Just a quick little post in honor of National Walking Day. Last Sunday, some of us needed a day in the Forest, so we hiked from a trailhead on SR 19 back to Buck Lake. Along the way, we stopped at Dora’s Pond.
This is a beautiful route, suitable for beginners. The trail is well-marked and easy to follow.
Along the way to the Buck Lake Loop Trail, we hiked all the way around Dora’s Pond, but I would not do that again. It required going off trail to complete the circuit. It was tough going through soggy shoreline and lots of underbrush for about 50 yards. Next time, I’d just go halfway around and circle back. We saw some sundew that looked like they are getting ready to bloom . . . I’m actually heading back there tomorrow to see if I can catch the flowers of this sweet little carnivore.
There was one really wet stretch on the spur trail to Buck Lake – not surprising, given the downpour the night before. Because this spur trail is a loop, we could have turned around. But we decided to continue on and treat this as a learning opportunity since it is highly likely that Florida hikers will end up with very wet feet at times.
We found that if we shed our thoroughly saturated shoes they would dry in the sun. Meanwhile, we enjoyed a picnic lunch and listened to the birds. We comfortably hiked the rest of the day, our feet dry enough not to develop trench foot or blisters. We took a longer lunch break than we usually do, probably about 45 minutes.
Buck Lake Recreation Area is a beautiful group camping area. There is a pump for potable water, and vault toilets (which smelled as if they had not been maintained in quite some time). Picnic tables and fire rings were inviting, but you must have reservations to use the group campsite. For those who still play, there’s a Pokestop!
Although it was a lovely day, we saw only a few other hikers. I highly recommend this trail!