Pam Jennelle | My Exquisite Florida

August 1, 2022April 30, 2023

Something a Wee Bit Different at Marine Lab

It’s too hot to be out on the trail, but it’s almost never too hot to be on the water, and I was recently fortunate enough to attend a week-long class at Marine Lab Key Largo. The class, Coastal Marine Ecology, was marketed to teachers. Since I consider myself an informal educator, I signed up way back in February. Focusing on the basics of the marine ecology of the Upper Keys, the class was an in-depth exploration of the interaction among seagrass beds, mangroves, and coral reefs.

May 28, 2022May 28, 2022

Suddenly Sweltering: Salt Springs Observation Trail

Summer temperatures have arrived, and neither of us wanted to spend a sweaty afternoon trying to stay hydrated in blazing sun. We got an early start and chose a short trail. Even though Salt Springs Observation Trail is a short two miles, we still found ourselves exhausted and soaked with sweat as we left the trail. But we agreed that we’d do it again!

May 20, 2022May 20, 2022

Learn Something New Every Day

Best Laid Plans II (See Best Laid Plans I)

We are making progress with our plans to hike northbound through the Ocala National Forest! We’ve recently completed our first backpack camping trip and spent two nights sleeping in our hammocks, and we have learned a lot.

First, the Ocala National Forest continues to surprise us in unexpected ways. It is simply beautiful. It is complexly beautiful. You can visit the same area many times and see it in a new way each time. Sometimes the scenery does not change, but all of a sudden you turn a corner or reach the top of a hill and voila — an entirely new landscape opens up.

April 18, 2022May 20, 2022

Buck Lake For Full Moon and Easter

The Plan

Steve dropped Judy and me off at Juniper Springs right on the dot of 7 AM on Easter Saturday. Our goal was to hike in to a primitive campsite 12 miles from Juniper, prepare our evening meal, sleep well, and hike out the next morning. Destination: Alexander Springs, 18 miles from the starting point. This trip was a major milestone in our preparations to hike the sections of the Florida Trail that pass through the Ocala National Forest.

This was an ambitious undertaking for us. We have covered 12 miles in a day before several times. We have hiked under full pack weight several times. But we’ve never before hiked 12 miles under full pack weight!

April 4, 2022May 20, 2022

Easy Hike to Dora’s Pond and Buck Lake

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.

March 24, 2022May 20, 2022

Best Laid Plans for a Successful Multi-Day Hike

Florida Trail Through Ocala National Forest

A Bit of Background

This is the first in a series of articles about planning a multi-day hike through the Ocala National Forest, following the gorgeous Florida National Scenic Trail from south to north. In this first installment, I’ll just describe our planning process. Subsequent installments will update plans, describe our equipment, share what we’ve learned, and explain some of the decisions we’ve made.

March 22, 2022March 23, 2022

Night Time is the Right Time for Brilliant Fireflies

2022 Blue Spring Lights at Night Thrills

Each year, I wonder whether it’s worth going back to Orange City to visit the Lights at Night festival at Blue Spring State Park. We make the trip every year, and then I wonder why I ever questioned the value of the short trip to West Volusia County.

March 14, 2022April 2, 2022

Does a Bear Pee in the Woods?

Yes, and So Do We!

If you’re a woman who spends much time outdoors, chances are very good that at some point you’ve needed to pee. The trouble for us is that we must either partially disrobe or take the chance of peeing on our shoes and socks. Squatting in the woods can expose us (quite literally) to ticks and worse, and may leave us feeling quite vulnerable. It also takes time.

But it doesn’t have to be this way!

March 7, 2022April 2, 2022

Rice Creek/Hoffman Crossing – Big Adventure on Beautiful Florida Trail

Every now and then you’ll find a place so special you know you’ll go back again. A hiking buddy told us about Rice Creek, and after doing a bit of reading, I knew I wanted to see it. Three hiking buddies and Steve and I found a date that worked for all of us, and off we went for a new-to-us adventure.

The Conservation Area

Rice Creek begins where Palmetto Branch, Oldtown Branch and Hickory Branch combine to form this tributary of the St. Johns River. The Conservation Area is just west of Palatka and the St. Johns River, between Salt Springs and Keystone Heights. Prior to its current incarnation as a public area, it comprised commercial pine plantations. Before that, it was an indigo and rice plantation. Today, the area protects floodplain swamp, flatwoods, dome swamp, floodplain forest and upland mixed forest. This background information was adapted from AllTrails. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/florida/rice-creek-plantation-levee-trail.

February 21, 2022June 6, 2023

Five Gadgets Make a Happy Camper

I was recently asked to go on a three-day hike through the Everglades with primitive camping. Wow. That’s a big nope from me. It sounds like something that might have fit 20 years ago but now? Well, if I can’t have ice for my big tumbler I get grouchy, and without a hot shower before bed, I get sticky and stinky. Saa-aa-aa-d that I am so old and soft, but here we are.

Why can’t I live out of a backpack for three days? Because there’s so much stuff that makes camping pleasant for me, and I need my car to carry it all. And here’s some of what that stuff entails: