Black Bear Wilderness

My latest hiking adventure! We encountered more wildlife than I could have imagined.

To be totally honest, I prefer to hike alone but I appreciate the social aspect of hiking with others because I know I will always learn something new. Last month I joined a local chapter of a nationwide group called “Girls Who Hike”. The ambassador of the region posted an official Meet-Up at Black Bear Wilderness in Sanford, and without hesitation I signed up and met 11 ladies at 8:30 am at the trail head. While hosing ourselves down with bug spray we introduced ourselves, posed for a group picture, and shortly before 9 a.m. took off on our 7.4 mile adventure…….

Perhaps we would not have seen much wildlife had the park not been flooded from the recent rains, leaving the elevated hiking berm pretty much the only visible portion of the park that was not under water. Looking right, looking left – nothing but water.

About half way in, our first encounter was waiting for us, and with all that water in close proximity it was no surprise.

I had three girls ahead of me, setting a nice, brisk pace. The remaining seven fell behind a bit, taking a slower approach. Quite suddenly the lead group stopped, turned, and clearly motioned for me to stop. Their arm movements signaled a very familiar kind of animal – a big fat alligator, just a few feet away, sitting between the water and us:

We slowly and nervously tip-toed past the giant beast one by one, hoping that perhaps he’d just had a big meal and wasn’t even interested in us. Once past the wild beast we giggled in excitement of what had just happened. Isn’t he (she?) an ancient looking beast? Who would want to make purses out of that magnificent creature? But I digress. On we went but I couldn't help and wonder what else might be out there, lurking in the shadows and hiding out of sight.

And don’t let this picture fool you – the trail is 90% shaded by trees. A great trail, even on the hotter days of the year.

Despite the narrow path there are actually zero chances of getting lost here UNLESS you leave the very obvious hiking trail. There are no shortcuts; once you start on the trail you can only shorten the 7-ish mile hike by turning around early, otherwise you’re in for the entire distance. About half way you’ll come across the one and only primitive camp site, which is also where we chose to gather for a short break:

Then, it was time to march on, and finish the rest of this absolutely beautiful trail:

Mile markers keep you informed of your progress along the way:

And we indeed found more wildlife, like this Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar. So fuzzy, makes you want to pet it right? Turns out that you actually can……

Apple snail houses are abound here as well, we found a ton of these by the water’s edge. I was tempted to take it home with me, but remembered a popular outdoor quote: Take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time, leave nothing but footprints. And so I left it there, for others to enjoy on their hike.

A bit of information along the way……

…..and the recurring view of the St. John’s river to our left:

And last but not least, one more more wildlife encounter – although not the bears we thought we might see. Remember to let sleeping dogs (& snakes) lie. Keep a safe distance for you AND for the slithering fellow and you won't have a problem with them.

Quite sad that humans need a reminder not to feed or approach bears. We did NOT see any bears, but this guy landed right in front of my feet:

Just a few minutes later we crossed the last boardwalk and arrived back at the parking lot.

Where did I go next? Find out on my next blog!