vacation knows it can be difficult to mull through a world of online information to figure out the best places to go, stay, and see. For backpackers, there is just one definitive website for planning hikes and camping trips in Florida, and it is FloridaHikes.com. If you’re a novice backpacker looking … Continue reading Florida Hikes is THE website for anyone hiking and backpacking in Florida
Lake Louisa State Park: A Great Place to Learn to Backpack
When I began dreaming about backpacking 14 months ago at age 47 after impulsively purchasing a tent, I did not think I would be solo backpacking on national scenic trails by now. I only wanted to sleep under the stars away from city lights and the noise of parking lot campers. I eventually learned to … Continue reading Lake Louisa State Park: A Great Place to Learn to Backpack
