More Big Trees

The Senator Today

Last winter an act of arson felled the 3500-year-old Senator pond cypress, estimated to be the oldest living tree in the US east of the Rocky Mountains.  It was both sad and horrible for many who live close by.  If you have seen the tree you know it was massive, at something like 5200 cubic feet of solid wood.  It started growing on Soldier creek about the time the pyramids were being constructed in Egypt and was already 3000 years old when Ponce de Leon explored La Florida.
My family and I have been to Big Tree Park a number of times and we miss being able to see the Big tree.  The Florida National Scenic Trail goes right by it on the Cross Seminole hike/bike trail, and I have bicycled right past it dozens of times.  Next to the Senator is another large and very old cypress tree, Lady Liberty, growing at 2000 years young.  As a result of the arson, the park is now closed.

Osprey Trail

Just so you know, there are several large and old bald/pond cypress trees sipping that same Soldier creek water a couple miles away in the 1500 acre Spring Hammock Preserve.  Just left off State Highway 419 about one mile East of US 17/92, Spring Hammock Preserve is a hydric hammock, a vital watershed and wetlands area adjacent to Lake Jesup.  It contains a few 1000 to 2000+ year old cypress trees where you can walk right up, crane your neck and feel insignificant.  To find them is an easy walk.
Park in the shade along the entrance road in Spring Hammock Preserve, and get a map from the porch of the Environmental Services Center.  Then walk north along the road to the cul-de-sac in a power line easement where the Florida Trail/Cross Seminole bicycle trail runs.  Go in beside the gate and follow the gravel Osprey Trail into the shade.  This trail/road leads to the education areas of the hammock, where fifth graders are treated to the famous shoe-sucking mud-walk.  Elementary school through high school age children are taught about nature here in classes throughout the school year.

Live Oak

Turn right at an old cypress snag onto Robin Trail, and follow the road a few yards to an old live oak tree on the right.  It is 35 feet or more up to the first branch, which is unusual.  Generally, live oaks branch out much closer to the ground but this one has an unusually straight and tall trunk.  The upper branches are covered with bromelaids and Spanish moss.  I didn't see any bird life in the tree today, but I expect it is home to a few feathered families.
Go back to the Osprey Trail and continue right, passing some trails to the left and a shelter (good for rain).  The trail is marked every 100 meters with a sign and the next one you turn at is 1000 meters.  Turn right onto the boardwalk and follow a few feet until you see benches to sit on.  I suggest sitting first so you don"t topple over backwards while looking up.  This cypress tree is estimated to be 2500 years old and it is huge!  It is 60 feet or more to the first limb and the tree has a large girth with a cavity above.  The different benches allow you to see more of the tree through the lower branches.

2500 Years Old

Once you feel insignificant, continue along the boardwalk to the next set of benches.  As you sit you will see why I call this the flute cypress tree.  There are multiple round holes in one side much like a flute, that woodpeckers have hollowed out to live.  I watched a few red headed woodpeckers flit around this one, generally not trespassing into another's condo.  A sign says to look for an osprey's nest in the top.  This tree is much smaller than the first one but is still near 1000 years old.
Go back along the boardwalk the way you came, maybe sitting for a few more minutes beside the first tree again.  It has been here since 500 years before the common era began and survived being cut for lumber during the cypress timber rush of our century.
Back onto Osprey Trail, going right again takes you from the mixed hardwood hammock into the hydric hammock past Question Pond, a natural sulfur spring.  Its light green color contrasts with the tannin color of the stream water near it.  Around 1500 meters look for a large cypress stump on the right, and at 1600 meters look for a large cypress tree on the left with a hollow at its base.

Trees Growing Out Of A Cypress

You should now be into the mixed hardwood swamp with standing algae-covered water on each side of you.  Just ahead is a boardwalk on the left.  Follow the boardwalk on its way to Lake Jesup, where it passes several large cypress trees.  When I was there the water was 2 feet below the deck.  Beware that sometimes the water level covers this boardwalk and some of the road.  Three red headed woodpeckers darted and flitted around the deck and from tree to tree.
The first cypress tree is adjacent to the right of the boardwalk and has both a full size palm tree and an Elm or Gum tree growing from different sides of the base.  This 2000 year old tree has another 1000 year old tree growing right across from it on the left side of the deck.

Split Cypress

Up ahead is a cypress tree with a split trunk, both of which are large and old.  Look for the multiple 5 foot high-above-water cypress knees on the left with another tree that splits.  A 1000 year old tree to the right has an osprey nest down low.  There are older stumps here also, some that are huge, looking like small islands in the swamp water!
A line of cypress trees lives here, a few are of the 1000 years old age group.  Think about all that has happened in our world since 1000 CE!  Way back in the woods to the left side you can see glimpses of a huge white trunk, maybe another 2000 year old tree?
Dark birds circle aloft when I get to the end of the boardwalk with a view of Lake Jesup.  Today it is windy and clear.
There is an Ibis in a tree by the road when I return, watching some food in the water below.  And it is a quiet walk back to the car.  If you are up to it, check out the boardwalks and trails to the right of the road.  There are some orange trees there mixed in with the palm trees and one very large pine tree.

Lake Jesup

Jim Dooby of Seminole County Natural Lands gave me the good news that they plan to reopen Big Tree Park next spring, celebrating Seminole County's Centennial.  The fire-damaged Senator tree is being carved into artwork to preserve it.  They are also protecting the Senator stump and the Lady Liberty tree from damage.  And they are relocating a 40 foot tall clone of the Senator from a tree farm in north Florida to the park, so the "Senator" will live on in Big Tree Park.  Very cool!

Lake Harney Wilderness

St. Johns River

Lake Harney Wilderness is a short, but quiet hike far away from Orlando's noise along the north flowing St. Johns river.  It starts with a one mile walk through a flowered oak hammock down to the flood plain along the shores of Lake Harney.  The open space is huge and since the elevation is so low, you may not see the lakes water, just the dark line of trees at the opposite shore.  The trail goes into the trees and turns back to the parking lot, following a canal through a tree tunnel.  My friend Walt had joined me to hike the trail.  We saw two eagles flying high and a perched red tailed hawk on this portion of the walk.

Lake Harney Shoreline

Once you finish the waterfront trail, follow the entrance road bed to the right out of the parking area.  This trail is shaded well throughout the day.  This road was once a Henry Flagler railroad called the Florida East Coast Railroad, and his trains hauled cypress lumber from the old sawmill nearby to northern markets in the early 1900's.  That mill supported a town of 200 souls called Osceola, which thrived with running water and electricity well before larger communities in the area had these luxuries.  The commercial draw for St. Johns river cypress lumber kept the plant operational and profitable for years, processing 60,000 board feet of lumber daily.  It ran out of trees in 1942 and the town closed, eventually becoming the Osceola Fish Camp for which the road is still named.  Just to your right there is a field with two eagle nests, look for them high in the pines.

Field Near the shell mound

Continue enjoying the butterflies along the railroad bed and turn right at the signed trail junction, following through a hydric hammock to the river.  Here you will turn left and follow back to the shell mound near the river crossing passing a bench in the shaded area.  There is an open field here that runs from the hammock to the trees along the shore of the St. Johns river.  This is the area around the shell mound, which was started by the Timucuan Indians settling the area around 500 BC. The town grew and eventually became known as King Phillips Old Town.  The park signage tells the story of the Indian community there, and how that ended during the Seminole wars.

Great Deck!

A deck is at the top of the mound where the railroad crossed the river, it was proceeded by a ferry boat at the same location, crossing Volusia County to New Smyrna Beach.  This deck was built as an Eagle Scout project by a scout in my old troop in 2009.  We sat there under the cedars, enjoying the cool breeze, watching eagles soar above us and listening to fish jump below us.  It was 66 degrees when we started hiking and it was still in the 70's when we finished with humidity in the mid-fifties, low for Florida.  A beautiful day!

We followed the trail past the Osceola signs to finish the second loop.  A side trail split off to the right after a bench, and we followed that down to the rivers edge and to the wilderness property line.  It was cool here and some of the trees with roots were awesome.  Water marks on the trees showed how high the water level had been.

A bench built to last

We walked back and rejoined the trail where it followed through the old mill town area, on the lookout for those foundations and other man-made right angles.  We didn't see anything man-made but the ground cover was very thick.  Maybe we will come back after a freeze and look for cement.  The trail ends at picnic tables in the hydric hammock and rejoins the railroad bed for the walk back to the parking lot.

Lots of Cool Trees are by the river

To get to Lake Harney Wilderness, take state highway 46 east of Sanford.  After the first bridge out of town, turn left onto Osceola Road West and follow that several miles to Osceola Road East, then take Osceola Fish Camp road the last half mile to where it turns into the parking lot.  You are north and east of Geneva and there are stores there along highway 46 if needed, accessed by taking The Old Geneva Road.

St. Johns river at the outflow of Lake Harney

It happens to everyone

I think we're lost!
My daughter, Lyz, had been hiking with her boyfriend in Wekiva Springs State Park when a huge storm blew in.  They pulled on ponchos and debated their next move while the heavy rain fell and the lightning crashed around them.  The storm was so large and heavy, it was red on the radar from Daytona Beach on the east coast of Florida all the way across to Tampa on the west coast.  Rain was so heavy, they couldn't see more than a few feet in front of them and it would continue through the night.  Alone on the trail, they figured they could wait out the storm but it didn't let up for hours.  Darkness came and along with it the fears that they wouldn't get out of the park before closing time.  Lyz says she ran "crouched down" on the trail to avoid being hit by lightning.  And somewhere in the dark storm they took a wrong turn.  And they went on and on, lunging over huge puddles, running through knee deep water and stopping to drain the gallons of water from their galoshes. Wild eyes stared back at them from the trees in their flashlight beam.  At some point they came to a horse fence and crossed it, thinking they were on the backside of the actual Wekiva Springs.  But they were not.

Wekiva Springs, Kelly Park is top left

When Lyz called us for help, it was 7:30 at night with the storm still raging. They were very unsure of their location.  She said she thought they were at Kelly Park, a county park just west of Wekiva Springs,  due to some signs near her. Our last conversation with her before her phone died was to listen for the car horn and look for flashing headlights in about 5 minutes. We drove to the closed gate at Kelly Park and honked the horn. Since the exit gate was still open, I pulled on my raincoat and started to look for them right as a park ranger arrived to lock the gate.  When I told him I was looking for my daughter and her boyfriend who were lost, he immediately took charge and said "Follow me" and led the way back into the park in his cart.  We followed in our car.
We didn't go far before running into the pair of soaked hikers on the road.  With great thanks to the ranger, we drove back to the gate at Wekiva Springs, calling the park phone numbers over and over with no answer and no way to leave a message.  We were concerned they would have to initiate a search for the car's owners when it was left behind, who were now safe and warm and eating mom's cookies in the back seat of our car.
We stopped at a neighborhood Publix grocery store where a clerk helped us get the correct county sheriff's phone number.  My daughter left a message with a deputy about her car at the park. This was to notify the authorities that they were found and safe and would be back in the morning to get the car. Since they were safe, we hoped no one at the park would be searching for them.
At this point, we drove them home while listening to them talking about ways not to become lost. Experience is the best teacher. It was good to hear how many things they got right. Between them, they did have plenty of water, a flashlight, ponchos and boots, waterproof matches, emergency whistles, a compass and a knife (you brought a knife? Lyz's boyfriend asked).  As we laughed at that, I counted this event as great news and excellent training and experience for my future backpacking partner. Things to consider in future hikes are to turn off the cell phone data service or put the phone to sleep to conserve power.  Also having a compass was great, but without a map it was of little use to them. With a map, they could have also have followed a trail south to get back to their car.  Generally, in case you need to find your way back it is crucial to know long it took you to get somewhere. Food would also be good, even if it wasn't actually needed for the trip.
It was funny how my wife talked about never having to know where she was or what we brought with us because when we were outdoors, I assumed that responsibility.  I told her I had been lost many times and she said, "No, we were never lost."  (Really very funny!)  She was happy to hand that responsibility over to me.  Lyz's boyfriend shared that same level of confidence with her. When we got out to drop her off, Lyz gave me a second huge hug. I was happy also.

7 10 C 71

My wife is amazed that I can remember so much detail about camping gear I have owned.  Remembering the previous dozen or so backpacking tents is easy.  So are the times spent "crushed" under a very heavy backpack!  Join me as I reminisce about what started my enthusiasm for and love of all things outdoors, especially backpacking.

The Tooth of Time.

Standouts include my second canvas pack, the one that went to Philmont with me, and through college afterward.  Only it went west with an external pack frame including a shelf on the bottom but no waist belt.  It didn't come with that frame, we found it locally and figured out how to attach it so I could carry more weight (what was I thinking?)  Besides the main pocket, the pack had one large back pocket and four side pockets, two on each side with a flat map pocket on the top but had no waist belt.  It carried all my gear and some woods tools (folding saw, hand-axe) the snake bite kit and the iron skillet.  Plus my share of the Troop's patrol food and cooking gear.  The heavy oil-cloth raincoat worked fine but smelled badly, my candle lantern melted candles daily, and the one army canteen I had never held enough water for the whole day.  While at Philmont I wore my one pair of dirty white jeans, a waffle-type insulated long underwear shirt, a green cotton hoodie (not called a "hoodie" back then) and the latest astronaut yellow "space jacket" which was the first fiber-fill light jacket on the market and was really warm, especially when everything else was wet.

Like my second canvas backpack

The leather boots wore well, my cotton socks not so well.  I somehow went the whole Philmont trip with no blisters, a first and last for my life!  I liked my new aviator sunglasses and had made sure my scout uniform was washed and stored dry in my bag, locked up for the return bus trip home.
Philmont was difficult, beautiful, and fantastic, and it rained all day for the final 3 days.  At some point, a few days before this, we had descended into a high mountain valley surrounded with purple peaks.  A stream gurgled through the grass, the pinion pines were swaying with the breeze and the old log cabin sitting just inside the trees waited for me to stop!  I sat down in the grass by the trail, pack, pack frame and all, and watched the patrol march away.  They were only gone a couple of minutes but I swear I could hear my own heartbeats in the peace.  I laid back against my pack and watched the clouds swirl by overhead, listened to dragon flies beat closer and then further away, inhaled the grass and the pine scent and found myself lost there in that singular moment of now.  I wanted to live there in the old cabin, cutting and splitting wood daily for fire and heat, farming the land for food and help teaching new skills to the scouts who hiked by.  I needed nothing else, and wanted nothing else.

My third bacpack

The loud angry noise I heard next was our adult leader standing above me on the trail bellowing something but I was too detached into now/nature to hear his words.  I finally drew myself up, nodding agreement to something I never felt and followed his voice along the trail.  I told them at dinner that night to leave me there and tell my parents where I was while I was washing the metal pots from dinner.  They kept watch over me that night and made sure I didn't sneak off before breakfast.  I followed blindly that day and the next few days along the trail as the weather worsened, sleeping first cold, then wet at night.  Then waking up and walking cold and wet all day.  We were all soaked through but I was warm with my dirty yellow astronaut jacket on.  And that is how we finished the trip, waiting for the bus to pick us up at the end of a dirt road in the cold, dripping woods, watching our breath rise.  I somehow got on the bus back home to Florida, became an Eagle Scout, went to college, found work and made my way through life, marrying well and raising wonderful children.
That canvas pack was replaced a few years after college by my first orange nylon "Skyline" type-pack with a frame (and a waist belt) and it carried me and my gear all over Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina.  The next pack was blue and it carried me to Colorado also, but was way too top-heavy for the on-the-edge-of-the-cliff-face trails like Phantom Terrace in the Sangre de Cristos and the Chinese Wall in the Flat Tops Wilderness.

My fourth backpack

I returned to Philmont one weekend fresh from a hundred-mile bike ride at Taos in September 2001.  I walked around the tent city, checked out the sales at the store and wandered into the Philmont museum.  Inside the museum along the wall they now have a display of several old scouting uniforms, including one like I wore along with the canteen, that flat hat, the long socks and a pocket knife for the times.  I felt sad for a moment that Scouts didn't dress that way anymore and how their world has changed so much since that time.  I knew my son's world would also be different than mine, but figured that he would find his own way just fine.

I earned this!

7 10 C 71 is my Philmont troop number, from July 10, 1971.  I still have the b&w photo of the whole bus load of us in front of the flag pole out front of tent city.  We were the C group of four total groups and the people on our bus all finished the trip.  I still remember the daily "activities" including fly fishing, tying our own flies and actually catching 3-4 fish with a kernel of corn on a hook, that was after we had "drowned" our home-made (nasty) flies. We also rode horses one full day and couldn't stand on our own two legs after that.  My sure-footed horse was named "Orange Blossom".  We got our boots branded along with the cattle and climbed a rock wall with ropes, cooked some good food and spent most nights cleaning pots and just enjoying the New Mexico mountain outdoors.  We even built a new trail as part of our service projects, and that included using the compass to select the grade of the route.  There was survival class under a parachute and we were supposed to cook a southwestern meal but the oil had gone rancid.  We learned about walking uphill all day long (you can't do that in Florida) and about walking downhill without toppling over ourselves.
I pulled out my Philmont map a few years ago and traced our hike across the 214 square miles of the oldest still-in-almost-one-piece Mexican land grant.  I remembered climbing the huge boulders up to the Tooth of Time rock outcropping, overlooking tent city and the rest of Philmont far below while watching the lightning and the storms come close.  We watched virga, where the rain never reached the valley floor below.  It reached us though and never let up until we were somewhere in Texas returning on the bus four days later.  If you can't tell, I had the time of my life!
Several of these hikes are burned into my mind clearer than most of my last winter's hikes and some trails are long forgotten.  We'll discuss more of the past another time.  I'll follow my own advice and make some new hikes now.  Only lighter.

Green Springs

Green Springs

Green Springs is a natural spring in a park on the north shore of Lake Monroe in Volusia County.  Its light green waters are beautiful to see and it is a peaceful and quiet place to relax.  It is also a hop-skip-jump from the Orlando area and being adjacent to a rail trail, makes for a nice walk in cool weather.  Not that it is too cool yet, but it was 72 degrees an early Sunday morning in late September.  You could smell the sulfur spring when you first got on the trail, just a few yards away from the water.  That was the smell of money before the Civil War when Cornelius Taylor built the first hotel on top of a shell midden on the spring outflow.  The  hotel attracted riverboat tourists in the mid-1800's who were looking for recuperation along Lake Monroe.  Many years earlier the Mayaca and Seminole Indians considered the land sacred because they believed the sulfur water was healing.  Here's the link to the park.  The midden, or shell mound, like many others in Florida was hauled away for road construction and fertilizer production early in the 1900's.
This is my first post-summer (short) hike and I promised a weighed packing list for my day pack.  All weights are ounces except the total.

REI Flash 18 Pack	9.7
Bladder (empty)	5.5
Back Pad	1
First aid kit	3.5
Headlamp	1.5
Hand sanitizer	0.9
Carabiner	0.7
Bug spray	0.8
Pocket knife	0.8
Compass	0.5
Bandanna	0.8
Stuff bag	1.2
Book & pen	3.5
Marmot rain jacket	12.5
Hand Towel	1.4
Wet ones lg	3.3
	44.1
Water/1 liter	35.2
Food
Breakfast bars x2	2.4
Nuts	0.8
Weight oz/lbs	82.5	5.25

This is my REI Flash 18 with the reduced item list from a few months ago at a comfortable 5.25 pounds, a lightweight rig for day hikes with lots of room to spare!
It would be hot with an afternoon temperature of 93 degrees forecast this day, but Walt and I were starting the bike trail at 8:30 AM, when it was cool and finished a couple hours later when it was just 86 degrees.  Walt showed up with a smile and we began walking along the East Central Regional Rail Trail (click the name/link) adjacent to the Green Springs park.  The blue sky was framed with a few puffy white clouds.  We paused along the way to check out an Eagle's nest in a tree beside the trail.  The trail is well designed and is setup like the other rail trails in the area with occasional benches, painted traffic lines and lots of signage at road crossings. There was a cool breeze blowing through in a low spot and we took full advantage of it while we caught up on our lives.  We saw a woodpecker flitting from tree to tree.  There was a good amount of bicycle and walker traffic on the trail, and we struck up a good conversation about feeling healthy with a lady who passed us.  The walk back seemed much quicker, probably because we were going downhill.

East Central Regional Rail Trail

The rail trail has a lot of great possibilities where in the future it will reach across the state to both Cocoa in the south and Edgewater to the north, near Daytona Beach when it is finished.
I tried a couple of Walt's "health bars" when we got back to the car.  The pumpkin one was quite good for something made out of desperation.  Walt had made the mistake of reading the label on an energy bar a few weeks back and decided he could make something as good tasting but with no fat and way fewer calories.  Walt is good about stuff like that, he built my road bike (and several others) from tubes and can make just about anything with his hands.  He has made a great start with these "Walt's Bars"!  I brought my breakfast bars home to eat another day.
I'll be back to walk and bicycle this trail and the nearby Springs to Springs trail later this fall.

All my new gear

Kumo

Notch

Alpine Quilt

So, putting my ultralight backpacking kit all together, I have chosen an ultralight Gossamer Gear backpack, the Kumo.  A Thermarest 35 degree Alpine Down Quilt, and a Henry Shires Tarptent, the Notch.   That covers the "big three", except for number "four", the cooking system.  I already own a Snowpeak Trek 700 Titanium cook pot my wife gave me for the holidays (so cool), so what is left is the stove.  For the portable stove I have selected the Trail Designs classic Ti-Tri Caldera stove.  Much has been written online about this fine design, how it encloses the heat source with the pot to provide the most efficient heat and how well it all packs down small and light into its own container, and that it works at most any elevation!  I expect to cook with Esbit tabs on the gram cracker stove and have considered using some found wood to cook with if necessary.  I have also seen these stoves used as a "night-time-tv" at campsites when open fires are discouraged.

Caldera Cone

So now, what else?  Well, the list of stuff I still need, of course!

Remaining Camping List

I need a headlamp, several Op Sacs and a food storage bag, 50 feet of small orange cord, a larger pocket knife (about 1.4 ounces), a new sleeping pad, water filter and drinking bags, new trail shoes and insoles, a cooking cozy, a mosquito head net and bug spray, a new wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun off me, Body Glide, a slew of small containers to repackage things, freezer bags, trash compactor bags, Esbit tabs for fuel and some food.


Here's the Petzl Tikka 2 headlamp.  It uses 3 AAA batteries, runs about 90 hours on the high setting, has 3 light settings with flash, and weighs about 3 ounces.  There are many more lights out there, but this one works fine.  I'll also have a small backup light for emergencies.
REI has a smaller size than this one, but the LOKSAK OPSak is what you pack your "smellables" into.  I'll use them separately for food and toiletries and they sell a  handy 4-pack of smaller sizes I may be using.  It is expensive for 3 bags but nothing else seals as well and I'll reuse the bags on multiple trips.  The LokSak bagged food will go into a larger cloth storage bag like the medium-size Granite Gear Zippsack.
EZC2 line sells at Gossamer Gear for $14 for 50 feet.  This line is NOT for a bear bag, I'll make one of those when I'm camping in bear country.  This is for the short lines to retrieve tent stakes, extra tent line, clothes lines, pretty much as utility as you can imagine, plus it can be seen at night with its reflective braid.  I'll order some of this with my pack.
I think they discontinued the larger knife I was looking at, so here's number two, the Gerber LST.  It weighs 1.2 ounces, has a lock blade, and has a lanyard hole.  For something so light it actually fits in your hand, allowing you to use it for crafts and carving, just like with a "real" knife!
The sleeping pad I have is a short Thermarest Ridge Rest.  It has seen some use!  I would like to upgrade to a Thermarest Z Lite Sol, which I have slept on and I prefer it over the Ridge Rest.
For a water filter I'll get a Sawyer Squeeze filter.  They are highly rated and are the most simple solution for me.  Just squeeze to filter water!  Evernew makes some of the best water bladders/bags out there, and they even fit the Sawyer Squeeze filter!  They are hard to find in stock, so I'll have to hunt a little.
I found these shoes 10-15 years ago and New Balance keeps changing them a little, but the fit has stayed the same for years.  The New Balance 626 is what I comfortably wear on the trail daily and at home.  I need a set for trashing in the outdoors, and a "clean" one for home.  I'll add some new insoles like these and will be set for the year.

Cooking Cozy

Here's a cooking cozy, as good as homemade!  The cozy is how we cook (simmer) food "in the bag".  I'm not going to ruin my car's sunscreen and cut a larger than quart-size hole out of it to make my cozy!
A mosquito headnet is for those days and nights in Florida when the bugs will just not leave you alone.  I prefer no bug repellent on mine.  This also makes a good stuff sack for keeping the gloves and sleeping hat organized in the pack.  The bug spray I'll use is Repel Lemon Eucalyptus.  I won't use Deet, so the jury is still out on this particular bug spray.
The new wide-brimmed hat I have in mind looks like this, and it is called a Sunday Afternoons Adventure hat.   It has a flap in the back for shade.  I'll have to see how well it works with the mosquito net but expect it will be fine.  I have seen a few people wearing them while kayak fishing in Mosquito Lagoon.  There's not much more sun and bug exposure in Florida than that.
The Body Glide I plan to use on my feet can be found at REI also, I plan to repackage it into a smaller container for backpacking.
A slew of small containers would look like this, my old ones are all lost so it is time to update.  I won't use all of them, just a few for Body Glide, sun screen and food items.
Quart-size freezer bags are for cooking my dinners and carrying food.  Available locally at Target, maybe on sale.
Trash compactor bags are what everything goes into first inside my backpack for waterproofing.  There are only 4 to a box.  These are also at Target.
Esbit tabs for fuel.  I've been using these for 9 months now and I like them for simply boiling water.  I have read online there are now more outdoors people cooking with Esbit than with alcohol stoves.
Food will be covered in detail closer to the trip.
My clothing is otherwise taken care of (I'll buy new stuff later, on sale).  I'll wear a sweat-busting t-shirt, compression shorts, short socks, zip-off-leg nylon pants and a long sleeve nylon fishing shirt daily.  To sleep, I'll wear my lightweight long underwear with wool socks and my hat and gloves if needed.  Then there are my fleece pants and jacket if it really gets cold (can wear the rain coat on top) and that's everything I have.  The long pants and long sleeve shirt will keep the bugs and sunburn away during the day and as long as it is cool outdoors (70 degrees?), I'll be comfortable.  I've worn this stuff for years outdoors and it still functions.  New pants, new shirts, down jackets and new socks are very nice, but I'll be fine with what I have for now.
So, I still have to find these items online and available in my size, choose the color, order everything, unwrap it when it arrives and check it out when it gets here.  Then I have to weigh it and post the gear list.  Then buy and package the food for breakfast and lunch and dinner on the trail for the trip duration.  Then make sure I have the right batteries and medicines and figure how to pack everything.  And repack everything.  And listen to my wife ask why I'm repacking it while I repack it a third time.  Before you ask, here' a simple diagram I'll use on how to pack an ultralight backpack from Erik the Black's blog.
Do mouse-over the text for all the links I posted here.  I will begin price-hunting soon.  I listed many items at REI mostly for convenience, but there are many other online sources available.  Start with EMS, Campmor, Backcountry, Moosejaw, Sierra Trading Post, Amazon, and my wife's favorite, LL Bean.
Locally we do have places where we can touch items and talk to people who use them like Travel Country Outdoors, Gander Mountain, Sports Authority, Dicks Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shop, and a local Army Store or two.  I'll be the one there with the confused look shopping with all the lists.

Tent Minutia

Remember the Tube Tent?

I've had some great tents!  And I have had some not-so-great tents.  In the years way passed, I began Boy Scouting as a child with a gift, a canvas army-type "pup" tent with no floor that weighed 10+ pounds with its wooden metal-jointed poles and wooden splinter-covered stakes.  That was "light weight" in the 1960's.
From that heavy tent I moved to a plastic tube tent in the early 1970's where I got soaked when it rained and eaten alive by bugs the rest of the time.  I didn't use it much but it was light!  After college, I purchased a small orange nylon "survival-type" tent. A two-person lightweight backpacking favorite at the time that lacked a screen door. The tent's cloth "doors" just tied closed.  It gave up the ghost in the Tennessee mountains, high in the Cherokee National Forest, during a heavy rain storm at night when a tree fell on me (no one was hurt except the tent).  I tried more tents while living in Tennessee but didn't come up with any winners, typically sharing my camping partner's tents for years.
After moving to Florida in the mid-1980's, I finally bought a 2-person Eureka Timberline tent with a center hoop and a vestibule at 7+ pounds.  It was a "5-star hotel" compared to my earlier purchases.  We could stand up to change inside (bent over) and we both had plenty of room to sleep and store our gear!  It worked great for the local, state and national parks where my wife and I camped by car, and it was dry no matter how hard/long it rained!  It even worked well under snow on our first Colorado trip!  My wife and I really enjoyed that A-frame tent and all the great tent camping and travel we did then.
Shortly after that, I purchased a Eureka Crescent tent, a 1-person, half-dome-type tent that became my favorite bicycling tour and single-person backpacking tent to date.  At 4-pounds, it was lightweight for the day, had aluminum poles and that great zip-open front screen door with wonderful ventilation!  It had a large hoop pole that held up the dome side of the tent with a short triangle overhang on top, just enough to leave the door open at night, with screen closed and no fear of bugs, or rain, but with great views.  This was part of my bicycle touring gear for over a decade!  It would disappear in the woods with it's light gray color, and wouldn't appear on the Internet this week no matter how hard I searched.  I used the tent from the late 1980's through to the early 2000's in the south, the eastern mountains, and the Colorado west until the waterproofing died.  I saved one long pole I still carry when snowshoeing in case I have to dig for anyone in an avalanche!  The Timberline suffered a similar fate about the same time and we used it for the kids in the Colorado back yard watching the milky way for meteors and other birthday "tent" celebrations until it failed.

Tarptent Notch

When my son joined Boy Scouts a few years ago, I used whatever tent was left over in the troop storage trailer or my 9-foot square "family" tent for the monthly camping trips.  We found the boys preferred sleeping 4-5 in the big tent we called the "Taj Mahal".  That's when I picked up my two Alps Mountaineering tents,  the 2-person Zephyr and the 1.5-person Mystique, and I used them for scouting, car and backpacking trips in Florida and summer Scout camp in Virginia and North Carolina.  I learned after I purchased them that they both weighed about the same at 4 pounds each.  They are well-designed and ventilated tents, but are just too heavy for ultralight backpacking.
So for ultralight backpacking what will I use?  A tarp or a tarp-tent?  While I'm experienced with setting up tarps outdoors, as long as I am camping in the south (read bugs, crawly critters, etc.) I'll be sleeping outdoors secure in a tent of some kind.  I like Henry Shires tarp-tent, the Notch.  It positively answers all my tent-type questions.  A one-person, two trekking pole, well-designed and breathable 1.5-pound tent.  It uses 4 stakes and sets up in about a minute, and won't get wet inside during the rain from setup.  Both sides have doors and make vestibules, and the interior separates from the fly.  I can cook in light rain from inside the tent!  Since my wife is allowing me to fend for myself on these ultralight backpacking trips, I won't be sharing sleeping quarters and will be in/out nightly and the occasional rain storm.  This tent will pack quickly and at just over 1.5 pounds (26 ounces), I'm very happy with the light pack weight.  There are several other ultralight weight and tarp tent companies like 6 Moon Designs and Big Agnes, but I like the way the ultralight industry has taken to Mr. Shires products, so this is my choice for now.  For a double-person tent the Rainbow and Scarp tarptents seem to also be winners and I may be considering one of those a few years from now for a possible AT through-hike with my daughter.

More Backpack and Quilt Minutia

Gossamer Gear Kumo

I kept thinking about my previous Backpack Minutia post where I had selected a Gossamer Gear Gorilla, a 50 liter ultralight backpack, and I could not shake the fact that most of the time in the near future my backpacking trips would only last an overnight to three overnights, 5 nights at most, perfect for a 36 liter pack.  So what would I do with all that available through-hiker room in the Gorilla backpack?  So I kept looking for a smaller day pack that could easily handle a 25-pound load.

MLD Burn

I may have found just that with the Gossamer Gear Kumo.  Kumo is Japanese for "Cloud".  It is built on the Murmur frame but is made with lighter and tougher materials like 140 denier Dyneema Gridstop and is designed to carry the 25 pounds my scale and research says I'll need for up to a 5-day trip.  It also has a zipper pouch on the top pocket and 3 outside pockets.  Only the side-cut of the back pocket concerns me (maybe too short to securely stow my planned tarp/tent).  This is also mentioned by other reviewers but that may or may not be a real issue-we"ll just have to see.  Gear reports have been very good like this one here.  At 14.65 ounces for the large size, the pack weight is great and the load capacity is 2200 cubic inches or 36 liters.  The Gossamer Gear website says both "We recommend the Kumo Superlight backpack for total weights below 25 lbs." and "25 lb. maximum carry capacity, but 20 lbs, is better".  In my case, that 5 lb. difference before getting "better" being mostly estimated water weight for long trail slogs between refills.  Overall, the pack seems to be able to handle my planned gear load without lots of "empty space" to have to strap down and would be a significant weight savings over the 27 ounce Gorilla pack.  The cost is OK at $55 less than the Gorilla and when the time comes that I need the additional 15 liters of gear space for a season-long through hike, I'll just have to upgrade.  And who knows what the marketplace will have to offer then?

GoLite Jam 35

Other packs I'm looking at include the MLD Burn, a 2300 cubic inch pack in the same price and feature range as the Kumo.  Here's a review.  It certainly has a better main outside pocket, can handle much larger loads and appears to carry greater weight.  By adding two side pockets on the waist belt it improves the functionality and could act (for me) more like a Gorilla pack in a smaller package!
Also, the GoLite Jam 35 is a good pack for the money at $99 on sale.  I do not like the large fabric rear pocket as much as a mesh pocket, but otherwise the pack is a good deal.  At one pound 10 ounces it is a little bit heavy but I can surely use the $65 dollars to buy more gear! Here's it's review.  It is out of stock today but that may change soon.
There are a few packs in the 36 liter size from manufacturers like Gregory, Osprey, Deuter, REI and others, some at better prices, but none at one pound or less total weight.  And that is what I just have to have, an ultralight backpack.
So, on to Sleeping Quilt Minutia...My Florida backpacking experience has mostly been with 20 degree sleeping bags where I sweated year-round.  Once I left the south I found the bags worked better but were still too hot for me most nights in the southern mountains.  I have chosen the quilt because of the light weight, the open bottom and the fact it will sleep "just like at home" under the quilt at night.

Therm-a-rest Alpine 35 degree Quilt

So in this corner, I am looking at the Therm-a-rest Alpine. A 35 degree sleeping quilt, with no bottom, no zipper, and low weight.  This seems like what I am looking for down south.  I would rather wear more clothing at night and carry a lighter quilt if I could.  This bag was also rated at 40 degrees by a reviewer here.  The Therm-a-rest Alpine is $250 at Campmor.
In that corner, is the 20 degree GoLite quilt, with more insulation for cool nights in the mountains and higher elevations, and water proofing on the foot and head.  The GoLite quilt is on sale for $199, (usually is $400) a great price!  Check here for a review.

GoLite 20 degree Quilt

I do have a short Ridge Rest pad to sleep on but would like to purchase a Z-Rest pad since I have tried it and I found that I prefer folding it instead of rolling it.
We do camp during the winter here in Florida and in the summer anywhere else.  It can get cold but is usually in the 40's and 50's at night.  Most of my camping experience in the southern Appalachian mountains has been comfortable with 50 degree down to 30 degree nights.  In Colorado it was always colder and I rarely had enough insulation in my sleeping bag to keep warm.  I don't think I"ll be camping in the inter-mountain west any time soon, but you never know.  When I do it will be with a 20 degree quilt.
I have many, many more 'minutia' decisions to make just like this.  It would be interesting to hear your experiences in different temperature-rated sleeping bags and quilts "down south".  Please write in to let me know your preferences and why.  Much more minutia to come...

Books for Ultralight Backpacking

During the hot and rainy Florida summer I have been stuck inside the air conditioning reading and reviewing two books which I find perfect for the Ultralight Backpacker.  In the evenings, just when the temperatures drop to the mid 80's, the lightning starts and the rains begin.  We got a very short walk in last week on one of the local paved trails before the sky opened up.  When we got back home, it had never rained.

The two books are the Ultralight Backpacking Tips by Mike Clelland and the Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide by Andrew Shurka.  Click the link to find the books on Amazon.com.  I really like Mike Clelland's cartoons and the Tips format, and the read is light and enjoyable.  This is the one book you really need to get started with Ultralight Backpacking.  The first 10 tips are an overview of just about everything you need to know about UL backpacking. The rest of the book adds in the details and skills up to Tip #153 and includes a "10-day model trip", gear lists and food prep.  Mike's link is here for more information.  For a couple of my close 'traditional' backpacking buddies I've given them the books to help them appreciate Ultralight Backpacking and ultimately enjoy this activity.  I love my Kindle version except for some reason the packing lists do not change font size for easier reading.

Andrew Shurka picks up where many of us leave off with the manufacturing details of the gear we use.  I believe he has tried just about every item available at the backpacking gear store at some place just off the margins of the world atlas.  30,000+ backpacking miles gives him the experience to coach us neophytes in what we should do in the outdoors.  Andrew starts the book with the questions we all need to ask like,   "(1) what are my objectives, (2) what route and environmental conditions will I likely encounter, and (3)what gear, supplies, and skills will best help me achieve my objectives and keep me safe and comfortable?"  The rest of the book answers these questions based on the variety of locations and season you may be backpacking.  The meat of the book explains how the different varieties of Gore Tex are made and how they work (or don't), how different fabrics are constructed and in general, why gear works like it does.  Armed with this information you can make an educated guess when trip planning so you are carrying what you actually need in order to have a safe and comfortable trip while Ultralight Backpacking.  Plan to reread this a few times before planning your next adventure.  There is so much information to remember, I'll be referring to this book for years.  Also check out Andrew's web site here.  Especially read his blog called "Stupid Light" which was included in Gossamer Gear's online newsletter recently (and do read this before buying gear).  Andrew also leads group training sessions in the outdoors and I cannot think of a better person to learn from.
Both books should be required reading for new ultralight backpackers, and Andrew Shurka's Ultimate Hikers Gear Guide will benefit anyone backpacking or travelling outdoors.
I expect the Florida weather will be cooling off soon; we may even have to weather a peak-season hurricane next week to break the heat cycle (or not-we never know a few days out).  The best thing for me to do now is plan backpacking trips for the fall/winter season.  I really like Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, provided the water is low.  They have a huge and low back country prairie section with 20+ miles of hiking trails and 6 primitive campsites providing a few 2-3 day trip options.  There is no hunting allowed at Myakka during the cooler hiking season, perfect for Florida!

Kratzert and Deltona Library Hikes

Kratzert Trailhead

My wife has warned me about hiking during hunting season, that life is not worth much when being shot at while outdoors.  I grumble about wearing my orange vest, but still go, keeping my head down and just hiking.  When I hear the shots I am still startled and start to feel guilty for being there.

Kratzert pine trees

My first day of hiking in 2012 started during deer hunting season in January.  It was cool, but clear with a light breeze that became windy as the afternoon passed.  My start was a short hike along the Kratzert property on the east side of Lake Monroe, then I was to hike the Lyonia blue bird trail at the Deltona library.  As I was getting my gear ready at the Kratzert trail head, I noticed my bright orange hunting vest wasn't with my gear.  OMG, I must have left it at home!  My wife would just kill me if I got shot!  The young hunters waiting in the parking lot seemed to understand my plight and passed a vest over with no worry as to how they would get it back.  I thanked them and showed them where I would leave it for them after my walk.  As I pulled the vest on, they drove off after telling me to have a good time.  Their moms would be proud.
I followed the trail to the right just past the trail sign into an old field planted with pines.  I mention the trees because it smelled sweet and strong like pine-sol.  The 1.5 mile loop is short but follows streams, was dry and heavily shaded.  It loops around palm hammocks, with massive oaks and vines.  In a small clearing trail-side a spent shotgun shell lay on the ground.  As the trail rose back up to the pine field, I passed a horse fence on my left.  A few more yards and I was out with no shots being fired!  I stuffed the vest into it's hiding place and drove out around lake Monroe where I stopped to eat lunch at a park and enjoyed the lake view.

Lyonia trail map

From here it was a short Interstate drive to Deltona, a quick exit and follow the signs to the Lyonia preserve, that 400 acres surrounding the Deltona Library building.  This is ground zero for Scrub Jays in central Florida. The trails take off to the right of the building, I took the Lyonia, then Red and Blue loop trails to see the most of the site.  This was pure Florida scrub with little to no shade and I was thankful for the wind.  Part of the trails include the historic deer hunting path from Enterprise to Deland.
The trail loops up and over short hills, at one point reaching the highest site in the county (75 feet, woo hoo!).  I sat here a few minutes to drink water and watched the wind blow the trees.  There was a lake in the middle of the site and I watched a turtle drag himself into the bushes.  Just after the high spot I saw my first of three Scrub Jays.  It followed with me for several yards then was replaced by another, just as beautiful blue bird.  Down near the lake I saw the last Scrub Jay for the day, it was building a nest.  The birds seemed very friendly to me, and all flew close enough for me to touch.  Per the warning signs I kept my hands to myself and enjoyed their song.  I have heard it since at Seminole State Forest but just saw the blue flash of a bird there.
At the end of the hike I toured the museum, store, lunch counter and more.  Quite a lot has been built here to celebrate these birds and I hope people continue to create spaces for them to nest and grow.  It was a nice relaxing day hike here and I highly suggest this for families and kids.

Scrub Jay

Directions:  Kratzert Tract, from SR 46 and SR 415 near Sanford, go north on 415 for 2.5 miles, cross the St. Johns river bridge, turn left onto Reed Ellis Road, trail head parking is the second lot on the left.
Lyonia Preserve:  I-4 exit 114, drive south on SR 472 for 2.5 miles to Providence Blvd., turn right.  Go 0.7 miles to Eustace Ave., turn right into the library parking lot, park near the trail kiosk on the right side.
Be sure to check out the Lyonia Preserve activities and maps at
http://lyoniapreserve.com/calendar.htm and http://lyoniapreserve.com/lyonia1.htm.
Always remember to wear blaze orange vest/clothing when hiking during hunting season and hike during the weekdays to reduce your exposure to weekend gunfire.  There are many sites to visit in Florida where no hunting is allowed and I'm working on a hunt-free list for next season.  My wife will like that!