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Posts tagged ‘hiking’

Dec 7

Riverbend Park

Riverbend has been by far one of our favorite places to hike, of late. There are expansive networks of trails (for the beginner as well as for the more experienced explorer), including the Ocean-to-Lake portion of the Florida Trail. A wonderful extension of the Florida Trail can also be picked up across the street from Riverbend — accessible through the park (under Indiantown Rd.), or creatively hoofing it across the street, near the river. We jump a fence for quicker and easier access, but it can be difficult to find if you don’t know what you’re looking for. It’s a fantastic trail, with a gorgeous watering hole, canopy trees, and miles of hiking, that leads to Jonathan Dickinson. (Several pics below were taken along this trail.)

Within Riverbend proper, besides the nearly 10 miles of hiking and biking trails, there are 7 miles of equestrian trails, and 5 miles of canoeing/kayaking trails — leading you through an otter preserve, and all the way to JD as mentioned. What I especially love about this park is its significant and rich history: Habitation has occurred along the Loxahatchee river dating as far back as the Archaic Period, 5,000 years ago. The first battle of the Loxahatchee, referred to as Powell’s Battle, took place on January 15, 1838. The second battle of the Loxahatchee — Jesup’s Battle — occurred nine days later on January 24, 1838. Outnumbered 1500 to 300, the Seminoles fled into the swamps. After the Battle of the Loxahatchee, Jesup petitioned Washington to allow the Seminoles to remain in the Everglades, effectively ending the war. Washington denied his request, and 600 Seminoles were captured at Fort Jupiter. From its ancient Indian middens, through the tragic Seminole War Battles, to its impressive present-day restoration efforts, tremendous respect should be given to this land and its history. Habitats include beautiful pine flatwoods, open meadows, cypress swamps, oak hammocks, and even abandoned — but still fruit-bearing — orange and grapefruit groves. It can become busy on the weekends, so if you’re able to visit on a weekday during the quieter hours, it’s much more peaceful (or, visit the less-traveled Florida Trail extensions). We’ve seen great horned owls, red-shouldered hawks, deer, alligator, wild turkey, peacocks, gopher tortoises, and otter during such off-times.

We’ll picnic here, along the river or within park in the chickee huts, before our hikes. As always, bring extra trash bags, in case there are no cans in sight until the park’s entrance. (Although here, that’s not such a problem.) We often pick up others’ trash along the way, anyways.

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Nov 27

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Bluefield Ranch Natural Area

Bluefield Ranch Natural Area is located in St. Lucie county, at the southern end of Bluefield Rd., 18 miles west of Ft. Pierce off of SR 70. The conservation site rests on the Orlando Ridge, a relic sand ridge originating near Orlando and ending in Martin County. During our initial trip, we believed the park wouldn’t be far from the turnoff from the last “main” road — we were wrong. Expect another 20 minutes of slow driving on a bumpy road and (occasionally) deep sand, before reaching the trailhead. There were times when we completely expected the car to get stuck, and that’s been a first down here. If you have something other than a normal car (which we now do), no worries!

The area provides a variety of natural Florida habitats, supporting diverse wildlife and plant species, including many on the threatened and endangered species list. More than 3,000 acres (3,285 in total) of scrub, scrubby flatwoods, prairie hammock, wet flatwoods, wet prairie, dry prairie, and depression marsh are protected at Bluefield Ranch, and are home to such wildlife as bald eagle, deer, coyote, alligator, turkey, wood stork, sandhill crane, burrowing owl, quail, and several species of snakes (including rattlesnake).

A series of trails is accessible from the parking lot. Biking and horse trails are included, so share the trail where appropriate. We were all by our lonesome in the vastness of the park, so the sharing was done with the gopher tortoises. There’s also an observation tower overlooking a large wetland habitat used by such wading birds as herons, egrets, sandhill cranes, and wood storks.

The area has quite a history, mostly sad: During the Second Seminole War (1835 – 1842), a military trail crossed at this location, providing access to a series of forts constructed throughout Florida to transport troops and supplies. A Seminole Indian camp was also located in the region. The Seminoles stayed in the scrub environments in the summer months, avoiding the flooded swamps and their gargantuan mosquitoes. They moved to the Cypress Creek swamp in the winter. In the 1940s however, they were evicted from their camp (at what is now Bluefield Ranch Natural Area), accused of stealing a calf from a rancher.

During the Prohibition, illegal stills were constructed on the site by bootleggers — for personal consumption as well as for providing an income to support their families. Their remnants can still be seen at Bluefield. Logging was also an active industry — sadly, the area was completely logged of its virgin trees in the 1920s and ’30s, as was true in many regions of Florida.

There’s an abundance of trail options, should you decide to hike Bluefield. Take plenty of water and some snacks with you — we found ourselves far out in the park, after 5-6 hours of solid hiking. It’s obvious that horse trails are popular there as well, so be aware. During our first lengthy hike, we heard a coyote very close, perhaps feet away, but they’re quite shy so we never saw him/her. Above all else, enjoy the land and its beauty, after what it’s been through. We hope to visit again very soon, as it’s been some time since our last trip.

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Nov 20

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Cypress Creek Natural Area

We’re always looking for new areas to hike in South Florida, so we were VERY excited to stumble across this newly-created natural area as we were heading towards the Florida Trail in Jupiter (across from Riverbend Park). Besides which, we’re always thrilled when South Florida actively preserves its pristine lands! The Cypress Creek Natural Area protects sensitive pine forest and wetland habitats. Hoorah!

It’s located on the north and south sides of Indiantown Road, near Jupiter Farms Road, approximately one mile west of the turnpike. The main portion is situated on the north side of Indiantown Road, east and west of Gulfstream Citrus Road. A parking area is provided, as are shade pavilions, observation platforms, horse hitches, bicycle racks, and educational exhibits. (Bicycling, hiking, and horseback riding are permitted, but only on the multi-use Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail.)

These lands in the Cypress Creek Natural Area — more than 2,000 acres in total — were acquired by Palm Beach County from 1995 to 2010, and are part of the Northeast Everglades Natural Area (NENA), serving as a buffer for the Loxahatchee Wild and Scenic River. NENA holds approximately 165,000 acres of conservation land in northern Palm Beach Country and southern Martin County. Managed by Palm Beach County, current restoration activities in Cypress Creek include the removal of invasive non-native vegetation, filling miles of ditches (we saw the dump/sand trucks to attest to that feat), changing the elevations of shell mining pits to encourage re-vegetation of native plants, and improving the Old Indiantown Road grade — now known as the Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail — for use as a multi-use trail.

Work also continues on the 6-mile multi-use Jesup Trail, which will eventually lead into Jonathan Dickinson State Park — VERY exciting.

We investigated the Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail, a 16.5-multi-use trail. The trail is being built in phases, along a road that was used from 1900 into the late 1950s for travel between Jupiter and Indiantown. We pursued the hiking-only portion, a very nice, natural backcountry Florida hike, once you really got out there. It offers access into three conservation lands and facilities, each of which is subjected to its own rules: Riverbend Park, Cypress Creek Natural Area, and Jones Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area. On this trail, it was important to have snacks and water (we were out there for several hours, but you can easily make it as short a trip as you wish). Portions of the trail were flooded, due to earlier rains, but they weren’t impassable. We wandered through native Florida ecosystems including wetlands, flatwoods, marsh, swamp, and prairie.

Panther Print?!?

Early in the hike, a lonely chimney stands sentinel — most likely a remnant from one of Jupiter’s founding families (documentation doesn’t explain). There weren’t many critters making themselves seen on our initial hiking expedition, despite us being the only 2-legged ones out there — but we did see many butterflies (Fritillary, Swallowtail), birds, a very startled and quick gopher tortoise, and abundant TRACKS! Very fresh tracks at that, all around us. One large grouping we spotted as bobcat … but the other? At first we thought it was coyote, but it was far too large — easily 4″. Also very fresh! PANTHER?!? Oh, how I hope they continue to watch and protect this area exceptionally *CAREFULLY* if this is indeed the case.

For More Information:

Welcome Sign to the Cypress Creek Natural Area

Flooded Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail, Cypress Creek Natural Area

Another Flooded Area of the Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail, Cypress Creek Natural Area

Wetlands, Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail, Cypress Creek Natural Area

Wildflowers, Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail, Cypress Creek Natural Area

Wildflowers, Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail, Cypress Creek Natural Area

Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail, Cypress Creek Natural Area

Slash Pines Along the Historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail, Cypress Creek Natural Area

Bobcat print

Nov 18

Heaven on Vancouver Island

My words here honestly cannot express the peace and magnificence of Vancouver Island, my uber-dream home. We took the ferry from Horseshoe Bay (just north of Vancouver), into Departure Bay (near Nanaimo).

Host to one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems, including rainforests, marshes, meadows, beaches, mountains, oceans, rivers, and lakes — Vancouver Island accommodates habitats for a plethora of wildlife species. The island proper is large and sparsely populated (and we didn’t even hit most of it, in reality — let alone the Gulf Islands). Nearly half of the island’s population lives in the capital city of British Columbia, Victoria.

Thankfully, the island’s old-growth fir and cedar forests are well-protected. There’s nothing excluded for the lover of nature; Its ancient rain forests, rugged caves and beaches, leading down to crystalline bays of the Pacific (in which we were lucky enough to witness a whale’s spout … only) — the island’s beauty is unsurpassed.

The majority of our hiking expeditions were concentrated along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the region of the Coast Salish indigenous peoples. We drove up the West Coast, north from Victoria … and as we passed Sooke, most of our communications were lost. We stayed in a room among others rented by gruff visiting/working Russian fishermen — an interesting experience, to say the least. Itinerant working anglers are … interesting (did I use that adjective already?) folk. Perhaps they were simply in shock at seeing us board there, instead of at the B&Bs an hour north. But, we did learn from the locals that one needs special satellite service for one’s laptop (and for their TVs) … and even for cell phone service. As we were told: Feel free to hike out to the beach (through the woods) — at specific, ideal times — to access your cell phone service provider. Sure. A night-hike with the bears! At first we thought this was a grand joke on the Americans; but sure enough, on the far reaches of the beach we did get a bar or two, as if it mattered — heh. The hikes were astounding; the beauty of the forests leading down to the rugged oceanside, strewn with driftwood of all sizes; the small tree islands and caves dotting the landscape — we even found raw jade in some of these caves, before the water rushed in to cover up the remaining treasures. Although it wasn’t my first visit to the island, I was in tears leaving it this time around. I was profoundly impressed by the people who cared so very much for the land, and its care — unlike some of the parks and preserves I’ve visited in the United States, sadly (read: TRASH).

Besides the obvious hiking and nature excursions available at the abundant parks and nature reserves, I missed the opportunity to visit and tour any one of Vancouver Island’s many vineyards — more than two dozen on the island support a healthy wine industry. Cheers!

Vancouver Island also offers a rich, thriving art and craft community. Artists are drawn to the serenity and beauty of the island, but also to its rich history of Aboriginal arts and legends. By far one of my favorite artistic traditions — with their incorporation of animal, spirit, and nature — it’s actually eerily similar to the art of my own lineage, the Celts. The Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Kwakwakawa’wakw have lived in permanent settlements along the island’s shores and within its valleys (and in the general region) dating back 9,000 years. Their elaborate art, created over the centuries, celebrate life’s rites and passages. But their story of “extermination, enslavement, insulation, amalgamation” (as outlined in 1841 as a solution in “dealing” with the Native Peoples) — and ultimately, widespread death (an extreme understatement) with the smallpox epidemic — is one that must be remembered and closely studied by all (in North America at the very least).

Coming Up: Victoria, Capital City of British Columbia…

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Nov 13

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Big Cypress National Preserve

Big Cypress offers myriad amazing trails, offering the opportunity to hike for an hour or a week. During our last trip, we hit the Florida Trail for the majority of the time (6 hours) — winding through hardwood hammocks, pinelands, prairies, and cypress — and finishing with a stroll through an easy but magnificent swamp boardwalk.  But your options are endless; so research carefully to make the most of it (something we don’t usually do).

Established October 11, 1974, Big Cypress National Preserve was the first national preserve in the US National Park System. The critical role of this watershed to the Everglades National Park was of foremost concern for its establishment. It encompasses 720,000 acres of the Big Cypress Watershed, bordering the Everglades National Park to the south, and other protected areas to the west. The freshwaters of the Big Cypress Swamp are essential to the health of the Everglades, and support the marine estuaries along Florida’s southwest coast.

Historically, Big Cypress has been home to Native Americans, including the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes. Early settlers in the Everglades region heavily hunted herons and egrets for their much-desired feathers, which were then shipped to hatmakers throughout America and Europe; alligators and crocodiles were also hunted to near-extinction.

Petroleum exploration was allowed within Big Cypress — as in Everglades National Park — but plans have been underway to buy out the remaining leases. However, Florida’s Governor Rick Scott has emphasized that he is open to expanding oil drilling in the Everglades.

Another invasive force at odds with conservationists is the ORV. Long established as a recreational activity, off-road vehicles (ORVs) were originally used by many who worked to protect the preserve from development, and to access remote areas for drainage. With the increase of tourism and hunting, however, came an increase in ORVs’ use. Since 2001, scientists and conservationists prompted the National Park Service (NPS) to actively manage ORV recreation, and to reduce the number of their trails within Big Cypress, due to the “impacted wildlife populations and habitats through modifications to water flow patterns (direction and velocity) and water quality, soil displacement and compaction, direct vegetation damage, disturbance to foraging individuals, and, ultimately, overall suitability of habitats for wildlife” (2001 United States Geological Survey). The battle continues, with overwhelming concerns for the wildlife — mainly for the elusive Florida Panther’s habitat. As of early November 2011, a lawsuit has been filed to protect Big Cypress from invasive ORV employment — seeking to overturn NPS’ decision to introduce extensive ORV use in the Addition Lands. According to the lawsuit, NPS authorized the ORVs in the Addition Lands, a result they achieved “by improperly excluding pristine lands from a wilderness eligibility study, which allowed NPS to bypass recommending those areas to Congress for long-term preservation as wilderness for the public’s enjoyment of these lands in their natural state. The lawsuit also raises concerns with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Biological Opinion, which failed to address several key threats to the highly imperiled Florida panther, as well as other species. Here is a link to the press release, and here is a link to the complaint.” (WE-blog: Wildlife and Environment Blog). As one who’s encountered these mechanical beasts within the far reaches of Big Cypress, it’s indeed a sad and scary thing to witness — their sheer size, their bellowing noise, their enormous tracks — after walking for hours through the silence and beauty of Big Cypress’ flora and fauna, their force is all that more mind-blowingly evident.

For More Information on the ORV Issue and Lawsuit:

The most biologically diverse region in the Everglades, Big Cypress is home to alligators, venomous snakes, myriad birds, the Florida Black Bear, the Florida Panther, bobcat, deer, turkey, wild hogs, and the West Indian Manatee. The preserve is slightly more elevated than other areas of the Everglades, with rock outcroppings visible throughout.

Big Cypress is located off of the potentially dangerous Tamiami Trail (U.S.41), approximately half-way between Naples and Miami. The road doesn’t have to be fatal, if people gave it the respect it was due — a two-lane road in parts, it’s replete with twists and tricky bends. You can’t rush it. On our way out of the preserve during our last visit, we came upon an SUV … up a tree. It had obviously just happened, and to this day, we have no idea how a tight turn could hurl a vehicle 20 feet into a tree. Be careful on the Tamiami Trail — just go slow in the parts that make sense, watch for critters, and enjoy the scenery.

Coming up: The amazing, otherworldly Everglades vision of Clyde Butcher.

For More Information on Big Cypress National Preserve:

Trail in Big Cypress (Florida Trail)

Swamp Scene in Big Cypress

Trail in Big Cypress (Florida Trail)

Trail in Big Cypress (Florida Trail)

Trees Along the Florida Trail, in Big Cypress

Prairie in Big Cypress

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