So, this is nothing near as spectacular as some of the hikes being posted lately from places like Colorado and China, but here goes. We decided to take a trip to the state park that's about 20 miles up the road to see how the dogs (and my ankle) would take to some light hiking. We went for a short loop along the Blackwater River, which was about 1.2 miles. There were a couple of other dog friendly areas around, but the trails were much longer and I didn't want to put myself in a bad position if my ankle decided not to cooperate. It was a great little hike and the dogs loved it. There were a few little beaches that we came across and Ghost had fun playing in the water. I think we'll be doing this more often now, and maybe taking some trips up into Alabama and Georgia for some better hiking later this year.

Here's where we went. Like I said, very very basic trail:
http://www.floridahikes.com/chainoflakes/

At the beginning of the trail:


Contemplating going for a swim:


"Wait for me, guys!"


She decided the water looked awfully inviting:



Trying to get Lulu in the water. She wasn't having any of it:


Of course, Ghost *had* to poo on the beach:


A view up the river:


Back into the woods:


Into the longleaf pine forest:


One more shot of the forest. There's even an attempt at a hill in the background:

Thanks for the reminder Meredith. Since you made mention of wanting to hike again I've been trying to remember the name of the park I hiked there way back 12+ yrs ago. I knew it was Black something. Just beware of the snakes out there not all are harmless.
I enjoyed the hikes in that park, like you mention not a CO or China but always great to get away even for a couple hours.

Ghost looks great!

nice! at first i thought you were in my town because we have a blackwater river also and blackwater falls state park.

Nice scenary! Still much prettier than what I have around here!

Here4thePics wrote:

Just beware of the snakes out there not all are harmless.
I enjoyed the hikes in that park, like you mention not a CO or China but always great to get away even for a couple hours.

It is a nice park, and I think we're going to spend some time floating the river and drinking our asses off this summer. That's cool that you've been there, Len. As for the snakes, I am well versed in all 6 venomous species that we have here, and I've personally seen at least 3. I scared the sh*t out of myself one time when I was out running by my old house in Pensacola when I almost stepped on a dead 6' Eastern Diamondback. Then I almost hit a baby Diamondback on my bike last summer, actually posted a picture of that one in the outdoor section that day. We've also both seen Copperheads (which aren't supposed to be this far west but are) and I've seen a Cottonmouth (also while out running by that old house). It's been too cold for them so far, but we're now getting into snake season so I will be super vigilant as we go on more treks this summer.

Mindy, seriously dude, Fox Ridge. I haven't been there since the mid 90's, but I'd kill to get back there on a photography mission when the leaves are changing. It's gorgeous, there's some nice variation in terrain, and lots of good hiking and camping.

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/PARKS/R3/FOX/fox.htm

Thanks for that link! That's something I can do in a day trip so I will have to check it out!

Looks like a lot of fun! I can't wait to get out more with the pup this year.

26nikita wrote:

Thanks for that link! That's something I can do in a day trip so I will have to check it out!

You're welcome! I'd love to head out that way with you sometime too, I loved going there as a kid. One of these years, I'll be back in IL...

Hey, that looks exactly like the trail I hiked in Florida! Nice pictures, enjoy the hiking before it gets too hot!

Polar wrote:

Hey, that looks exactly like the trail I hiked in Florida! Nice pictures, enjoy the hiking before it gets too hot!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure every trail in FL is identical

Though, I have heard there is some decent cross country "mountain" biking down around Tampa.

It's starting to warm up a bit here, but I want to get more hikes in before it's too hot. I want to get Ghost used to wearing a pack, and then make some treks up into Alabama and Georgia this fall. I'm also pretty paranoid about snakes around here, I've seen 2 diamond backs, a copperhead, and a cottonmouth between my time here as a flight student and now. Next time the dogs will be on significantly shorter leashes so we can keep them from wandering off the trail.

Just from my experience beware the Cottonmouth as much as possible, they are very aggressive SOB's. The rattlers and copperhead would just prefer to be left alone.

The rattler I almost ran over on my bike last summer wasn't too happy about it, but even when I came back close enough to take a picture it didn't coil up. I've heard rumors that cottonmouths will actually charge people and try to bite.

Nice pics... I do not know is there is anything like that down here in South FL. I know there is a park we tried to ride our bikes through several years ago but it was nothing spectacular. We could head to the Everglades that would be interesting...lol

Cool pics. Looks like a nice hike. I don't like the sound of the snakes though!