Alex Outdoors

Wait.....it's the end of August already? Where does time go? And I look like a major slacker since I haven't posted a peep since July! Well, I have been hiking - I just haven't blogged. Perhaps, this weekend, with a major hurricane approaching, I'll get the chance to deep-dive into writing.....want a little taste?  7/20 - Croom, Loop C: 7/27 - Hole In The Fence with Suncoast FTA: 8/3  - Beach hike: 8/10 - Tenoroc, Red Loop: 8/17 - Croom, Loop C & overnight camping: 8/18 - Croom, Loop A (partial: 8/24 - Citrus Cave hike: If those sound a little repetitive that's because they ARE. The trails at Croom and Citrus are almost guaranteed to be dry trails in just about all of central Florida, even during the most rainy season. We take what we can get :)

Another new-to-me trail event! I would never have expected such fun, elevated trails to be around Lakeland, but that just goes to show you that you have to go out and explore. Because you never know........

I don't think I would have chosen this park as a solo hiking destination, but why not give something new a try? Especially when I have less than an hour to my destination! Even if the trail around the lake here is only a little over 2 miles long, we enjoyed our little hike just the same (we repeated the loop 3x)  :)

Whenever I don't feel like driving far and look for a nearby trail I end up here in Thonotosassa, FL. Only a 45 minute drive, it's never a dull hike. The full loop is over 15 miles long; along with several MTB trails you always see something new & interesting.....

My plan? A long beach hike.  The weather decided otherwise and no more than 30 seconds in, the rain came pouring down. To be continued another time.....

I consider myself very lucky. Lucky to be in good health & able to afford these explorations. Also, in this case, lucky to have family in an area rich with hiking opportunities within easy driving distance. Like this one, just about an hour and fifteen minutes south of my mom’s house in southern Germany. What more can one ask for? The sun was shining (until the end of the hike) and I again had the trails all to myself! 

Time is always limited whenever I fly to Germany to visit family. Some trips are 8 – 10 days long if I’m lucky, but most are restricted to a week or less, like this one. I’m always torn between spending time at home with my mom versus roaming the country in search of spectacular hiking routes, so on this trip I managed to do both: rising with the sun I drove about and hour or so to a nearby trail to hike, returning early afternoon to hang with the fam. Out of the 5 long hikes I had planned I managed only three, plus two long walks in a nearby forest. I guess I’ll have to go back to finish the other hikes still left unchecked on my list……Also, check out the oh-so-cool Game of Thrones castle I discovered during my outing:

Unfortunately for me it’s the time of year that the big spiders return to spinning their webs across the trails. We had a nice break from them during winter but there is no escaping them now. I took a few web-hits to the head, and was able to move some out of the way with my hiking pole, but in another month or so they will be EVERYWHERE and GINORMOUS!  A fun hike though, and a trail that’s apparently not very popular – we met ZERO hikers this morning!

“Mental Health Day” The last time I hiked in this park we were up to our thighs in water.  Read more about that here . This time around the trails were pleasantly dry and aside from a few feral pigs I saw only one fellow hiker. Along with 100% sunshine that’s what I call a perfect hiking experience!

I used to hesitate taking my inexperienced friends hiking, but I will consider it if said friends agree to adhere to my rules: be on time, come prepared, follow directions, listen and pay attention. Also, don’t talk my head off. If rules are followed all is well, if not then we won’t hike together again. Capice?  My BFF Janna followed my rules and we’ve hiked together a few times now. This day we ventured to a familiar location in Thonotosassa- I have hiked here several times but it was a new trail for J. We prepped with food, water, and our maps and set off around 8 a.m. For the most part we had the wilderness trails ALL to ourselves. Check it out!

Did I mention that I prefer solo hiking to group outings? Well, this one was not a solo hike, but the location has long been on my “to-do” list and I really like Girls Who Hike (an all girls hiking group, which you can find on Facebook) – so I decided to tag along and play “sweep” – that’s the last person in a group hike, the one who ensures nobody gets left behind. As the sweep you can stay back as far as you like – thus ensuring you’re almost alone. A win-win situation, don’t you think?  This stretch of the Florida Trail runs through the Ocala National Forest, the most south-eastern portion to be precise. Our end point, Alexander Springs, is a freshwater spring that’s quite popular (read: overrun) on the weekends, to the point that the park closes its doors once capacity has been reached, letting only one car in if one car leaves. Since we hiked there we had easy access to the spring and while it’s absolutely beautiful, the large group of swimmers make it look more like a ...

I had promised to return after my somewhat “failed” attempt to hike the full D loop just a few weeks ago on 4/6. This time, with more water and some really awesome company I did just that. Together with Turtle and Pup, who were in town for a week escaping volatile weather on the AT, I hiked the entire 17 mile loop in just over six hours, and that includes a one hour lunch break! Had I gone solo I’m sure I would have slowed down to “smell the flowers” but Turtle’s pace is “AT style or bust”    It was awesome, hat’s all I can say. Time FLIES when you’re having fun! It feels very odd to snap a photo of yourself when you hike alone. With a hiking buddy these things become a bit more natural. These two below. Rock stars! Meanwhile, Turtle and Pup have returned to their adventure on the AT. As of today’s date (6/4) they have hiked over 1220 miles and are more than half way to their goal of thru-hiking the entire trail. Isn’t that awesome?  ...

When you get the opportunity to combine camping, hiking,and paddling on the river with a bit of trail maintenance, along with the promise of a good time you GO. This was my first time putting in some work on the trails since becoming a member of the FTA; most of the trail work is done during the week, but my full-time job doesn’t allow any time off for such stuff………..too bad, really. I think it’s a great way to give back and should count towards community service. Really! And so we camped, hiked, worked, paddled, ate, drank, and had a good time all around. See for yourself (video below), then come out and join us on the trails :)

Hiking adventure #13 of 52. We’re just over 3 months into the new year and I’m right on track for my 52/52 goal! To keep up with that goal however will be more and more challenging as we go deeper into Spring and once Summer hits here in Florida my hiking outings will be short and sweet! Until that time I go as far as possible, like yesterday, when I returned to one of my favorite locations: Loop D of the Citrus tract at Withlacoochee state forest. The plan was to hike the entire loop, which is just under 14 miles but the day started out much too warm and I realized quickly that my water supply would not be sufficient for the day, so I cut this one short. Can’t wait to return though to show you the rest, it’s the most fun hike in Florida, in my humble opinion. So off we go – below is a short video of my outing in the Withlacoochee State Forest. Enjoy!

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...