Let me begin by saying that every Florida family should have an annual pass to the Florida State Forests. At less than $1/week, and admitting up to 6 people on each pass, it is the deal of the week, no – the month, no – the year, no – really the CENTURY! You just can’t make your entertainment dollar go further. To get your pass, go here.
There. Now that we’ve got that little bit of business down, let’s talk about the Trailwalkers program. Several years ago my friend Kathy gave me information on this program, and I thought, “Oh! Isn’t that nice!” I filed it away and really forgot about it until quite recently. Steve and I have been spending a lot of time in the State Forests over the past year, and while I was researching an upcoming trip to the Panhandle, I ran across the Trailwalkers materials. Don’t you know that we’ve already hiked several of the trails that qualify for this program, but I don’t have documentation, so we started from scratch yesterday with a short hike in Tiger Bay State Forest.
In a nutshell, if you hike any ten of the listed trails in any five State Forests, you earn a Trailwalker certificate and a patch. Hike another ten State Forest trails, and you become a Trailblazer, with another certificate and a rocker for the first patch. Upon completing 30 State Forest trails, you become a Trailmaster, and yes — you get a third certificate and the second rocker patch. Documentation is provided by completing a postage paid postcard and mailing it in as you complete each patch. If the cards are not available, don’t fret! The State Forest service has entered the digital age and if you email them when you finish your hike, they will send you the stamps for your Trailwalker log. The complete set of badges is going to look so cool on our hiking vests!
Within an easy hour’s drive, we have at least 3 state forests. We think that just by hiking weekly, we can earn the first certificate and badge before the year is out. How lucky that we have set this goal just as we are just entering the very best time of year to hike! Trails will soon dry out from the summer rains, and the weather will be cooler. Migrating birds will be in evidence, too — I know my favorite bird lady, Maribeth Healey, will appreciate that.
Why don’t you join us on our quest? I’ll post each week when we finish our hike and let you know where we went and which trail we hiked. I hope you’ll let me know what you think of the trails as you complete your own hikes!