Alex Outdoors

One word can sum up today’s adventure:  Gratitude. As I sit here and reflect on the day I can come up with more than one reason I am grateful for this group. Every time we meet for a group hike I learn something new. Not just about hiking, but also about myself. Today I learned that I’m much more brave than I often give myself credit for. Florida hiking is probably not all that dangerous or adventurous, but that all depends on how you look at it and what you attempt to do during any given hike. I’m pretty sure that some people would have told us to turn around when we encountered water on the trail. We’re not talking about a few puddles – we’re talking about all of us being submerged in water, sometimes up to our upper thighs. And no, not just once or twice, but the entire length of the trail once we turned off the gravel road. We started our hike at Ranchhouse Road on what is known as the Myakka River trail on the Alltrails app.  This particular 10+ mile ...

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...

Seems like I just can’t get enough of the great outdoors these days. After last month’s hike at Hillsborough River State Park I immediately looked for another hike, and the Croom trails at Withlacoochee State Forest seemed not only inviting but challenging as well. The website tells of elevation changes, even though most of Florida is pretty much flat like a pancake. According to the map our hiking route was about 7 miles long. At 8:30 a.m. Dianna and I set off on our adventure dubbed “Let’s get lost”. We started heading north on the A loop right off the main trailhead. Did you know that the Florida Trail runs through all of Florida? You can literally walk the entire state! Even though the trail is pretty clearly laid out, the orange blazes on the trees are great orientation markers. Looks like a great running trail, and in fact, several trail races are held here each year! Aside from lots of smooth single tracks we also encountered quite a bit ...