TORREYA STATE PARK

Our quest to discover and explore new places took my brother, his wife and myself up into the panhandle of our state to one of Florida's most scenic places, Torreya State Park.  I've been spoken often of Florida's flat topography so I will be the first to say that the park's location upon the high bluffs overlooking the Apalachicola River was a pleasant surprise!  The park was named after an extremely rare, endangered species of conifer trees known as Torreya taxifolia after the 19th century botanist, John Torrey.  This conifer grows almost exclusively within the park's borders and is magnificent to look at.

This photo doesn't do the trees justice as we were in awe to come across them growing along one of the many hiking trail within the park, seeing them soar to amazing heights.

The park is also home to the Gregory House, which was originally part of a prosperous plantation before the Civil War, standing across the river from the park at Ocheesee Landing.  In 1935, the CCC moved the home to it's current location and restored it for use as a possible small hotel.  Currently, the park staff offers tours of the home at various times of day.

The view from a bench behind the Gregory House of the Apalachicola River

The park offers 30 shaded campsites with water and electric hookup and can accommodate RV's up to 60 feet in length.  Restrooms with showers are located within the park's facilities.  Each site has a picnic table and fire pit with a grill.  Here was our site:

I have to admit that when we pulled in and saw how close we were going to be to our neighbors (we had someone on each side of us), we were all a bit skeptical and not sure we were going to enjoy our weekend.  Our first thought was the noise at night, but by nightfall, most of our fellow campers were doing just what we were doing....

...enjoying dinner and simply hanging out around the campfire.  I'd say by 10:30 or 11pm at the latest, the park went silent and the nights were peaceful.  I'll add that on the weekend we were there, over Memorial Day, there was a beautiful full moon which really made my nights.  I remember waking at some point in the wee hours of the morning to find the moon up high, shining brightly right behind my tent, allowing me to lay there in my bag and just look up at the beautiful night sky.  That was probably the highlight of my weekend honestly.  It was breathtaking!

As for the majority of the Florida terrain being flat, we were excited to finally come across an area that provided us with a challenge while hiking.  Torreya State Park offers a wide variety of hiking trails so there's something for everyone.  Us being us, this is the one we sought out:

From our campsite, all the way around the trail and back to where we began measured roughly 10 miles and saw elevation changes of about 250 feet.  Now, that's minimal compared to what the mountains and the Appalachian Trail tossed at us, but for Florida, we'll gladly take it!  We wandered through a maze of changing scenery:

Overall, I would rate our time at Torreya State park as exceptional and hope to return there again in the future.  The diversity found within its boundaries is sure to provide an amazing time for all, regardless of what you seek from your time there....physical challenges, a bit of state history, or just some peace of mind one can only find out in the woods.  Happy hiking everyone!

ALWAYS GREAT TO BE OUT ON A TRAIL...

Okay....so it's not my beloved mountains, but it was still nice to be out on a trail today.  Doing so always seems to breathe new life into my sometimes tired spirit...

Withlacoochee River Park, Dade City, FL

5.2 mile loop of the Florida Trail

Get outside!  Happy hiking!

FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION'S CHRISTMAS WEEKEND AT WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER PARK

I've been a member of the Florida Trail Association for almost a year but this past weekend was the first chance I've had to join them for one of their events.  I must say that I picked a good one!  Part of the fun was camping at the group campsite located in the Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City, FL.  Now, I've hiked this area often, as it is close to home and a beautiful quick get-a-way whenever I need one.  This was my first time camping there, however.  My sister joined me Friday afternoon as we headed up to set up our camp.  I'll begin by saying that I learned something:  car camping is very different from what I'm use to.  I'm a hiker, use to carrying everything I'll need on my back.  We were first to arrive, and as others did, watching them unload a multitude of totes and larger tents showed me that part of car camping is carrying some of the extra comforts of home (since you can leave it all in your car until needed...it's just a short walk from the site).  At any rate, being the first to arrive allowed us to pick the site we wanted:

I loved the way the sun danced amongst the trees as the sun began to set.

Our homes for the weekend!

Since I am a creature of habit, our "camp set-up protocol" proceeded in the same way it did each evening of our 4 day A.T. hike.  First, we set up the tents and tossed in our sleeping pads, bags, and whatever else we thought we might need at night.  Second on the list was building a fire.  While we were unsuccessful at doing this thanks to heavy rains on the A.T., my sister had us a beautiful campfire going in almost no time!

Friday evening was a quiet one.  While we had all taken the time to introduce ourselves to each other, we chose to hang out at our respective camps and just relax.  My sister and I pulled out my MSR Pocket Rocket stove and prepared our gourmet dinner of a Lipton Rice side dish (minus the milk) then allowed the fire to lull us into a vegetative state.  Finally around 10pm, we retreated to our tents, ready for a good night's sleep.  I was in a state of bliss as I lie there, gazing up at the stars through the mesh of my tent.....until the fog rolled in and the moisture began to drip in my face.  A water drop falling from such heights packs a bit of a punch....we were forced to get up at 1am to just lay our rain flys over the tops of our tents.  It wasn't pretty but it kept us dry.  Needless to say, we attached them properly the next morning.

Saturday was a simple day.  First on the agenda was coffee (of course).  Around 11:15, we found our way to one of the large pavilions where the FTA had a nice luncheon set up for us all.  It was a good turnout...maybe 45 people....but only 6 of us were making use of the free group camping.  Lunch was delicious and afterwards, my sister, two of the ladies at the event and myself decided to take a 5 mile hike around the loop trail.  Last time I'd walked this trail, the river was in a very high flood stage, with the water coming very close to the trail's edge.  All was high and dry this time, however, and it was a beautiful hike!

After the 5 mile hike, Sue, my sister and I returned to our campsite for the evening.  All six of us pooled our food, cooked a dinner fit for a king, gathered around our campfire and had the best evening I can remember having since I returned from the A.T.  (I have other pictures that I'll add at a later time if I can figure out how to do so).  I highly recommend participating in your local Trail association or similar groups if there's one in your area.  I will be doing more of it in the future!  I'll leave you with one last imagine of our amazing fire Saturday night....

Happy Hiking!