Since our New Year’s Day hike was such a success, we followed it up with a Hogmanay Hike at Flat Island Preserve. Led by by Tracy Hauserman and Marc Crail of the Lake County Water Authority on a day that was gray and dreary, we had an otherwise ideal morning for hiking — low humidity, a breeze in the open areas, and perfect temperature. Our group numbered 17 including Tracy and Marc. They did a great job wrangling us, and Steve and I had fun talking with different members of the group and realizing what a diverse group we were.
Most folks who have followed my Panhandle adventures already know that one thing I really love is a carnivorous plant. I will drive hours out of my way if someone tells me there’s a pitcher plant to be seen . . . so when Sharol and I visited Bald Point State Park and one of the brochures mentioned Sundew Trail, I knew that I’d have to hike that trail!
As if Ochlockonee isn’t fun to say on its own, this park is located in Sopchoppy. And the town of Sopchoppy is in Wakulla County, so there’s a mouthful of fun just in saying the names!
New Year’s Day 2021 was amazing. We had thought to do a short guided hike at Crystal River Archaelogical State Park (read about that here), but it turned into a day of short hikes, and it’s hard to say which was our favorite!
If every New Year’s Day could be this terrific, I’d be all in favor of making every day the beginning of a new year. We planned to do a very short guided hike at the mounds at Crystal River, but ended up doing a series of short hikes and seeing more than we imagined. There’s a lot to see and do in Citrus County! In fact, we saw so much that I’ve had to split this into two blog entries. Watch for the second entry next week.
ALERT: I really do not like chiggers, and the language contained herein reflects my dislike. If you are offended by swearing, you may not want to read this post. Feel free to contact me for a cleaned up version.
When Steve and I took off down a trail through the Ocala National Forest a couple months ago, we were looking forward to seeing new sights and having new experiences on the trail. And we did, because the ONF never disappoints! BUT . . .
Bear-N-Oak trail in Indian Lake State Forest is one of the Florida Trailwalker program trails, and we highly recommend it. It is an easy hike, and while the trail is blazed in a haphazard way, it was easy to follow and never far from the road. Part of this short loop trail was flooded on the day we hiked – but more about that in a minute. Beautiful swamp views are worth the mosquitoes, and I’m happy to report that my homemade beautyberry insect repellent was effective!
Flooded!
Indian Lake State Forest is located in Marion County very close to Silver Springs State Park. Comprising nearly 4500 acres, the main feature is a beautiful sinkhole lake which drains into the Floridan aquifer. The Bear-N-Oak trail is a wonderful place to observe a karst topography. We came upon several depressions that ranged from the size of a small room to full-blown sinkholes. This results when our Florida limestone is dissolved by water and falls away.
From the parking lot at the southern end of the trail, we proceeded counter-clockwise on the loop trail. The oaks — which outnumber the bears, thank goodness — were cloaked in resurrection fern. Many of them had long, graceful branches that created archways over the trail.
Really nice resurrection fern
All along the trail we could see remnants of sinkholes. Some were small and others were quite large. A side trail led to a large sinkhole that had water in it; the rain was insane in the days before our hike, so we aren’t sure if this is a permanently water-filled hole, but it looked like it. The picture below is of a puddle in the bottom of a much smaller sinkhole.
Depression in karst landscape
This trail was remarkable for the variety of fungi we noticed. There were many branches and fallen trees being worked on by these decomposers. What I loved was that so many of these fungi were on trees that have not yet fallen. Of course we’ve seen fungi on standing trees before, but never such an abundance and variety!
Just one example of beautiful fungi at Bear-N-Oak trail.
The lake itself is beautiful. Many cypress surround the shoreline, which was flooded on the day we were there. Still and reflective, the water mirrored the sky and trees perfectly.
As we neared the halfway point of the loop trail, it became flooded. There was a lovely little footbridge, but as the trail leading to it was flooded, we decided to turn around and hike to the other side of the bridge so we could feel confident about requesting our Trailwalker credits.
The standing water was deep! The flooding was so severe that there was quickly moving water in this general area. We tried to follow it to see the source, but the area was so swampy that we could not. With chest waders and hiking sticks, we might have dared, but we were in simple boots and had not brought our sticks on this day.
As we reached the north shore of the lake, we noticed a really nice recreation area. There are picnic tables, hanging gliders so you can really settle in and enjoy the lakeview, a vault toilet, and primitive campsites.
Terrific spot to enjoy the serenity of Indian Lake
Apalachicola, originally named Cottonton, and then West Point, is found where the Apalachicola River empties into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s just west of the halfway point between Jacksonville and Pensacola. The Hitchoti Indian words “apalachi” (on the other side) and “okli” (people) probably meant something like “people on the other side of the river.” Those who love the place call it Apalach.
American Beautyberry is, as the name implies, a plant that is gorgeous when the berries are ripe. But this plant is more than just a pretty face! I’ve made a large batch of insect repellent with leaves I harvested when we trimmed some plants at East Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and I’m happy to report that it is effective against mosquitoes. It is also supposed to repel yellowflies and chiggers.
The recipe is very easy and doesn’t even require measurements. Just loosely stuff a jar with leaves. Next, I filled the jar with cheap vodka (you can use rubbing alcohol, but in pandemic conditions vodka is easier to find). I let it sit for a few days, shaking it up whenever I walked past.
Finally I funneled the infused liquid into small spray bottles with caps (I used a quart jar and had PLENTY of liquid). That’s it! You can add a couple of drops of essential oil if you like, but the slightly funky smell of the infusion fades quickly and I don’t find it bothersome.
Because I enjoy canning, I’ll probably make beautyberry jelly in the near future. When I do, I’ll share that recipe, too!
Fall 2020 is Panhandle season for My Exquisite Florida! We’ve just returned from a four night trip camping in our pop-up at a private campground in Port St. Joe, and in a couple of weeks I’ll be leaving for a two week romp based out of a tent in two different state parks. While we were packing up for this short trip, I thought to myself – yet again – how nice it would be to have a checklist so that nothing is forgotten. You’ll find that list at the end of this article — well, no, actually, you won’t find a checklist. It’s more a list of things for you to think about so that you can create your own checklist, because it will be your trip you’ll be packing for, not mine!
