Gimme Some Orange Blazes - 1st in a Series (Green Swamp West to Foster Bridge)
Details
This hike is the 1st of a series, to hike all the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST) that runs through our Florida Trail Association's (FTA) - Suncoast Chapter.
FNST is blazed orange for 1500 miles from Big Cypress to Pensacola.
Our dedicated Section Leaders maintain the FNST from this trailhead north to Withlacoochee River bridge in Dunnellen.
The Green Swamp West is maintained by Ralph Hancock and his volunteers. Thank you Ralph!
Directions:
To get to trailhead, Google maps calls this "Florida Trail TH, Colt Creek State Park". Use those directions. But the trailhead is actually signed "Green Swamp West, McNeil Trailhead". It is on WEST side of hwy 471, about 4.6 miles north of the SR98 & 471 intersection. I will have an FTA yard sign out by the road.
Please arrive a little early, so we can get a good count on people & cars. We want to get our cars & selves shuttled as soon as possible, so we can begin the hike.
What to expect:
This hike will be about 10 MILES long.
We will need to shuttle some cars & all hikers before we begin the hike. It's about a 40 minute drive to the beginning, near Foster Bridge Campsite.
We will experience varied conditions, stretches of open sun with palmettos & pines as well as sections of shady oaks. Ponds and prairies. Mostly sandy high & dry trail. We will walk approximately 2 1/2 - 3 MPH. It's a long walk. We will take several breaks to rest & have lunch. Could be hot & humid. Be prepared to go the distance - no bail out points.
What to wear/bring:
comfortable shoes that may get wet or muddy
appropriate clothing for the days weather.
sun hat & sunglasses
bug spray
lunch & snacks
2 liters of water
happy attitude
All participants are required to sign an "Assumption of Risk" form.
This form may be previewed at: https://floridatrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FTA-Assumption-of-Risk-March-30th-2022.pdf
All participants are encouraged to join our non-profit organization, Florida Trail Association.
For more information on the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST) and the Florida Trail Association (FTA) & how to join FTA:
**https://floridatrail.org**