Hiking the Florida Scenic Trail Near Camel Lake

The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. It runs northwest 1,400 miles from Big Cypress National Preserve (between Miami and Naples along the Tamiami Trail) to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail (which applies only to its federally certified segments), it is the only National Scenic Trail on which hikers can enjoy both subtropical and temperate ecosystems year-round.

The trail runs right through our campground at Camel Lake in the Apalachicola National Forest, south of Bristol, Florida.  Since we had never hiked the trail before, we were eager to get out on it - after trying our hand at paddling Camel Lake (see prior blog entry).

A short section of the trail near camp is also designated as a "Tree Identification Trail."  We hiked that separately, and enjoyed reading the rustic signs identifying approximately ten different tree species common to this section of Florida.  Here, David reads all about the Water Maple:

We also walked the perimeter trail of Camel Lake before our longer hike, and, as it happened, we discovered a geocache!  For those not familiar with geocaching, it's an activity using GPS, hiking in areas all over the world, seeking caches of materials and logbooks.  When you find the cache, you can contribute a souvenier for people who later discover the cache and, if you want, take a souvenir.  There is always a logbook for you to record the fact that you found the cache.  Below, Kathy examines the contents of the geocache.

These minor adventures only whetted our appetite for a good long hike on the Florida Trail.

On Wednesday, February 21, 2018, we finally got our boots on the ground for an 8-mile loop hike beginning and ending at Camel Lake Campground.

Of course, there is the obligatory trailhead photo, in this case, of Kathy at the beautiful Florida Trail sign where we started --

-- and, for good measure, David posed with the next Florida Trail sign we found along our route:

The Apalachicola National Forest sits on large, rolling sand hills that overlay alluvial deposits washed down from the ancient Appalachian Mountains.  As a consequence, our trail meandered from dry, sandy hilltops with minimal topsoil and vegetation such as grasses, palmettos and pine trees, to wetland areas between the hills which were graced with a wide variety of ferns, deciduous trees such as cypress and oak, and ground cover such as ferns and palmettos.  Luckily, those who look after the trail built primitive boardwalk bridges across the wettest areas, which David demonstrates below:

Our plan was to hike the Florida trail down to Bonnet Pond, then turn north on the Trail of the Lakes, which, a couple miles further north would rejoin the Florida Trail, which we would hike south back to camp, making a loop.  Our campground host, Bobby, assured us that the loop would be 8 miles, which sounded perfect to us.

Turning north on Trail of the Lakes, our hike took us past two ponds.  The first of these was Bonnet Pond, a beautiful, clear lake ringed in cypress trees -- we only wished that it were a little later in the season so that we could have enjoyed the spring leaves as well:

Here is a view of the drier sandy uplands or hilltops that we encountered between lakes and wetlands:

Whoops!  Kathy drew the short straw and had to lead us through a dense willow thicket as we approached one of the streams in the area:

Sheep Island Pond is a very shallow lake filled with lilypads.  We're not sure where it got its name, because there was no island to be found in it:

Some of the lilypads were beautifully colored:

Back again to the wetlands, and another stream to cross:

This small stream was crossed by a half dozen logs that we surmised are all that is left of an old wooden vehicle bridge that had served the woods road which devolved later into our trail:

Our original plan was foiled to a degree because, at Sheep Island Pond, we realized that we had already hiked nearly 7 miles, and clearly had perhaps 4 more miles to go.  So we devised a shorter loop by hiking straight back west toward the camp along a sandy forest road.  We were not very happy with this outcome, until we realized that the sandy road told an undisturbed story of all the wildlife in the area.  It hadn't rained for a while, and the tracks of many animals were still showing in the sand.

We got our first sign of Cherish the Bear.  Her paw prints showed clearly in one area that she must have passed recently:

Bobby told us that Cherish is well known to the forest rangers.  She had been orphaned a year ago when a hunter killed her mother.  Since then, the forest staff had been working to help Cherish find food as she grew more experienced in her wild home.  Even though Bobby said she is comfortable with humans and would not attack us, he urged us not to approach her but only take photos from whatever vantage point we happen to see her.

In addition to bear prints, we also saw raccoon prints --

-- and what we surmised to be vulture tracks:

Due to recent unseasonably warm weather, which has also been a bit damp, we found some non-animal wildlife:

We were a bit surprised to see this stop sign on the trail as one remote forest road crossed another - but Kathy took it literally and made David stop before crossing:

Eventually, the hijinks had to come to an end.  We reached our campground, a little bit footsore because we hadn't done a longer hike for several months.  This introduction to the Florida Trail was very interesting, and we've resolved to hike a few more segments of it when we return to Florida again.

Paddlin' and Fishin' Camel Lake

Hi Blog!

On Monday, February 19, 2018, we arrived at Camel Lake Recreation Area in the Apalachicola National Forest near Bristol, Florida. This year, we hope to spend more time in county, state, national park and national forest campgrounds and less time in overcrowded commercial RV parks. The description for Camel Lake said it all - camping, swimming, hiking, biking and paddling along the shores of the crystal-clear waters of Camel Lake. This was the view from our campsite the first night.

The camping area only has 10 sites, and most of them have 30/50 electric and water. There is no sewer or dump station, so you have to come in with empty tanks. Our site was huge and gave us plenty of room to spread out.

The mile long hiking trail around the lake was perfect for our coffee walks. The best part of being camped along the lake shore was being able to walk our kayaks right down to the water. The first morning, we couldn't wait to paddle about.

Camel Lake is about a mile around. This gave us plenty of time to explore. The lily pads are just starting to come up. It won't be long before we start seeing the flowers bloom.

We knocked, but no one was home.

We always take our waterproof camera with us when we paddle. We never know for sure if we "got the shot" until we get home. Here the sky is reflected on the water surface, but you can still see the plants below.

We are just now seeing signs of spring. It will be a few more weeks before this bald cypress starts to bud out its leaves.

The clouds came in and the wind picked up. Usually, that would mean getting off the water, but with Camel Lake being so small, we knew we could ride out the waves.

Besides, we had more nooks and crannies to explore.

In true Florida fashion, wait five minutes and the weather changes. By the time we made it back toward camp, the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds shinning down on the white sand beach. Yes, there are signs - beware of alligators - swim at your own risk!

After seeing us out on the water, our camp host, Bobby, suggested we give bass fishing a try. Now, we've been fly fishing for trout for over 20 years. We've only tried fishing for bass a couple times. Bobby was kind enough to lend us some of his favorite lures. Here, Kathy gets ready to try out the atomic frog.

Fishing from a kayak is relatively new to us. It takes some getting used to managing the paddle and the rod, but it has turned out to be easier than we anticipated, and lake fishing by kayaks has some interesting advantages.

Here Dave is bouncing his worm across the lake bottom.

Kathy spent her time near the bank trying to entice the fishes to come out from their hiding places.

While there were a few other campers, we had the lake to ourselves...well, except for this little coot which didn't mind sharing with us.

We wish we could tell you we caught a lot of fish, but alas it was not our day. We did get a few hits, but we lack the skill to set the hook and reel them in.  Furthermore, the lake was windy, and Bobby confirmed to us that the best time to fish is in the early morning when there are no winds and the water is as smooth as glass.  Indeed, on our early walks, we saw many more rises than later in the day.

However, any day you can spend out on a beautiful lake is a great day.

In addition to fishing and paddling, we hope to get out and do some hiking on the Florida Trail. So, stay tuned.

Old Fort Bayou - Here There Be Gators!

Okay, let's get to the most important point first.  This cutie greeted us as we turned a corner in Bayou Talia, off Old Fort Bayou, on our kayaks.  David yelled back to Kathy, "It's the real thing!"  Kathy didn't know what he meant, and she paddled to within maybe 15 feet of this baby before she realized it was a real alligator, and not a log.

But we get ahead of ourselves.  We wanted to kayak again today, but, due to low tides, there wouldn't be much water that we haven't explored in Davis Bayou, here in Gulf Islands National Seashore, where we are camped.  So David did a little investigating and found the Old Fort Bayou Blueway.

Old Fort Bayou is a 13-mile nature lover's paradise that provides a beautiful vista for paddling. Its headwaters begin in the longleaf pine savannas south of Vancleave, Mississippi and continue through many important natural areas, including the Sandhill Crane Wildlife Refuge, The Nature Conservancy's Old Fort Bayou mitigation property, the Land Trust's Twelve Oaks Conservation Park, and Mississippi's Old Fort Bayou Coastal Preserve, deepening and widening toward its mouth at Biloxi Bay in Ocean Springs.

Luckily, there is a boat ramp on Old Fort Bayou, just a couple miles north of our campground, so it was easy for us to drive the kayaks up and plop them in the water.  We looked back at the boat ramp and dock as we set out on the inky, slow-moving bayou water.

Once we paddled out onto the main bayou waters, things opened up and we had expansive vistas:

We decided to paddle west, toward Biloxi Bay, and turned north into Bayou Talia.  The map below gives you an idea what our route was like:

Once we got into Bayou Talia, we found smaller water and lots of interlacing waterways with chances to explore (and get lost):

The bayous are set in grassy marshland with stands of pine trees overhead:

Eventually, after passing Mr. Gator, we arrived at our furthest point, the north end of Bayou Talia, where some houses lay along a smaller waterway leading north from the bayou:

Paddling back down toward Old Fort Bayou, we passed the power line easement, where a dirt maintenance road followed the power line poles right down into the water:

Back on Old Fort Bayou, we rejoined the weekenders who were out fishing and pleasure-boating.  This family gave us a big wake to surf on as we headed back to our boat ramp:

Just west of the channel into our boat ramp, we came across a beautiful property, with a large tree draped in Spanish Moss, gracing their waterfront along the bayou:

An adjoining property had two elevated boathouses, and a proprietary pelican sat on a piling, keeping a eye on the boats for the owners:

A friend of his was hanging out in our channel as we approached the boat ramp.  David tried to get closer than this for a better photo, but this pelican beat wings and frustrated the effort:

The paddle was a total of 5 miles, which was a moderate distance for us.  But we did this in one sitting, without getting out of the kayaks and stretching our legs, or taking a break from paddling, so we were ready to start walking again when we returned to our boat ramp.

We've taken note of Old Fort Bayou as a "must do" paddle if we return to the area.  We didn't explore anything on the bayou to the east of our location, nor areas below Bayou Talia.  There are probably 9 more miles of Blueway for us to explore when we return!

A Day on Dauphin Island

Hi Blog!

After paddling around the Davis Bayou yesterday, we decided to head out on Saturday, February 17, 2018, and get some beach time on one of the barrier islands. The Gulf Islands National Seashore protects parts of seven islands. However, you can only reach them by boat and the ferry doesn't start running until April. The park ranger we spoke to yesterday suggested we drive over to Dauphin Island. While not part of the national park, it is still part of the chain of islands that make up the Gulf Islands.

Dauphin Island is home to Fort Gaines, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, The Estuarium Aquarium, the Dauphin Island Airport, boat ramps, a large public pier, historic sites, several restaurants, new condominium developments, and numerous private homes. Beaches attract tourism, and fishing is a popular activity in the waters around the island. The island is connected to the mainland by the Gordon Persons Bridge. As we approached the bridge, we were wondering if there really was an island on the other end.

We decided to park the Jeep near the Shell Mound Park and bike our way around the island.  Serpentine shell middens located in the park, perhaps 1500 years old, attest to at least seasonal occupation by the Native American Mound Builder culture. Here Kathy has absorbed the history of the shell mound and was ready to ride.

We discovered a 7.5 miles bike trail which runs parallel to Bienville Avenue.

Along the way, we made a stop at the ferry terminal to watch some of the locals go fishing.

Our next stop was Fort Gaines, an historic fort on Dauphin Island. It was named for Edmund Pendleton Gaines, famous for capturing Aaron Burr after he was accused of treason in connection with the Spanish-American War. The fort was established in 1821, and is best known for its role in the Battle of Mobile Bay during the American Civil War.

Fort Gaines sits on the eastern tip of the island. It was occupied by Confederate forces in 1861, and captured by Federal troops during the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864.

The fort is owned and managed by the Dauphin Island Park and Beach Board, not by the National Park Service or Mississippi State Parks. After paying our entrance fee, we were handed a self-guided tour brochure and started our exploring.

After skulking around the base of the fort, we headed up to explore the bastions.

Fun fact: The phrase, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead," was supposedly spoken by U. S. Admiral David Farragut, just a few hundred yards from Dauphin Island's shore, in the Battle of Mobile Bay prior to his victorious attack.

Cannon Selfie!

The dense fog we experienced on our drive over to Dauphin Island hung just off shore.

These old forts are so much fun to photograph.

Dave takes a moment to contemplate what life in the fort was like.

All that exploring made us hungry. It was back on the bikes and back across the island to the Islanders Restaurant, where Dave tried yet another gumbo!

After lunch, we continued on the bike path with the hope of reaching the west end, where we would leave the bikes and trek across the undeveloped west end of the island. However, we were turned around about two miles from the end. The road had been damaged by recent storms. Only local residents were allowed to proceed. They say adventure happens when your plans go awry. So, we turned around and headed back. The dense fog rolled back in. We found this guy fishing by the side of the trail.

We parked our bikes in the parking lot for Middle Beach, a public beach. As we started our trek across the dunes toward the water, the fog was so thick, we couldn't see the water. We followed the footprints in the sand and before long ghostly images began to appear.

We were able to capture these happy boaters as the fog lifted.

As we returned to Shell Mound Park, we noticed a number of birders focusing on the boat dock. Five Great Blue Herons were taking a break on the roof of the dock.

It's a pretty good day when you can bike 10 miles, explore a historic fort, and walk on the beach. We are hoping to get out and paddle again tomorrow. 

Stay tuned.