52 Hike Challenge

Hike #52: Hontoon Island State Park

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Hike #52: 52 Hike Challenge: Hontoon Island State Park, DeLand. Completed Hike #52 of 52 Hike Challenge at Hontoon Island State Park, followed by lunch at Bellini’s Deli (yes, I ordered roast beef and provolone!). The 52 Hike Challenge has been a great experience and I encourage anyone interested to just head out and get started! I always considered the completion of the 52 Hike Challenge as just the beginning – now I’m ready for more challenging hikes! See ya on the trails! Distance: 3 miles.

Hike #51: Isle of Pine Preserve, Orlando

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Hike #51: 52 Hike Challenge: Isle of Pine Preserve, Orlando. I’ve been wanting to head out to Isle of Pine Preserve for several weeks and finally made it last Saturday. The parking lot was located within a neighborhood, but luckily there were several signs leading the way. Isle of Pine Preserve is the kind of place where you expect to see some deer and gopher tortoises, but I had no luck today. Although I hiked mainly on the Blue Trail, I also sampled portions of the Orange and Red trails as well. I will come back another time to hike the remainder of the trails. Distance: 2.5 miles.

Hike #50: Price Lake Loop Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway

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Hike #50: 52 Hike Challenge: Price Lake Loop Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway. It was an extremely cold but sunny afternoon as we headed along the Blue Ridge Parkway to one of my favorite North Carolina High Country hikes, the Price Lake Loop Trail at Price Lake Overlook (MP 296.7). We took our time hiking around the lake and enjoying the scenery, as well as carefully navigating around the occasional muddy patch. My phone conked out early on because of the cold and unfortunately I was only able to get the above photo. Afterwards, we headed up to Blowing Rock for a nice lunch at Mellow Mushroom. Not a bad way to spend my 50th hike! Distance: 2.7 miles.

Hike #49: Castle Windy Trail & Beach Walk, Canaveral National Seashore

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Hike #49: 52 Hike Challenge: Castle Windy Trail & Beach Walk, Canaveral National Seashore. We parked at Lot #3 since the Castle Windy Trail is located across the street from this parking lot. My first attempt to hike the trail was dismal, since I forgot to apply mosquito repellent and I was immediately attacked by a ferocious swarm of mosquitoes as soon as I crossed the street. I made it about a quarter of a mile and then made a hasty retreat. Fortunately, there was a can of mosquito repellent in our beach bag, so I doused myself with repellent and made a second attempt. The Castle Windy Trail is a straight shot from the beach to the aptly named Mosquito Lagoon. It is a shaded trail and very scenic, but expect to get many mosquito bites! The entire trail is only about 0.8 mile, so I supplemented it with a nice one mile walk along the beach. Distance: 1.8 miles.

Hike #48: Flat Island Preserve, Leesburg

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Hike #48: 52 Hike Challenge: Flat Island Preserve, Leesburg. I arrived early at the 2,300-acre Flat Island Preserve in the Okahumpka Marsh and was the first one there and (briefly) had the whole island to myself. The trail system here is well maintained (and marked) by the Florida Trail Association. Don’t miss a chance to check out the scenic boardwalk. I will be back! Distance: 3.7 miles.

Hike #47: Kelly Loop Trail, Kelly Park, Apopka

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Hike #47: 52 Hike Challenge: Kelly Loop Trail, Kelly Park, Apopka. Normally Kelly Park would be packed on a Saturday afternoon, but the Rock Springs Run was closed to tubers and swimmers on this particular day, so we enjoyed the park pretty much to ourselves. The scenic Kelly Loop Trail runs along the perimeter of the park and lets hikers get away from it all and delve into a little wilderness serenity. We were told that black bear sightings are common in the area, but we had no such luck. However, just the fact that the whole place wasn’t overrun with visitors was good enough for us. Nice spot! Distance: 2.75 miles.

Hike #46: Orlando Wetlands Park

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Hike #46: 52 Hike Challenge: Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas. If you want to totally immerse yourself in wildlife, few places in Central Florida beat Orlando Wetlands Park. With its immense popularity (especially among birders), the parking lot was almost full when I got there at 8:30 AM on a Saturday. However, I wandered away from the 2.5-mile “Birding Route” and headed around Lake Searcy, which I had to myself (along with the birds and alligators, of course!). Also, I viewed my first Roseate Spoonbill in the wild! Distance: 5 miles.

Hike #45: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

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Hike #45: 52 Hike Challenge: Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples. We arrived at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary around 10:15 AM on a Sunday morning and the parking lot was already full. So next time I want to get there when it opens at 7 AM. However, we did have a nice stroll along the 2.5-mile boardwalk and viewed the spectacular Bald Cypress Trees and a lot of wildlife such as two baby alligators, a raccoon and plenty of birds, including anhingas. We were disappointed to see all of the sprawling development on the way to the Sanctuary, however (all the more reason for everyone to support the health of sanctuaries like this one!). Owned and protected by the National Audubon Society, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary encompasses 13,000 acres in the heart of the Corkscrew Watershed (part of the Western Everglades) and features the largest remaining virgin bald cypress forest in the world. Distance: 2.5 miles.

 

Hike #44: Disney Wilderness Preserve

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Hike #44: 52 Hike Challenge: Disney Wilderness Preserve, Poinciana. First things first: Besides serving as a mitigation project, Disney Wilderness Preserve doesn’t have anything to do with Walt Disney World Resort! Therefore, don’t expect a tram to take you from the parking lot to the trail. This ain’t the Jungle Cruise, folks! The 11,500-acre Preserve is actually owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy. We hiked the Red “Wilderness Trail” and took the short extension trail for a scenic view of Lake Russell. The entire trail was rather wet due to a recent thunderstorm. We also knocked out the White “Harden Trail,” while we saved the 3.6-mile Yellow Trail for next time. Despite the wet conditions, we had a good time and even saw a Scrub Jay, Red-Cockaded Woodpecker and Eastern Indigo Snake. Distance: 3.5 miles.

Hike #43: Maritime Hammock Sanctuary

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Hike #43: 52 Hike Challenge: Maritime Hammock Sanctuary, Melbourne Beach. On a rather cold, dreary and wet morning, we headed north from Disney’s Vero Beach Resort past Sebastian Inlet State Park toward the 150-acre Maritime Hammock Sanctuary in Melbourne Beach. Fortunately, when we arrived at the Sanctuary, the rain had somewhat tapered off and we had a nice (but sometimes slippery) hike. The Maritime Hammock Sanctuary, which is located inside the 900-acre Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, once served as the site of an exotic plant nursery. Distance: 2.8 miles.