Alex Outdoors

I could try to explain to you where exactly I was hiking this weekend, or I could just show you a picture.  I had a two hour drive ahead of me, but this wasn’t even a hard decision to make to be honest. The trail map outlines the point to point hike, and also how the trail has replaced a road walk section, which is really awesome.  Thank you to all the hard working FTA volunteers who helped make this happen! Also, I’m slowly replacing my blog with a vlog so the YouTube vlog link is there as well. I hope you enjoy watching even if only half as much as I enjoyed hiking, so, without further blah blah here it is. Make sure you click to full screen mode :)

Don’t let the name fool you – this wasn’t a “swamp hike”. And, instead of writing a lengthy blog and searching for the right words to describe my experience I decided to create a vlog. This is my first time creating and editing, so ignore the sh***y audio throughout the first half of the video – it gets better eventually, just bear with me please. So, without further ado – here it is. I sincerely hope you enjoy watching (make sure you click the FULL SCREEN button for a much better view!) If you decide to leave some feedback please be constructive and kind in your criticism………remember, I’m 100% self-taught and the learning curve is rather steep. Until next time – happy hiking!

When my feet start crunching the leaves on the ground……….. it’s hands down, one of my all time favorite sounds of hiking through the forest.Now, a dd to that the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze and the birds chirping and you have what I call Forest Therapy. If these were the only sounds in the world I’d be ok with that. Today I returned to the Cross Florida Greenway to hike a new section. At the (slow) rate I’m going it will take me months to hike the entire length of the trail but oh well, there’s plenty of time. Starting at the Ross Prairie trailhead I made my way east. Oh yeah – I upgraded my hiking footwear from the Salomon Speedcross to Merrell’s MQM Flex. I found them to be a great pair of hiking shoes right out of the box. All I need to do is attach a velcro tab at the heel so I can wear my Dirty Girl gaiters. Right upfront a fair warning about the original and wild inhabitants of this forest. You should expect them to be there, but you may not necessaril...

Possibly my favorite group backpacking event yet...... It took me six months, but I finally managed to (almost) complete my  gear list  on LighterGear. Check it out  here  if you’re interested in the stuff I’m taking on my current weekend trips. The plan was to do a comparison of my old, heavier gear and the new, lighter gear but let me just say that by upgrading only my backpack and tent I saved a whopping 4 pounds and that’s one big change. I want to eventually upgrade my sleeping pad & bag as well but that will have to wait until later this year.  Aside from those two items I’ve gotten a lot smarter overall since my first backpacking trip with a backpack weighing almost 32 pounds. You might think that’s not that heavy but my back wasn’t having it, at least not beyond a very short mileage weekend trip. And since I plan to backpack for years to come, including a section hike on the AT or somewhere else, it was a smart decision to lighten my load no...