searcyf@mac.com – Page 98 – Travels with Fred

Unicoi Trip – Day 1

17 December 2017

I admit to a little cabin fever after my Myakka River trip and the need to get back on the trail, especially since I feel the need to increase elevation on my hikes. I need to hike upward since my first hike on my spring cross country trip will be an attempt on Guadalupe Peak in Texas at and elevation of 8700+ feet with an elevation gain of 3000 feet.

The area around Helen, Georgia may fit the bill. I found a Groupon for the Unicoi State Park Lodge for a very good rate and I booked 4 nights at the lodge. My intent is to do some day hikes in and around the park.

As usual, the hard part is getting out of Florida. I made it to Tifton, Georgia, 242miles and 6 1/2 hours from home. I pulled into the Choice Inn and Suites around 4:30 pm and had dinner at Applebee’s across the highway.

I saw an interesting trick by the FHP on the Florida Turnpike around Jupiter. Four FHP had pulled over speeders all in a distance. Apparently what they were doing was stopping the first car and when everyone thought they had passed that FHP by and resumed speed, a second FHP pulled the next speeder over. This worked for 4 speeders and 4 FHP. Then when you’ve driven another 6 miles and think you are home free, there was another FHP with a speeder. Fortunately, I had put the jeep on 70 and kept going.

My intention is to bypass Atlanta tomorrow. I’ll head toward Athens. It’ll increase my travel time by 1 1/2 hours but at least I’ll not have to face Atlanta white knuckle traffic. It is probably an even better idea since the closing of Atlanta airport.

There are several hikes I researched in the Helen area.

1) Andrews Cove Trail, 7.2 mile round trip with 1105 foot elevation gain
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2) Dukes Creek Trail, 4.6 mile round trip with 344 foot elevation gain

3) Mount Yonah Trail, 4.2 mile round trip with 1450 foot elevation gain

4) Raven Cliff Falls, 4.8 mile round trip with 567 foot elevation gain

5) Smith Creek Trail, 8.9 mile round trip with 1699 foot elevation gain

6) Anna Ruby Falls Trail, 0.8 mile round trip with 193 foot elevation gain

7) High Shoals Trail, 4.9 mile round trip with 1204 foot elevation gain.

I’ll decide what and how many to hike after talking with Park rangers and taking weather into consideration. It’s supposed to rain for the first two days in the park and temperature in the 40’s. However, even if I get wet, I’ll dry out by the fire at the lodge.

Myakka River State Park – 20 November 2017

Monday – 20 November 2017

I’ve been camping since I was 15 in the Boy Scouts and have camped in all kinds of conditions all over the United States and Canada but I have to admit I’ve never had a wilder night than in the campground last night. The young ladies with the projection screen attracted a large number of horny males (their words, not mine). It seemed the only way tumescent males can converse is a the top of their lungs, answered by females in the same decibel range.

Fortunately for me, they migrated to a campsite further down from me and then the party really started. The adults were playing bean bag toss while the kids played hide and seek in everyone else’s campsite but their own. I can’t blame the kids, they were just having fun, but the adults neglected any control on the kids and themselves.

It kept getting worse as the night wore on and I assumed the campground host was going to intervene any minute, but he didn’t. Finally around 10:30 pm other campers started screaming at the revelers which only fanned the flames. Threats were made, F Bombs were tossed and threats to call the park manager was made. It finally quieted down around midnight.

I was up around 6:30, made breakfast and was ready to hike by 8:30. I first walked 2 miles along the park road to a bird observation deck. On the way, I stopped a park ranger and related the tale of the campsite. She promised to check with the campground host and if the guilty parties could be identified, talk with them. I told her I didn’t want to spend another night like the last one. It was very close to becoming violent.

The only native wood stork in North America.

At the bird observation deck, you could see in the distance roseate spoonbills, wood storks, and white pelicans. Just before I got there some photographers managed to photograph five immature bald eagles.

One photographer was a retired correctional officer who had brought a neighbor’s son with him for a nature outing and had loaned the young man a very expensive camera. The kid was in hog heaven. The retiree said the kid had no father figure in his life and he was home from school for Thanksgiving and he decided to bring him to the park. He said the kid loved nature, especially reptiles. I wonder if he likes iguanas?

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From there, I headed to the trail head for Myakka River Trail and hiked first to Mossy Hammock primitive campsite and from there to Bee Island primitive camp. The trails are maintained by the Florida Trail society and were well marked.

The intersecting roads not so well. I ended up taking a wrong turn on a road (even with a compass reading) and came out on a trail that added 0.6 miles to my hike. At the end, I hiked 6 1/2 hours today and covered 11.2 miles. Believe me, I am bushed. Fortunately, it was pretty flat and ok walking. Some of the trail was rutted from use but passable. No waders needed.

A mossy hammock. This reminds me of the Ho Rainforest in Olympic National Park.

One thing the park service needs to do is not allow anyone on a four wheeler lay out a trail. During a 3.3 mile stretch of dry prairie, you could tell the trail just meandered around the prairie for fun. I’ll bet the person laying it out just decided to have fun on the four wheeler and that became the trail.

A surprising amount of wild flowers were still in bloom and there was plenty of bird life. I actually met two humans in the middle of the prairie. I told them I wasn’t sure I would see humans again after meandering through the prairie. They looked about as done in as I and I couldn’t tell them they had a very long way to go to get off the prairie.

Low tonight predicted to be 63F with a chance of showers. Tomorrow is 72% chance of rain. I was so tired, I went into Sarasota and ate dinner at some restaurant I can’t remember. The natives have started out restless again tonight. It has been a 3 Advil day.

Myakka River State Park – Day 1

Sunday 19 November 2017

I got away from the house around 10 am, gassed up, and made a pit stop at Duncan Doughnuts before fighting with my gps to get me to the park.

For some reason, it wanted to take me north of Okeechobee and then down towards Sarasota instead of heading across I75 direct. In any case, I ignored it until I got to SR 29 where it suggested I take that since there was a traffic jam ahead on I75 around Sarasota. I figured that was OK and was new scenery for me. It definitely was. I got my first ever view of the Big Cypress Reservation. It was really interesting to drive through the town.

After passing through, the gps really went nuts. It insisted I turn left down a dirt track that it labeled and FPL road. If it was, it was invisible in the tall grass. Next it wanted me to turn down a private dirt road. I refused. It next had me head back the way I came and head north, not west. At that point, I killed that gps and went with Google Maps on my I pad. I made it to Immokalee and had a bathroom break and lunch at McDonald’s. I finally got to the park around 3:30 pm.

I got camp set up in about 45 minutes. I’m getting good at this.

Afterwards, I did a short tour on the bike, visited the cafe and met some really nice people there who made me a wrap for dinner while filling me in on the park. The wrap, edamame salad and chips were $8. I was stunned. It’s a huge wrap, sufficient salad and more than enough for me.

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At the boat landing, I got the closest to two sandhill cranes I’ve ever been. Some people just walked all around them but I kept my distance and let them feed in some peace.

There are turkey vultures circling the camp, and near the boat ramp wood storks, roseate spoonbills, deer and apparently wild hogs, although I’ve yet to see the hogs.

“Dry” Prairie at Myakka River State Park

Tonight it’s supposed to get down to 50F and I can tell the temperature is steadily dropping with the sun. So far, I am impressed with the park and facilities. The campsite is almost full and it’s a good mix of people. The site next to mine has set up a large outdoor screen and are projecting football games on it. The two women have attracted a large male crowd. Hmmmmm.

Tomorrow will be a hiking day.

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park – Day 3

1 November 2017

Happy 69th birthday to me! I decided to celebrate by folding camp and heading back home. I pretty much gave up on finding a trail that wasn’t under 2 feet of water. I was ready to leave by 10 am and had just started to pull out of the camping area and realized I didn’t have my Tilley hat. I had left it in the shower from last night, so I made a u-turn and grabbed the hat. I’d hate to lose that hat even though Tilley will replace it free of charge.

My opinion of the park is it needs a lot of work. The trails are very poorly marked and are really nothing more than road beds through the preserve. Unfortunately, most of the rangers seem to make their rounds in four wheelers which only adds to the ruts (and standing water) along the trails.

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The park does have facilities for those people who have their own horses. They even have their own campground. Other than bird watching, there’s not a lot going on for one of the largest preserves in the state of Florida, but perhaps that’s the way it should be.

I made it home by 1:30 pm and immediately unloaded the car, started a load of wash, and then pitched the tent to get the sand from inside, let it air out, and dry out the fly. I spread the “garage” and the ground cloth for the tent so they could dry and then unpitched and packed everything again. So far today, that’s one breaking camp, one pitching camp and another breaking camp. I’m pretty tired and plan to hit the rack early tonight.

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park -Day 2

31 October 2017

For my first night on a cot, it went really well. It was far more comfortable than the ground. The self-inflating air mattress was perfect insulation for the 44F temperature last night. More than ever I appreciated the indoor potty so I didn’t have to trudge to the public facility.

There were only 4 campers in the campground last night and one of those was the campground host. To me, this is perfect camping weather so I don’t know why there weren’t more people. At least the campground was quiet.

I used my Blue Bottle drip system for coffee this morning and it worked perfectly. Before I left home, I prepared several packets of sausage and biscuit and froze them for the trip. The idea was to warm them in the Coleman oven this morning. I forgot to take into consideration the biscuits would keep on baking. The bottoms were charred but otherwise very tasty.

I was warned on Facebook by Tracey to watch out for the crows – they would steal the food. Sure enough, two kept a close watch but a red shouldered hawk perched over the site and kept them honest.

The morning sunrise was magnificent. There were a set of low clouds in the distance that gave the impression of a mountain range.
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Today, I intended to do some hiking. One thing I appreciate about parks is their warnings to hikers about the terrain. For example, they warn you it is very flat here and hikers don’t have any landmarks to find their way. They also warn you about wearing a broad brimmed hat to protect you from the intense sun. However, I have never been warned to look out for UNEXPLODED ORDINANCE! It should be an interesting hike.

The trail I intended to hike was the Kirkpatrick- Homestead Loop. I got about 30 feet down what I assumed was the trail and it quickly became obvious I needed to be able to walk on water like the Jesus lizard. No such luck. I looked for a way around the low part but quickly ran into a slough, so I turned around and headed back to the campground. One problem with the trails is they are supposedly marked by letters of the alphabet at junctions on the map. I have yet to see a junction marking on any trail.

I decided to look around the town of Okeechobee and have lunch. It’s 28 miles from the park with a speed limit of 25 mph for five miles in the park and mostly 40 mph until you come to Highway 98 so it’s a 45 minute drive each way. I had red snapper at the Tin Fish which was pretty good. It was grilled and placed on a ginormous bed of slaw.

On the way back to the park I saw another natural area listed and took a side road which pretty much dead ended to nowhere with no hint of the natural area. I returned to the campground and met one of three campers leaving.

I’ll try one more area tomorrow morning and if that is impassible, I may head back home a day early.

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park – Day 1

30 October 2017

It was a two hour and 40 minute drive to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, north of the town of Okeechobee and the lake of the same name. Prairie is an apt description of the 54,000 acres of very flat, and since Hurricane Irma, very wet terrain.

I’m in campsite number 5 and fortunately there is no standing water. I think this park gets so few visitors that they really don’t stand on ceremony – checking you in, making sure you are toeing the line, etc. They are just glad to see you.

I pitched the 8-person tent and even set up the garage on the back in record time. Practice really does make perfect and even though it has been a while since I set this monster up, it went smoothly.

Tonight, for the first time, I am sleeping on a cot. After three nights on an air mattress, I find it more and more difficult to get upright from the ground. I purchased the cot from REI and it seems very sturdy and extra long. I also bought a self-inflating air mattress for the top of the cot to provide a little more insulation on cold nights. It really does self inflate and you only need to add a few puffs of air to top it off. I added a Hudson Bay type blanket and then my down sleeping bad and pillow, so I should be set for any cold weather. Tonight’s low is predicted to be 45F. The down bag is good down to 20F.

I decided to hike the very short Hammock Trail Loop next to the campsite. It was a 1.6 mile hike (according to my Garmin ETrex which may or may not be accurate). It was at least in the ball park of the stated distance on the map. About halfway through the hike, I stirred up Mr. and Mrs. Wild Hog and three little hoglets. Fortunately for me, they were more scared of me than I was of them.
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On the way back to the campsite, I did a small detour by the office and met Mr. Six Foot Alligator. Wild life seems abundant here.

This trip has already been a success for me in that I got a photo of a caracara bird. I’ve been trying to photograph this thing for 35 years. Usually, I see them along the roadside when I’m traveling 55-60 mph and by the time I get stopped and turned around, they’ve flown. There were two sitting on some posts across the road from the visitor center and very accommodating with their poses!

Dusk at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park

This park is considered the best place in Florida for stargazing. The ambient light from towns is negligible and I hope to try some star photography tonight. There is a moon so it won’t be the best but it’ll be interesting to see the milky way again.

Tonight’s dinner is home made beef stew. Breakfast will be sausage and biscuit with Blue bottle coffee.

Fall Foliage Trip – Day 8

8 October 2017

The trip home was uneventful. I was routed I95 to the Florida Turnpike and then home. As I got closer to home, I was disappointed to see the debris had not been picked up. Wonder of wonders, when I rounded the corner, the debris pile in my front yard had been picked up, except for some old landscape timbers that they will pick up the next go around.

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Unfortunately, they were not too neat with their debris removal. I filled a yard waste bin with the material they left behind on the swale and the street. It took me about an hour to clean up their clean up. Oh well, at least the grass can start growing again in the bare spot.

I traveled over 5000 miles on this trip. It’s now time to take the jeep in for servicing and continue preparations for the cross country trip this spring.

Fall Foliage Trip -Day 7

7 October 2017

I feel badly about getting Stephen and Jimmie up so early, but I needed to get off early in order to make a lunch date at Hilton Head Island. Jimmie fixed me a bagel and after excellent directions from Stephen, I was on the road by 6:30am.

I had followed Stephen’s directions to I73 which led to I74, which led to I95 and was on my way to Ashboro when my GPS said traffic jam ahead and did I want to re-route? Against better judgement, I said yes and I was soon directed to back roads through back towns for what seemed forever. I was finally routed to I95 which would lead me to the Hilton Head Island exit.

I’ve decided to name my GPS lady Cassandra since she prophecizes doom and I usually ignore her.

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They treated me to lunch at their club and I had an excellent seafood chowder and a Ruben. I’ll have the other half of the Ruben for dinner tonight. It was good to catch up with them and get first hand accounts of their trip.

After a wonderfully leisure lunch, I dropped them at home and headed to Brunswick, GA for the night. I’ll make the final leg of the trip home tomorrow.

This has been a great trip and a much needed break from iguanas and hurricane Irma. Tomorrow begins the battle anew.

Fall Foliage Trip – Day 6

6 October 2017

Yesterday ended on a high note. I had left a message the day before for an old colleague from the college, Terry Hamilton, who had retired to Boone. I hoped to meet up with him, take him to dinner, and reminisce over old times. I had not heard back from him so I assumed I missed him this trip.

I had just walked into the motel room when my phone rang and it was Terry. He had just walked in the door from a 7 hour drive from Ohio. He picked me up around 6pm and we headed to the Peddling Pig Restaurant for some excellent North Carolina BBQ and a couple of beers. He filled me in on his travels and I filled him in on mine and we told old tales and laughed heartily. He insisted on paying for dinner and then gave me a guided night tour of Boone. It was really good to see an old friend and I agreed to come by next time in the area.

The trip to Greensboro was uneventful and I got to my cousin Jimmie and her husband Stephen’s house around 12:30 pm. After a brief reunion we headed to the Village Tavern for lunch.
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Afterwards, they drove me through the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park where Nathaniel Greene lost to Lord Cornwallis but with such terrible loses to the British that it had an ultimate effect on the outcome of the revolutionary war. Then Jimmie and I did a short hike along one of the many trails in the park.

We returned home and continued to catch up. Jimmie and Stephen then prepared an excellent black beans and rice with vegetables and salsa for dinner. I really love visiting them. They are so easy to be around and yet you feel like the very close family we have always been. Jimmie and I grew up together and are like siblings. Stephen and I are also a good match and we get along great.

Tomorrow, it’s a trip to Hilton Head Island to visit more friends.

Fall Foliage Trip -Day 5

5 October 2017

What a difference a day makes! The fall foliage was more intense this morning than yesterday. I retraced my route back over the mountains to Cherokee from Gatlinburg in order to pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Part of the reason for brighter foliage was the early morning sun highlighting the foliage and part was the temperature difference on the Gatlinburg side. I awoke to 51F in Gatlinburg and it was 13 degrees warmer once I descended Newfound Gap into Cherokee.

As I was heading out, I got a great view of Chimneytops which is far more visible since the fire. The fire is evident there and only a few places in Gatlinburg.

Chimneytops- you usually only see the very tips of the peak.

As I walked to the restaurant last night, across the river were several burned out homes. Hopefully, the park, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are well on their way to recovery. Gatlinburg was certainly busy.
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They are not called the Smokies for nuthin’!

I stopped in Cherokee for breakfast and then headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Traffic was heavy but most people were very courteous and pulled off at overlooks to allow faster moving traffic to pass them by.

At first, it seemed the foliage wasn’t as brightly colored but I noticed that instead of the yellows on the Gatlinburg side, the Cherokee side of the mountains were mostly reds of maples and gums.

There are parts of the Blue Ridge that are amazing. I’ve done a lot of the overlooks but what impressed me more were the totally shaded areas with sunlight dappling through the canopy highlighting the colors. As I passed Grandfather Mountain I noticed an abundance of red colors on the side of the mountain. It was quite spectacular.

I really made this trip to get away from all the yard debris and if the colors were good, it would be a bonus. I got away and got the bonus, so it’s been a great trip thus far.