Florida Trail: Loop Road to Mystery Dome and an Alligator Encounter

This morning I went on a very memorable hike that I will not be forgetting anytime soon.

My dad and I met up with the Florida Trail Association Big Cypress group to go on a short hike led by Christopher.  The plan was to hike 1.7 miles on the FL Trail then veer off and explore a cypress dome he saw on Google Earth.  For those of you not familiar with the term 'cypress dome' it is essentially a group of larger cypress trees that grow in a circular cluster with the tallest being in the middle, therefore shaping it like a dome.  It also looks this way from an aerial perspective.

Group with Cypress Dome behind us to the Right

We met up with the group at the Eastern Loop Road junction with Tamiami Trail to carpool to the trail head.  As we were leaving, Chris said something about not getting our hopes up with ideas of seeing bears or panthers.  Not 5 minutes into the drive, we spot a huge Florida black bear in the middle of the road.  These sightings are usually brief but the brush on either side of the road was so thick that the bear had no choice but to run away from our cars in the opposite direction until he found a trail to get into the woods.  This allowed us a clear view of him for at least one minute.

Florida Black Bear on Loop Road

We regrouped at the trail head and started hiking in ankle to knee deep water covering the Florida Trail.  When my dad and I hiked this section in February it was the dry season so the trail didn't have nearly as much water as it does now.

Florida Trail at Loop Road Trailhead

Butterfly Orchids on Trail

About 1/3 of a mile in, someone just ahead of my dad noticed an alligator's tail on the side of the trail.  The gator was about 6 feet long.  My dad wanted to get a picture of it but got a little too close and the gator jumped causing us to all jump.  This made the water on the trail completely murky and we assumed the gator had gone off the trail to get away from us.  I picked up my foot to keep walking and just as it brushed up against something bumpy that was not a log, Chris started screaming, "It's between your legs! It's between your legs!"  Somehow I had ended up straddling the alligator when we all jumped!!  I leapt far off the trail as the gator took off.  After we calmed down and even laughed a little we kept going.  A minute later we ran into another gator on the trail, this one about 7-8 feet long.  This one was in no hurry to get out of our way so we went way around it.

Gator #2

Hiking on this section of the trail was difficult enough since you usually couldn't see where you were stepping and the ground was made up of limestone riddled with holes for your leg to fall into.  On top of stumbling through the water covered trail, we now had to keep a close eye out for gators and venomous snakes.  We finally reached the turnoff and then what Chris had labeled the "Mystery Dome".  The inside of the dome was filled with sawgrass (ouch), large cypress trees, and beautiful bromeliads.  Cypress Domes are magical!

Inside Mystery Dome

We made our way through the sawgrass to a clearing.  Here, the water got deeper inside and some group members decided a swim was in order.

Swimming in the Cypress Dome

By now it was starting to get very hot and buggy so we finished exploring the dome and headed back to the main trail to start the hike back to Loop Road.

Bromeliads just Outside the Dome

It was an incredible hike with a great trip leader.  Oh and my new trail name is Gator Rider.

Mohonk Moutain House

This past weekend I visited upstate New York with my mom for the weekend.  The purpose of the trip was to attend Country Living Magazine's craft fair in Rhinebeck.  After the first day I had seen it all so the next day I took the rental car and headed over to Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz.  First of all, it is very removed from everything on its own mountain.  It is a large sprawling hotel built in a 19th century Victorian castle.  Because of their exclusive reputation, it actually costs $25 just to get on to the property as a day hiker.

Yes, my mouth fell open too.

However, let me say, that I think it is worth it.  While you are not allowed to enter any of the buildings (what are we, peasants??) you have full access to the grounds for hiking.  This is certainly cheaper than paying for a $450/night hotel room or a $60 lunch, which are the other two ways to get onto the property.  When I arrived, I had to park at the bottom of the mountain then had the option of taking a shuttle 1.5 miles up to the main hotel or hiking up.  I decided to take the shuttle up and hike back to my car later.

Main Hotel on Mohonk Lake

There are many trails on the property, most of them being old, flat carriage roads.  Most of the trails begin at the main hotel.  I had read about a 45 minute rock scramble on the property called the Labyrinth that will eventually take you to Sky Top which is the highest point at Mohonk.  I was excited to attempt this, but because it had been raining and I wasn't wearing the proper shoes, I had to abandon this plan after 5 minutes and a near fall.

I decided to hike up the semi-steep path to Sky Top where there is also an observation tower.  The views it supplies are incredible and allows you to see into 6 different states.

I headed back down to hike the flat trail around the lake then headed back down to my car.  None of the trails at Mohonk are remotely difficult, except for the rock scrambles.  Overall, I'd say the views alone are worth the $25 entrance fee and I will probably return when I go up there next year.

Big Cypress: Tarpon Lake

Yesterday I had the opportunity to join the local Florida Trail Association chapter on a hike to Tarpon Lake within Big Cypress National Preserve for National Trails Day.  There isn't an actual trail that goes there, so the hike leader had previously bushwhacked his way into the Everglades and had saved his route in his GPS.  About 20 of us met at a new rest stop at Mile Marker 52 on Alligator Alley/I-75.  There are no facilities at this new recreation area, just parking and a boat ramp.  We had been warned previously that this was going to be a wet hike.  We headed into the cypress trees and eventually came to an old ATV trail.  ATVs were previously allowed in this section of Big Cypress but the environmentalists won out recently so they are no longer allowed.

We followed this wet ATV trail in water up to our shins for awhile before heading off onto another old, unmarked trail.  Along the way we saw bear, deer, raccoon, bobcat, alligator, and various bird tracks.

Bobcat tracks

Walking through deep water in the Everglades is like no other experience on Earth.  I highly suggest trying it! On these wet trails you will see the most amazing flora!

After about 2-2.5 miles, we arrived at Tarpon Lake.  It is one of the few deep lakes in the Everglades, meaning about 50-60 feet deep.

A few of us headed further into the swamp to look for orchids growing on trees, specifically the ghost orchid which blooms around this time of year.  Sadly, we didn't find any.

On our way back to the parking lot, our leader decided to take us a different way and we ended up having to walk through Sawgrass higher than our heads.  There's a reason it's called sawgrass and our bleeding wounds proved it lived up to its name.

Overall, it was a really great hike that I would love to do again in the future, minus the sawgrass.

Paynes Prairie & Devil's Millhopper

Recently, I was up in Gainesville visiting my best friend, Auz.  This is a guest post from her about some of our hikes up there:

Paynes Prairie became the first state preserve in Florida in 1971, and since has been designated as a National Landmark. 

 

More than 20 distinct biological communities thrive in this national preserve - you can even see wild bison and horses from designated observation decks!  There is a Visitor Center (which we did not go to) that provides audio-visual programs that explain the area's natural and cultural history. 
One of the most popular trails, Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail
is a 16 mile long, paved trail that snakes through Gainesville.   


 We had a great time trouncing through Paynes.  We even saw some wildlife! 

The hobby herpatologist wasn't paying attention and Megan almost stepped on an exquisite adult coral snake.

I didn't have my snake stick, so I couldn't get a very good picture.  I can only blame myself!

There was a good amount of canopy cover on the trail that we walked.  It kept it from being too terribly hot.

We were out for a couple of hours and it was very overcast the entire time.  The sky was threatening us with rain, but that didn't deter Megan and I from continuing our adventure.  We stumbled upon a gorgeous observation bench.  This was my favorite part of the day.  We took a seat and slowly ate our Publix subs and took in the sights.  

Devil's Millhopper

The second part of the day was a short jaunt over to a set of lushly landscaped stairs.  It's the second cousin of Tallulah Gorge State Park 1099 steps down.  This pristine limestone 120 feet deep sinkhole has been visited by the curious since the early 1800s.  There is a Visitor Center with clean bathrooms and pets are allowed!  We saw a lot of people running the stairs.  It is definitely a beautiful place for a morning workout.  At the end of each flight, there is a information plaque regarding the sinkhole.  It's a nice way to catch your breath and learn something new at the same time.   

Devil's Millhopper Descent

 

Megan is looking ethereal while reading one of the information plaques

Path around the "Millhopper"

Cedar Key

This really isn't hiking related but yesterday, Auz and I went to Cedar Key, FL.  I had been wanting to go here for awhile and when I found out how close it was to Gainesville, I insisted!  It is an old town by Florida standards.  It dates back to the mid 1800s when it had an important role as an army base, port, shipping base, and pencil factory supplier.  Cedar Key used to be located on nearby Atsena Otie Key, which was harvested for its "cedar" slats (likely it was juniper) to send to northern pencil factories.  Unfortunately, when Henry Plant built his railroad to Tampa they lost their importance as a shipping port and all their business, causing a decline in the area.  In September of 1846, a hurricane destroyed Cedar/Atsena Otie Key and it became abandoned.  After the hurricane, the remaining residents moved to modern day Cedar Key to rebuild their town.  Only one building remained standing on Atsena Otie, and it was later moved to Cedar Key.

We started our day in Cedar Key at their Historical Society where we learned a lot about the history of the islands and were able to view some very neat historical artifacts.  We then walked around the town and checked out the shops and art galleries until we were ready for lunch.  We randomly chose Seabreeze Restaurant based on their menu and were not disappointed.  We each had a beer and a Cedar Key salad which is lettuce, peaches, tropical fruit, candied pecans, and a scoop of pistachio ice cream!  It sounds like a crazy concoction that a pregnant lady would eat but it is surprisingly good!

Artifacts at museum

After lunch, we paid a guy to take us on a boat to Atsena Otie Key to explore the ruins on the former town.  There is a main dock on the island and a trail that goes through the middle of it.  We checked out the cemetery, building remains, and the beautiful beach before calling for our return boat ride.  On the way back, the man brought his two young daughters.  We ended up seeing some dolphins near the boat and followed them for 30 minutes.  They were swimming so close to the boat you could almost reach out and touch them!

We ended our trip at Low Key Hideaway which is a hotel and tiki bar on the beach that was recommended by some locals.  We drank some tequila and enjoyed the sunset before heading back to Gainesville (warning: they only accept cash!).  We had a fantastic day in Cedar Key and definitely want to return and stay at one of the cabanas at Low Key Hideaway!

Funny stools at the bar

Relaxing by the water

View from Low Key Hideaway

Florida Trail: Oasis Visitor Center to Loop Road

This past weekend I finally convinced my dad to do a wet hike on the Florida Trail with me.  When I first presented the idea in the past he said no way because hiking miles and miles through water did not sound like his idea of a good time.  I chose the Southern terminus of the Florida Trail to start with.  Early Saturday morning we drove both of our cars down Tamiami Trail to Loop Road in the Everglades.  On the way down Tamiami we saw more birds than I could count along the canal.  We left my car down there and drove his up to the Oasis Visitor Center on Tamiami Trail.  On the drive back up we saw a few hunters participating in Florida Fish & Wildlife's Python Challenge.  As I'm sure you've heard, the Florida Everglades is having a bit of a problem with former pet Burmese Pythons that were let loose and have grown to mammoth proportions.  They have no predators of their own and have been eating all the wildlife, including deer and alligators!

We checked in with the ranger station and got a permit (they like to know who is out there in case you get lost/go missing).  The ranger warned us to look out for cottonmouths/water moccasins which are pretty prevalent on the trail.  On the way to the trail we saw a bunch of tourists photographing a small 8 foot gator, while on the other side of the road this huge mama sat unnoticed!

Unfortunately, there is almost no signage for Southbound hikers on the Florida Trail and we initially set off on a shorter trail designated for tour groups.  We turned around and had to ask a ranger to point us in the right way.  If you are doing this hike, head west on Tamiami Trail and keep an eye out for a very narrow path with an orange blaze on a skinny tree (we walked right by it a couple times).  Once we were on the trail the blazes were prevalent and we had no issues with getting lost.  Even though it is dry season, the trail is still very muddy and wet.

 Florida Trail near Oasis Visitor Center

You might ask, "What shoes do you wear on a wet hike?".  We pondered this ourselves for a few days before.  We figured that if we wore sneakers or hiking boots they would just turn into heavy bricks on our feet.  Crocs didn't seem like a good alternative either.  In the end, we settled on wearing water shoes (the ones with mesh uppers and rubber bottoms).  We knew it would be a gamble and weren't sure if they would hold up but they ended up being the perfect choice.

The first mile or so was through thick, shoe-sucking mud.  After that it was almost a relief to get into the shin deep, cold water.  I know this sounds like a terrible hiking idea, but it was really enjoyable.  The temprature was about 70-75 degrees and the water felt wonderful.  It was also crystal clear so you could easily see what you were stepping on.  This continued on for another few miles as the cypress trees thickened and we saw more and more Bromeliads on the trees.  Here is where we ran into 3 Cottonmouths all within a 1/2 mile distance.  They were prominently sitting on the trail, not easily missed.  We bushwhacked our way around them and gave them a wide berth.

Cottonmouth



Around mile marker 5 the trail heads east for a mile.  This East-West traverse was our favorite.  I can't describe it as anything else but magical.  The plants that grew here were different from what we had seen so far.

 EW Traverse section (Robert's Strand)

Around mile marker 4 the trail heads south again.  It eventually gets up onto dry land but I guess trail maintenance was due because we had to push ourselves through thick brush (and some sawgrass) to get through.  At one point we stopped for a quick lunch at the first bit of dry land we had seen all day.

Lunch Break

Just north of MM 3 there is a campsite called Frog Hammock Camp.  We explored it for a bit and realized people probably don't camp there often.  It was totally dry but the water pump seemed like it hadn't worked in years.





The last 3 miles were relatively dry and around 2 miles from Loop Road we saw a white-tailed doe.

2 Miles to Go



When we arrived back at the car, I went to rinse my muddy feet off in a creek and scared off a baby gator.  Overall, it took us almost 7 hours to hike 8 miles.  The mud and water resistance on your legs really slows you down!  We drove back up to the Visitors Center where we enjoyed a couple of beers my dad had brought in a cooler.  Great end to a long hike!

Baby Gator



Megan got a new puppy!

While visiting my soon-to-be in-laws in NE Georgia, I ended up getting a dog! My fiance and I were in the process of moving from Vermont back down to South FL but had stopped to visit his parents in Georgia for a week. His mom's friend invited us to go hiking with her. When we showed up she had a pretty black/brown dog with her. She explained that she goes to the local Humane Society and is allowed to take a dog out for a week to give it a break from the shelter and to let it stretch its legs. After the hike she told me that she had to bring the dog back in 2 days. I thought about it pretty quickly and told her that I really wanted to adopt her. This was strange for me since I hadn't really wanted another dog before that point. I just had this feeling that she was meant to be my dog. Without further ado...meet Shadow!