Alex Outdoors

Hiking is Nature’s therapy. It provides us with a peaceful escape, takes us away from the high rises, traffic, and constant encroachment of technology into a serene wildness. To me it often feels like the Wilderness and Nature are more civilized than society. Maybe if we all went hiking a little more, we could impart the good we find in the wild into the culture we live in.  This was my first overnight backpacking trip in decades. A million things could have gone wrong, but it turned out to be just about perfect.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, even though I would normally complain about the temps dipping below 65 degrees (yes……I know…..). I think it took about 5 minutes to break a sweat carrying 30+ pounds of gear. For the second time, I joined the Suncoast chapter of the FTA. And I believe I found the most awesome bunch of hikers in all of Florida. After the obligatory group pic we set out on our trek around noon under overcast skies and temps just a...

This was a tough one.  No because it was physically hard or difficult, but because we encountered water early on and instead of moving ahead like I had wanted, I let myself get talked into turning around to find an alternate route. But there wasn't one. We "lost" the trail several times despite using the Alltrails app, and after a few hours of zig-zagging and turning around we called it quits. It's time to go solo. At least I'll be able to go where I want. Right after this sign the trail turned off to the left where we were met with some standing water. I should have forged ahead..... Looks like a trail.  But wasn't one. Dead ended in the bushes........ It wasn't all bad though.  After all - if you're not enjoying yourself you'll have to adjust your attitude. There is ALWAYS something beautiful, even if the day doesn't turn out quite as planned.

Fall is upon us - the most wonderful time of the year for hiking (aside from Winter!). The first hike of 2018 without………spiders!!! (Well, OK – I did have to clear a few cob webs off the trail, but not a single banana spider in sight and it was absolutely fabulous!). We did see at least three alligators though! When the forecast announced a nice drop in the morning temperatures mid week I made the decision to head out to Hillsborough River State Park, since it’s only a 45 minute drive and a familiar trail. The air felt cool when I arrived although it didn’t last long. Nonetheless, it was a perfect morning and I enjoyed it 100%. A few gals of the Girls Who Hike – FL group joined in on the fun; and the only regret I have is that we were done after only 2.5 hours. Perhaps, the next time I’ll add the Fort King trail extension.