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Florida Panhandle Trip
- Thread starter kgd
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After high tailing it out from St. Georges, I found myself driving through Tates Hell State forest and the GPS was flagging a couple of interesting side roads that I thought might be worth driving. I took one which ended up being drivable but pretty primitive as far as roads go and it dumped me beside a charming little stream with a picnic table. I had half a mind to camp there the night, but decided Id only make lunch and move on.
While driving I hit the usual thunderstorms drenching the forest and changing the hue of the world.
Well, I knew exactly where I was going. Back to Torreya and that awesome little Rock Bluffs campsite I enjoyed so much just a few days ago.
My pack set up for the overnighter
I forgot to pack the tree hugger straps for my hammock while organizing my pack. So I improvised a little and used some old bark from a dead fallen over tree to buffer the trees that I was hanging off of. The trick worked and left the trees no worse for wear after I took everything down the next morning.
Another delightful evening at Rock Bluffs primitive campsite. The owls were still hooting all night long. I braved hanging my hammock without a tarp and had a clear view of the stars as the breeze fell on my face and ruffled the leaves. A perfect night and I slept like a baby!
While driving I hit the usual thunderstorms drenching the forest and changing the hue of the world.
Well, I knew exactly where I was going. Back to Torreya and that awesome little Rock Bluffs campsite I enjoyed so much just a few days ago.
My pack set up for the overnighter
I forgot to pack the tree hugger straps for my hammock while organizing my pack. So I improvised a little and used some old bark from a dead fallen over tree to buffer the trees that I was hanging off of. The trick worked and left the trees no worse for wear after I took everything down the next morning.
Another delightful evening at Rock Bluffs primitive campsite. The owls were still hooting all night long. I braved hanging my hammock without a tarp and had a clear view of the stars as the breeze fell on my face and ruffled the leaves. A perfect night and I slept like a baby!
LMT66
Gold Member
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I really enjoyed this post! I know it took time to do and I thank you.
Although Florida is not my Cup O Tea, I may need to rethink this. January would be a great time of year to retrace your steps.
And I must add that I don't know why Rangers or local LEO's feel that showing up in the middle of the night, waking up sleeping campers just to tell them it's a wellness check, is ok?
Although Florida is not my Cup O Tea, I may need to rethink this. January would be a great time of year to retrace your steps.
And I must add that I don't know why Rangers or local LEO's feel that showing up in the middle of the night, waking up sleeping campers just to tell them it's a wellness check, is ok?
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Thanks guys, I know I'm overwhelming W&SS with this thread but that is why I decided to put it all in one place and hopefully it will inspire somebody to explore this area. Doing this in the winter or early spring, paritcularly with the flower blooms, would be awesome. Just one mark park (Florida Caverns) to do and I'll have exhausted my material for this trip
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After driving out of Torreya, I spent my last two days at Florida Caverns park. Thought I might move on again after one night, but I really enjoyed the forest of Forlida Caverns. Like St. George, they have a strict 'no ropes on trees' rule. But after explaining my situation with the ranger, he suggested I take a look at the horse stables and see if I might be able to hang off of that. I was able to do so and I liked the spot, especially given no that nobody with horses was using the area, I basically had it all to myself.
The main attraction of Florida Caverns is of course the Cavern tour. Its about a 45 min walk through the caverns as part of a guided tour. You aren't aloud in there alone and the cavern is pretty much set up with lighting in a walkthrough path. Despite that this is essentially a Disney-esque type attraction it is still worthwhile to see for those arm-chair spelunker types (which I categorize myself in no way in hell am I entering a deep cave with just a flashlight). I took a tonne of shots of the inside of the cavern but am just posting up a sampling of them. It truly is an exotic world down there (and also a nice 67 degrees F) and I can see why people are into caving. Still, not really my schtick.
More intriguing (to me) then the caverns though are the wooded parts which blend a mix of karst topography with cool hardwood forest canopy with several similarities to Torreya which I loved so much. Apart from those right at the cave tour entrance, the trails in this park were literally my own. There is a 3.5 mile floodplain trail accessable from the 1.5 mile fence (equestrian) trail that was an absolute joy to walk through and take photos of. Mixed beech/magnolia forest, lush greens and cool streams. The hiking part of Florida Caverns is a real underrated feature of this place.
On one of the trails near the cave entrance, there is a natural tunnel as part of the trail. Its pretty short, you have to stoop to get through it and you'll likely be stepping in a bit of water, but it was a fun little part of the path.
There were a bunch of unique limestone formation as part of the karst geography as well as smaller cave entrances and shelter caves dispersed throughout.
I loved the huge trees in the area, either beech or magnolia as well as large oak trees.
Lots of stinging nettle throughout the trail. Didn't feel right harvesting any of it being right on the path, but a nice edible.
In the flood plain the trees are surrounded by buttresses, which look like old stumps. Actually they are part of the root systems and the tree shoots these up in an arc around the main trunk. This acts as anchor points for the tree in the soil and prevents it from being toppled over during floods.
The Chipola River runs through the park. It is locally known as the 'disappearing river' because the river flows into a sinkhole and then returns back to land a little distance later. The park rents canoes and I tried renting a canoe to paddle along the river, but unfortunately a bad weather system came in and they would not let the canoes be rented. Despite the rain, I really liked this park. There isn't a primitive camping area in the park, but it is definitely worth a daytrip with some excellent hiking even if you decide to forgoe the caverns tour.
The main attraction of Florida Caverns is of course the Cavern tour. Its about a 45 min walk through the caverns as part of a guided tour. You aren't aloud in there alone and the cavern is pretty much set up with lighting in a walkthrough path. Despite that this is essentially a Disney-esque type attraction it is still worthwhile to see for those arm-chair spelunker types (which I categorize myself in no way in hell am I entering a deep cave with just a flashlight). I took a tonne of shots of the inside of the cavern but am just posting up a sampling of them. It truly is an exotic world down there (and also a nice 67 degrees F) and I can see why people are into caving. Still, not really my schtick.
More intriguing (to me) then the caverns though are the wooded parts which blend a mix of karst topography with cool hardwood forest canopy with several similarities to Torreya which I loved so much. Apart from those right at the cave tour entrance, the trails in this park were literally my own. There is a 3.5 mile floodplain trail accessable from the 1.5 mile fence (equestrian) trail that was an absolute joy to walk through and take photos of. Mixed beech/magnolia forest, lush greens and cool streams. The hiking part of Florida Caverns is a real underrated feature of this place.
On one of the trails near the cave entrance, there is a natural tunnel as part of the trail. Its pretty short, you have to stoop to get through it and you'll likely be stepping in a bit of water, but it was a fun little part of the path.
There were a bunch of unique limestone formation as part of the karst geography as well as smaller cave entrances and shelter caves dispersed throughout.
I loved the huge trees in the area, either beech or magnolia as well as large oak trees.
Lots of stinging nettle throughout the trail. Didn't feel right harvesting any of it being right on the path, but a nice edible.
In the flood plain the trees are surrounded by buttresses, which look like old stumps. Actually they are part of the root systems and the tree shoots these up in an arc around the main trunk. This acts as anchor points for the tree in the soil and prevents it from being toppled over during floods.
The Chipola River runs through the park. It is locally known as the 'disappearing river' because the river flows into a sinkhole and then returns back to land a little distance later. The park rents canoes and I tried renting a canoe to paddle along the river, but unfortunately a bad weather system came in and they would not let the canoes be rented. Despite the rain, I really liked this park. There isn't a primitive camping area in the park, but it is definitely worth a daytrip with some excellent hiking even if you decide to forgoe the caverns tour.
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I got caught under one of the covered picnic areas during an intense rain and tried to capture the essence of the driving rain in the second shot below.
I also made a brief little foray into a different park, Falling Waters State Park just west of Florida Caverns. Falling Waters is noted for having the largest water fall in Florida, a 73' drop from a cliff top into a sinkhole. Unfotunately, the waters were just a trickle when I went. The trails were mostly boardwalk kind of things which I hate. Even when I usually stick to the path, it just urkes me being goaded into staying on trail via a boardwalk. Of course with all the sinkholes there, safety is an issue. Not really a great place to hike and perhaps the falls are nice when they are really flowing. Otherwise, my $4 admission fee on this entrance would have been far better spent on a couple of cans of beer.
Back to Florida Caverns for the rest of the day. I did about 6 miles (far easier in the coolness of the constant rain that enveloped the region these last two days).
Thats about it. Early the next morning I drove back to Tallahassee. Had breakfast at the Waffle House, filled up and returned the rental car with zero problems and awaited my flight home. The wife picked me up from the airport, we bought a choice bottle of Appleton's special reserve rum at the duty free on the way home before going through Canadian customs. Had a long soak in the tub with Epsom salts for the legs and a very comfortable sleep in my own bed. All week, I've been thinking about my time out there and of course preparing this thread kept my mind in that special place in N. Florida. So the closing of this thread gives me a little closure to a great vacation. I hope to do something like this again next year.
I probably have a short video or two that I'll post to exhaust the rest of my material but that is it for my Florida trip. Somewhere in the last few videos I shot, the microphone of my camcorder died so my closing commentary as I walked my last trail has been lost. Overall, it was a great ride while it lasted and now it will have to live on as a memory. Thanks to all of you who stuck out all the photos and vids I posted. A blog like this probably serves one's own personal interests more so than it does others. But sometimes it is good to live a little vicariously through these kinds of experiences across the forum membership. Hope you enjoyed the write up!
Ken
I also made a brief little foray into a different park, Falling Waters State Park just west of Florida Caverns. Falling Waters is noted for having the largest water fall in Florida, a 73' drop from a cliff top into a sinkhole. Unfotunately, the waters were just a trickle when I went. The trails were mostly boardwalk kind of things which I hate. Even when I usually stick to the path, it just urkes me being goaded into staying on trail via a boardwalk. Of course with all the sinkholes there, safety is an issue. Not really a great place to hike and perhaps the falls are nice when they are really flowing. Otherwise, my $4 admission fee on this entrance would have been far better spent on a couple of cans of beer.
Back to Florida Caverns for the rest of the day. I did about 6 miles (far easier in the coolness of the constant rain that enveloped the region these last two days).
Thats about it. Early the next morning I drove back to Tallahassee. Had breakfast at the Waffle House, filled up and returned the rental car with zero problems and awaited my flight home. The wife picked me up from the airport, we bought a choice bottle of Appleton's special reserve rum at the duty free on the way home before going through Canadian customs. Had a long soak in the tub with Epsom salts for the legs and a very comfortable sleep in my own bed. All week, I've been thinking about my time out there and of course preparing this thread kept my mind in that special place in N. Florida. So the closing of this thread gives me a little closure to a great vacation. I hope to do something like this again next year.
I probably have a short video or two that I'll post to exhaust the rest of my material but that is it for my Florida trip. Somewhere in the last few videos I shot, the microphone of my camcorder died so my closing commentary as I walked my last trail has been lost. Overall, it was a great ride while it lasted and now it will have to live on as a memory. Thanks to all of you who stuck out all the photos and vids I posted. A blog like this probably serves one's own personal interests more so than it does others. But sometimes it is good to live a little vicariously through these kinds of experiences across the forum membership. Hope you enjoyed the write up!
Ken
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Ken this has been a fantastic thread and I very much appreciate the effort you put into it. You did a fantastic job of capturing the beauty of North Western Florida.
We are still in the works of planning a 5 day canoe trip through the Everglades, shoot me an email if you're interested in joining us. It will be in January as even I'm not dumb enough to mess with the mosquitoes in South Florida during the summer....
Again great thread, your pics are excellent as well as the videos!
We are still in the works of planning a 5 day canoe trip through the Everglades, shoot me an email if you're interested in joining us. It will be in January as even I'm not dumb enough to mess with the mosquitoes in South Florida during the summer....
Again great thread, your pics are excellent as well as the videos!
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Thanks Tony, glad you enjoyed the thread. I'll think on the Jan trip. Sounds like a blast especially if its anything like the last trip you posted about. Just have to consider the logistics and whether I can talk the wife into letting me go back again. Winter in Florida would be amazing!
I'll post my last two vids and will call it a wrap for this thread
I'll post my last two vids and will call it a wrap for this thread
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Thanks for the great pics. Torreya is one of my favorite places. You first encountered it in the heat of summer; I first went there on a geology field trip in winter. There was ice on the outcrop of Alum Bluff.
btw, be careful whom you call Yanks. Floridians do not take kindly to that sort of insult. (I'm serious.)
btw, be careful whom you call Yanks. Floridians do not take kindly to that sort of insult. (I'm serious.)
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That was a response to an individual. The 'old hatred is sort of trite though don't you think? If not, then I don't know what to say.
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Hey Ken,
This is awesome stuff man!!!!
I was going to email you with a couple questions, then I figured others might like to hear the answers too.
1) What do you pack/carrying your camera in? Especially with that type of wet weather. I downgraded my camera in size, for something that is easier to carry. But, when weather gets to iffy, I just err on the side of not using it or not even taking it. I am weary of anything not able to handle water
But, obviously you had lots......so what did you do?
2) How did that Hennessy work with rigging the tarp right to the main line? I set mine up once like that and wasn't pumped about the setup, so I always run a separate ridge line. I know it is an extra rope to carry, but it has a lot of benefits to me. Still, I am wondering if my concerns were justified of having that tarp hooked so close to the hammock. Did you have any issue setting up while raining? (That is one benefit of having a stand alone ridgeline. Hang the tarp first, hammock second).
Just curious. These pictures are too amazing to comment on all of them.
Thanks for sharing them all,
B
This is awesome stuff man!!!!
I was going to email you with a couple questions, then I figured others might like to hear the answers too.
1) What do you pack/carrying your camera in? Especially with that type of wet weather. I downgraded my camera in size, for something that is easier to carry. But, when weather gets to iffy, I just err on the side of not using it or not even taking it. I am weary of anything not able to handle water
But, obviously you had lots......so what did you do?2) How did that Hennessy work with rigging the tarp right to the main line? I set mine up once like that and wasn't pumped about the setup, so I always run a separate ridge line. I know it is an extra rope to carry, but it has a lot of benefits to me. Still, I am wondering if my concerns were justified of having that tarp hooked so close to the hammock. Did you have any issue setting up while raining? (That is one benefit of having a stand alone ridgeline. Hang the tarp first, hammock second).
Just curious. These pictures are too amazing to comment on all of them.
Thanks for sharing them all,
B
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Hi Brian,
On the camera, my camcorder is one of those Sanyo Xacti waterproof models. Its submersible to 5' so I don't worry about it so much. It just rides in my shirt pocket. Although the mic did die on my towards the end of the trip so I ended up buying another one with a bit better specs but basically the same model (I've accumulated about 6 batteries for this model type). I also brought with me two SLR's. A D50 with an older 70-300 mm zoom lens and my D60 with 18-55 mm plus an additional 60 mm macro. The D50 came out for things like Wakula springs or when I anticipated more wildlife shots with the bigger zoom. When I was backcountry hiking I brought the D60 with wide zoom and the macro lens (usually in my front pocket). The two lens combo wasn't the most convenient but served my needs. As for the wet, I have two of those 2L dry bags that I can put the camera in when I feel it is too much water. For the most part though I just let the camera's suffer through. The strap keeps the lens pointed down and most of the water is deflected by my hat. Anyhow, I never really get to ansy with my SLR's in the rain. I guess I've just figured out that they can tolerate a lot of abuse that way as long as it isn't submersed.
The biggest issue though is the fogging up and just having rain drops all over your lens when you are trying to shoot. I keep a wipe rag in my pocket, but as soon as that rag gets drenched like the rest of me, then all it does is smear the droplets around the lens. The other issue is I generally keep a UV filter on the lens. I use it more for protection than its filter effect and always figure its easy to replace a $20 lens filter then to scratch the lens. However, in these conditions you get fog build up between the lens and filter so you are faced with the choice of having to unscrew the filter and put it somewhere and I'm not very fond of wiping my lens directly with the wipe rag. But it all comes down to if the shot is worth it? Many of my shots suffered from foggy/drippy lens syndrome and its just part of having to work with what you got. Not unlike sunstars in bright sunny conditions.
Tarp rigging on the hammock. First, I agree with you 100% that it is far better to use an independent ridge line with your tarp and suspend the tarp about 2 or 3' higher than the ridgeline of your hammock. This makes for more room under the hammock, extending the drip line, to put your gear underneath. It also makes it easier to get in through the bottom entry hole because you don't have the tarp resisting the top of your head as you worm your way inside. A few of the days I had rigged up my tarp using the tree hugger straps as the anchor point for my tarp. This was in part because the rangers didn't like that I was tying off on their trees. In one place, they had a no rope on trees rule and I was able to talk may way into hanging the hammock with some discussion with the ranger about tree hugger straps. After going into all that, I then didn't want to tie another ridgeline to the tree. No point in pushing it.
The second part is each day I was suffering some real humdingers of thunderstorms. Apart from the last two days, they were generally of short duration, but that rain would be a heavy driving rain with some weird directionality to it at times. Attaching the tarp right at the tree hugger bases ensured my hammock was fully enveloped in the tarp and it did keep things really dry. The line that suspends the mesh off your face keeps the tarp up as well. Somebody once told me that silnylon isn't 100% waterproof and will leak in a driving rain. This seems false from my perspective. I even poked my finger under the mesh touching the tarp during one of the storms to see if a droplet with leak through and it didn't at all. The last campsite, I had my hammock tied to a stable on one side and the horse tie up rigs on the other. Here I only had about 4' height to hang from. I had to tie my hammock really tight to keep my butt off the ground. Because the strap was at the highest point I could fasten to, so was my tarp. This one was pretty hard to get into, but comfy and dry once I was in there.
On the camera, my camcorder is one of those Sanyo Xacti waterproof models. Its submersible to 5' so I don't worry about it so much. It just rides in my shirt pocket. Although the mic did die on my towards the end of the trip so I ended up buying another one with a bit better specs but basically the same model (I've accumulated about 6 batteries for this model type). I also brought with me two SLR's. A D50 with an older 70-300 mm zoom lens and my D60 with 18-55 mm plus an additional 60 mm macro. The D50 came out for things like Wakula springs or when I anticipated more wildlife shots with the bigger zoom. When I was backcountry hiking I brought the D60 with wide zoom and the macro lens (usually in my front pocket). The two lens combo wasn't the most convenient but served my needs. As for the wet, I have two of those 2L dry bags that I can put the camera in when I feel it is too much water. For the most part though I just let the camera's suffer through. The strap keeps the lens pointed down and most of the water is deflected by my hat. Anyhow, I never really get to ansy with my SLR's in the rain. I guess I've just figured out that they can tolerate a lot of abuse that way as long as it isn't submersed.
The biggest issue though is the fogging up and just having rain drops all over your lens when you are trying to shoot. I keep a wipe rag in my pocket, but as soon as that rag gets drenched like the rest of me, then all it does is smear the droplets around the lens. The other issue is I generally keep a UV filter on the lens. I use it more for protection than its filter effect and always figure its easy to replace a $20 lens filter then to scratch the lens. However, in these conditions you get fog build up between the lens and filter so you are faced with the choice of having to unscrew the filter and put it somewhere and I'm not very fond of wiping my lens directly with the wipe rag. But it all comes down to if the shot is worth it? Many of my shots suffered from foggy/drippy lens syndrome and its just part of having to work with what you got. Not unlike sunstars in bright sunny conditions.
Tarp rigging on the hammock. First, I agree with you 100% that it is far better to use an independent ridge line with your tarp and suspend the tarp about 2 or 3' higher than the ridgeline of your hammock. This makes for more room under the hammock, extending the drip line, to put your gear underneath. It also makes it easier to get in through the bottom entry hole because you don't have the tarp resisting the top of your head as you worm your way inside. A few of the days I had rigged up my tarp using the tree hugger straps as the anchor point for my tarp. This was in part because the rangers didn't like that I was tying off on their trees. In one place, they had a no rope on trees rule and I was able to talk may way into hanging the hammock with some discussion with the ranger about tree hugger straps. After going into all that, I then didn't want to tie another ridgeline to the tree. No point in pushing it.
The second part is each day I was suffering some real humdingers of thunderstorms. Apart from the last two days, they were generally of short duration, but that rain would be a heavy driving rain with some weird directionality to it at times. Attaching the tarp right at the tree hugger bases ensured my hammock was fully enveloped in the tarp and it did keep things really dry. The line that suspends the mesh off your face keeps the tarp up as well. Somebody once told me that silnylon isn't 100% waterproof and will leak in a driving rain. This seems false from my perspective. I even poked my finger under the mesh touching the tarp during one of the storms to see if a droplet with leak through and it didn't at all. The last campsite, I had my hammock tied to a stable on one side and the horse tie up rigs on the other. Here I only had about 4' height to hang from. I had to tie my hammock really tight to keep my butt off the ground. Because the strap was at the highest point I could fasten to, so was my tarp. This one was pretty hard to get into, but comfy and dry once I was in there.
