hiking | Serenity Spell

Dec 20

A Picnic at Fern Forest

As is our modus operandi (read: cheap activity these days), we grabbed an insanely delicious LaSpada’s subs, and headed out to Fern Forest in Broward County for a picnic and casual hike. It’s a bit of a haul for us, but we wanted to take advantage of Florida’s overcast weather with Tropical Storm Emily. Although she didn’t quite make it to land, enough of her bands reached us, and we had to make a run for it out of the trails. The flutterbys were active, and I was chasing them like a crazed lunatic with my camera to no avail. And the banana spiders, oh my. Oh my. They’ve obviously been busy, with their gigantic (but non-toxic) selves. I crashed into a few of their expansive webs, chasing butterflies. Dave’s especially enthralled with spiders, consistently offering better leverage for close-ups. Right-o.

: Entrance Boardwalk, Fern Forest

: Fern Forest Signage

: River Scene, Fern Forest

: River Scene, Fern Forest

: Banana Spider, Fern Forest

: River Tree, Fern Forest

: River Scene, Fern Forest

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Dec 19

Jonathan Dickinson & Riverbend: Natural Florida and an Awe-Inspiring Cypress Swamp

Riverbend Park in Jupiter, Florida, has been by far one of our favorite places to visit. Besides the vastness of the park proper, there’s a great extension of the Florida Trail — accessible through the park (under Indiantown Rd.), or attainable across the street (we jump the fence for more immediate access), near the Loxahatchee River. (The Ocean-to-Lake portion of the Florida Trail also runs behind the park, to the south.) But one of my favorite hikes is along the Old Indiantown Trail, also accessible across the street from Riverbend. It’s absolutely beautiful, replete with a gorgeous watering hole, canopy trees, old Florida growth, prairie, and miles of hiking, that lead into Jonathan Dickinson. Natural Florida at its BEST. It’s rarely traveled — we’ve never encountered another hiker past the watering hole.

During our most recent trip, the gopher tortoises were exceptionally active — we must have seen at least five in their burrows within as many minutes. One of the oldest living species, the burrowing tortoise is found throughout Florida and southern Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and eastern Louisiana. These tortoises dig and live in long burrows in longleaf pine savannas, thus protected from summer heat, winter cold, fire, and predators. Gopher tortoises are essential to the local ecology — their burrows also provide homes for other animals, including indigo snakes, gopher frogs, mice, foxes, skunks, opossums, rabbits, quail, armadillos, burrowing owls, snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, and other invertebrates. Their burrows — abandoned or shared — may be the homes to more than 300 species of animals at one time or another. Pretty amazing; and it’s easy to see how destroying the habitat of the gopher tortoise alters the already fragile ecosystem. Federally protected as a threatened species EXCEPT in Florida, in which it is “under review,” the tortoise’s main threat remains: Habitat loss and destruction. For instance, it wasn’t until 2007, in Florida, that developers were forced *by law* to relocate burrowing tortoises — until then, development could shockingly occur with no thought to the safety of the animals and the destruction of their habitat.

But by far my favorite part of this particular hike was our segue from the trail, into an untouched cypress swamp. The trees were so enormous, that I’d like to think they were saved from the mass logging of so many of Florida’s virgin trees, during the 1920s and ’30s. The swamp was vast, secluded, and amazingly peaceful — it was hard to leave. Finding the not-so-small shedded snakeskin not far from the trail (possibly rattlesnake?) was another decent reminder as to why I *always* wear my hiking boots on these trips, regardless of the temperatures.

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Dec 14

Fern Forest Nature Center

Fern Forest, 247 acres in entirety, is a magnificent conservation site and wildlife refuge located in Broward County, Florida, taking its name from the myriad ferns — more than 30 species — found on its grounds. In 1979, scientists from FAU and Broward Community College (now Broward College) wrote about the area’s botanical diversity in their article “A Tropical Fern Grotto in Broward County, Florida.” The researchers characterized the site as “the last remaining stronghold of ferns in southeastern Florida.” This beautiful and diverse natural area represents the last remnant of the historical Cypress Creek floodway. Authorized in the early 1900s to create more suitable farming land, the Cypress Creek drainage system and the surrounding areas have a long history as farmland, first for such crops as pineapples, tomatoes, beans, and peppers, and later for dairy farming, logging and milling.

Fern Forest remains a significant refuge for wildlife in this highly urbanized region, and hosts many educational activities, conservation events, and nature programs. A reception hall, an ampitheater, and picnic areas and protective shelters are provided within its nature center. The park encompasses 10 plant communities, including a tropical hardwood hammock, an open prairie, and a cypress-maple swamp. Three main trails are offered: The Cypress Creek Trail (a wonderful boardwalk); The Prairie Overlook Trail, which includes a 20-foot-tall observation platform; and the Maple Walk (my favorite!), through an often soggy red maple swamp. Fern Forest was awarded “Best of” from the Broward/Palm Beach New Times for:

2009 – Best Nature Trail
2007 – Best Nature Trail
2005 – Best Place to Birdwatch

LaSpada’s Subs is nearby, even better! We like to grab some grub for a picnic, before our walks either here or at nearby Tree Tops park… Upcoming post.

For More Information:

Fern Forest Nature Center

: Cypress Creek Critters of Fern Forest

: Zebra Longwing Butterfly, Fern Forest

: Cypress Along the Maple Walk, Fern Forest

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Dec 11

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A Rainy Day at Riverbend

Riverbend Park in Jupiter, Florida, remains one of our favorite places to hike, providing both leisurely strolls and more advanced hikes. When we don’t feel up for a longer hike, or hitting the Florida Trail (accessible across Indiantown Road), we’ll stay within the park proper and its abundance of pathways.

During our most recent trip, we thought we would take advantage of the cloudy skies, but as soon as we stepped into the park — literally — the skies opened up. For the next three hours we hiked in the rain, most of which were downpours, which is perfectly fine. Save for the fact that I was waiting for my camera bag in the mail, so my camera-baby was wrapped in 2 Publix bags and crammed under my shirt. No worries; we saw several hawks, a few skittish deer, and LOTS of butterflies (in between the really rainy spots). I did feel badly for the drenched, lost (and inexperienced) kayakers, though — we tried our best to guide them. OK, Dave did. I had absolutely no idea where to point.

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Dec 9

The Florida Trail & a Gopher Tortoise Rescue

Hiking Jonathan Dickinson State Park in the Riverbend area has provided us with some amazing scenery and images. This extension of the Florida Trail is accessible through the park (under Indiantown Rd.), or attainable across the street, near the Loxahatchee River (we jump the fence across the street for quicker access to the trail). The Ocean-to-Lake portion of the Florida Trail also runs behind the park, to the south. It’s a fantastic trail, with a gorgeous watering hole, canopy trees, old growth, prairie, and miles of hiking, that leads to Jonathan Dickinson. Natural Florida at its BEST. It’s rarely traveled — we’ve never encountered another hiker/kayaker past the watering hole.

During our most recent trip, we saved a gopher tortoise. One of the oldest living species, the burrowing tortoise is found throughout Florida and southern Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and eastern Louisiana. These tortoises dig and live in long burrows in longleaf pine savannas, thus protected from summer heat, winter cold, fire, and predators. Gopher tortoises are essential to the local ecology — their burrows also provide homes for other animals, including indigo snakes, gopher frogs, mice, foxes, skunks, opossums, rabbits, quail, armadillos, burrowing owls, snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, and other invertebrates. Their burrows — abandoned or shared — may be the homes to more than 300 species of animals at one time or another. Pretty amazing; and it’s easy to see how destroying the habitat of the gopher tortoise alters the already fragile ecosystem. Federally protected as a threatened species (FINALLY in Florida, where the status was “under review” for years), the tortoise’s main threat remains: Habitat loss and destruction. For instance, it wasn’t until 2007, in Florida, that developers were forced *by law* to relocate burrowing tortoises — until then, development could shockingly occur with no thought to the safety of the animals and the destruction of their habitat.

This poor guy was trapped behind acres of personal enclosure, and had been unsuccessfully attempting to burrow in the mulch — there were dozens of failed holes. We stayed awhile, seeing if he could escape on his own (or if he was choosing that location), but then saw how the fence was buried, impeding his escape. Between the buried fencing, his constant dodging, and the myriad failed burrows, we quickly relocated him to a perfect burrow-able location nearby — literally 10 feet away his natural habitat awaited him, for pete’s sake. Rule of thumb with turtles and tortoises, help them safely in the direction they’re trying to head. It would have been nice for the actual property owners to have done so, of course; it wasn’t difficult to see the poor guy’s quandary.

We’ve also seen great horned owls, red-shouldered hawks, and alligator, to date, on this section of the Florida Trail — as well as a territorial pit bull during a brief stint of occupied home/farm ownership. Note to owners, or park management: Fix the freakin’ fence to prevent his escape. I’m sure the very nice farmer down the path would be equally grateful to have his chickens lay more eggs.