My Quest to find West Bee Branch Falls

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Sipsey Wilderness - West Bee Branch Falls

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This is a snap of my map that I left for my wife so that she knew where I would be. The \/ was the path taken for this trip and should add some content for the trip report.

West Bee Branch Falls. Like East Bee Branch Falls there is a pretty serious rock garden to navigate.

So on a past hike I found the footpath to West Bee and figured that I sould give it a go so I set out a few weeks later to see what I could find. I had heard that this area of the Sipsey was untouched as in no logging had ever taken place so I knew I was in for some bushwack.

So me and the dog dropped in at Thompson Trail Head and proceeded up 206 towards White Oak Hollow. After we crossed the creek there at about a half mile we ventured off to the left on the Outlaw Trail as 206 went off to the right. The Outlaw trail is not on the map but is well known among hikers. Its not marked but fairly well worn in the begining. Like any trail in the Sipsey it starts to get pretty over grown this time of year and as the trail goes on there are a few foot paths that break off so just stay on the most worn path and you will be fine. At the 2nd draw the trail starts up hill and you will pull about 200 feet rather quickly but eventually you reach to top off the ridgeline and intersect a fire rd. At that rd hang a left, walk 50 Feet or so and the trail drops down the other side of the ridge on the right. Recently someone has marked the trail with orangs caution tape. The walk down is pretty easy however about midway down you will encounter a 20 foot scramble that could be difficult if your packs to heavey. Very shortly after that the trail continues down through the vally but you pick up some awesome bluff walls. This is a good introduction to Buck Rough Canyon which is this name of this area. The creek that you will come across is West Bee however if you continue off to the right you will link up to East Bee which leads to 204a which leads to the tree and East Bee Falls. I covered this trip on a previous post. However for this post we are going to follow West Bee to the left. This is where it gets fun as at first you can see a foot path then it just disappears and you are left to your own devices. Now navigationally this is not really a big deal as the falls we are hunting create the creek so follow the creek right? Kinda, the creek is a battle field of rocks and overgrowth and there a few creeks that dump into the one your following so stay with the right one. For my way up to the falls, this is what I did all the way up and I paid dearly for it however I got to where I needed to go. Parts seemed to take forever and at times the growth was rediculous, absolutly rediculous. Finally I hit the falls at the end of a slot canyon and after battling the rock garden I was relived to be in the open with the ability to just drench myself in cold clean fresh water. It was magic!

After a little time scouting around I found a campsite that has been used before, sat my stuff down and proceeded to fill up my water bottles. Now the way this water falls you will get soaked filling up your bottles so I did that first so that I could strip and dry my cloths. Now getting to the fall is a challenge in itself as there is a lot of rock fall some of which you have to crawl in and around. Aftrer filling up the bottles we stepped into the large cave behind the falls. Now this was nice at its a large cave that drops about 20 feet or so to the floor. Its an easy scramble but what a great place to cool of as there is about a 20 degree cooler temp down there plus its just cool. The youtube clip below speaks for itself.

Sipsey Wilderness - West Bee Branch Falls: http://youtu.be/UWJpcVaWNY4

Now after climbing out cool and refreshed and with 2 full bottles of water I proceded back to camp to unpack and settle in. Now about the site, its on the left side of the canyon facing the falls. You cant see it from the falls as its along the ridgeline floor on the othernside of a low overhang. Once settled I gathered fire wood and set up my fire pit. Me and Gabby hung ouit and watched the sun set. Thje night was very peacfull and the smoke from our fire created some awesome moonbeams as the moon was almost full.

We awoke about 6ish, cooked some breakfast and packed up for the suckfest that awaited us. Now since I knew the lay of the land for oir way out I stayed closer to the ridgebase and that eliminated a lot of suffering however it still had its trials. My trail track is also attched below and my pics are geotagged so that you can see where they were taken.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2775580

Finally we made it back to the Outlaw trail and then 206 then out! It was a great trip and I would do it again however not untill maybe the fall or winter so that the bushwack isn't so intense.

Tips: Have a map and compass first and foremost. Also a mechette or big chopping knife is manditory. Please be carefull at the cave as there is alot of loose rockfall and who wants to chop of their own arm?

Have fun and be safe!

A Short In and Out in the Sipsey with a Detour Afterwords

     So I had heard of a neat spot to check out and there was a camp site nearby that I had never stayed at as it has always been taken whenever I was in the area. We dropped in at Thompson Trail head in January and proceeded up 206. This is a easy trail and right now one of the best places to start as it is gorgeous. Shortly after crossing Whiteoak Creek we continued on to check out Auburn Falls. It was really going so I decided to have a closer look. I have passed this fall many times by I have never taken the 50 or so yard scramble up to it but it was worth it as there was a nice pool at the bottom to cool off in. Further down trail comes Ship Rock. This thing, especially in the fall / early spring, literally looks like the bow of a ship emerging from the bluff line. We dropped pack and scrambled up the rock fall where we encountered the Eye of the Needle which we threaded and continued to scramble up to Ship Rock. I really wanted to get on top of it but without climbing gear it would be tough and I didn't want to get injured so after playing around for a while we headed back down to the trail and carried on. Now 206 gets a little weird. There is a sign in the woods that says 206 randomly. Its at that point that I think 206 is supposed to cross the Sipsey Fork however the trail continues on in to private property and that is obviously the way to go because the line on the map for 206 ain't in the woods.  As the trail continues along the Sipsey Fork which on paper it crossed, you begin to see red paint and boundary markers however I must not be an issue. Just before the only rapid on the Fork, a sweet campsite sits to the left and it wasn't taken so we dropped pack and followed the trail down to the rapid. Now I had heard of an Arrowhead Point and I heard that when you got to the top of it there was an awesome view so it sounded like it needed to be done. Exactly as described which was "go to the rapid and look up to the ridge" which sounds vague but its actually spot on. Keeping in mind the time of the year, I look up and sure enough a point on a bluff jutting out like an arrowhead. We scramble up to the base of the bluff wall and it becomes apparent that the only way to get on top is to go down the far side of the bluffs base as the trail side is sheer wall. As you go about 100 yards along the base the ridge peters out with just a 10 foot climb to get on the ridge line. Now on the ridge double back and head out to the point. I will say that standing on that overhang is a gut check. Check out the YouTube link and enjoy the view!

Arrowhead Point in the Sipsey Wilderness: 

     After that as you can see we were losing light so we headed back to camp where we cooked dinner and had wildly inappropriate conversations. It got pretty chilly that night, 27 was the low that night and we were in the valley by the water so it got cold. The next morning we packed up and went out the same way we came in.

After getting back to Thompson Trailhead we headed back out towards Kinlock but I wanted to take a detour and check out the often spoken of Indian Bluff Shelter. We parked at the Kinlock Spring trailhead and hiked up the road on passed the gate. Now I didn't have this on a map I was just going off of conversation details. I knew that when the road leveled off it would curve to the right then back to the left and in that left curve lied a foot trail down into the canyon on the right. When the foot trail drops it becomes a scramble down the hill. You can see the shelter about half way down along the bluff line to the right. Below is totally stolen info about the cave...

     This is my YouTube video of our visit to the Sipsey Wilderness Indian Shelter: 

     After that we split and left Bankhead with Chicken Fingers from the Free State Chevron in mind! Check out our trip track on Everytrail,

<h2><a href="http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2623484">Sipsey Wilderness & Indian Shelter</a></h2> <object width="400" height="300" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab"><param name="movie" value="http://www.everytrail.com/swf/widget.swf"/><param name="FlashVars" value="units=english&mode=0&key=ABQIAAAA_7wvFEi7gGngCZrOfos63hSN1xyBy-BzBD--25ZLXpVi3GfbehTQlZCXdpUFII2A5CGeExVTCyX1ow&tripId=2623484&startLat=34.34093486&startLon=-87.47156479&mapType=Map&"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.everytrail.com/swf/widget.swf" quality="high" width="400" height="300" FlashVars="units=english&mode=0&key=ABQIAAAA_7wvFEi7gGngCZrOfos63hSN1xyBy-BzBD--25ZLXpVi3GfbehTQlZCXdpUFII2A5CGeExVTCyX1ow&tripId=2623484&startLat=34.34093486&startLon=-87.47156479&mapType=Map&" play="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object><br/>EveryTrail - Find the <a href="http://www.everytrail.com/best/hiking-mississippi">best Hiking in Mississippi</a><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.everytrail.com/trip/widgetimpression?trip_id=2623484"></script>

Have fun, be care full and don't fall off of Arrowhead Point.

Sipsey Wilderness - backcountry to the Big Tree

We set in at Thompson Trail head and proceeded up tail 206 towards White Oak Branch where we crossed. Very shortly after the cross we headed East through Whiteoak Hollow on the Outlaw trail. The beginning of the Outlaw trail was easy to find in the spring but I hear its hard to locate during the Summer due to growth. It heads to the left just after you cross Whiteoak Creek as the trail moves off to the right. At the second draw the trail heads uphill and after a good pull you get to the top of the ridge and are presented with a fire road. Take a left and within 50 feet if that you will notice the trail head back down on the far side.  This is a nice little decent and eventually you will be faced with impressive bluff walls and some scrambling down rock falls. After you get to flatter land you will cross a stram which is downstream from West Bee Branch Falls. Cross it and head to the left around the ridgeline. Shortly you will come to cross Bee Branch which is downstream from East Bee Branch and the Big Tree. After crossing Bee Branch you connect with 204a and then its a short hike through the valley towards the falls and the tree. 204a is not maintained even though its on the map however its in the best shape thats its been in since the tornado outbreak several years ago. 

After a nights camp nearby the tree we headed out the next day but because of an injury we didnt want to face a scramble going out the way we came so we hoofed it out of the canyon on 204a, linked up to 204 to 224 to 208 back to Thompson.  The hike out was longer but way less technical. 

Check out our trip! http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2705298

Have fun and be safe!

Weeki Wachee River

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Get your own

This was another great trip down the Weeki Wachee River! Unfortunately the
biting flies were out for blood and the rednecks were everywhere, however, the water was crystal clear and very refreshing!

Lithia Springs, Lithia FL

This was an awesome trip! Once we awoke on Saturday, it was time to hit the river. I can not tell you how high the water was but we cruised over park signs and through the tops of trees. The water was pushing us along at a solid 4-5 mph. Very exciting stuff. The dock at Lithia Springs was just under water so it made for some neat pics. Over all great trip, great food, great music and great people to share it with. Sadly, the springs were closed as the spring could not fight off the rising river so there were a few extra critters in there that didn't belong. Oh well, next time

How to get there... Very east stuff. Starting from Brandon, FL find Lithia-Pinecrest Rd heading south east from Hwy 60. Take Lithia Pinecrest several miles out past the city. Once you cross Bloomingdale you are close. You will cross the Alifia prior to the park. Atop the comming hill in a right only on Lithia Springs Rd. Take that till it dead ends. $2.00 to enter the park, $5.00 per person to swim, $24.00 per night to camp for a group of 6. If camping I highly recommend 40, 23, 25, 27 in that order.

To launch your canoe/kayak for the 10 mile river run from the park. Leave the park and make a right on Lithia Pinecrest. Take that for a few miles and go north (left) on CR 39. 2 minutes later the road curves to the right and your left is there on Thompson Rd. Take a quick right into Aldermans Ford. Follow the signs to the launch.

This is a very short car shuffle for a 10ish mile run! have fun!!

Natural Bridge of Alabama

I went here with my dad a LONG time ago when I was a kid and when I found out that my wife and I would be visiting family, I jumped at the chance to work this into the plans.

This was a very neat place to go and once you get to the main attraction it will put you in a state of awe!

The sandstone arch spans 148 feet long and 60 feet high over scenic areas of the forest. There is a huge pit at the bottom of this thing. There is also a muddy path that hugs the interior of the cavern. There is water dripping all around you and I almost slipped and busted my face. On the way back, don't forget to check out the Indian Head.. pretty cool. Also, be sure to grab a drink from the well over by the gift shop.

Good Stuff

Gold Head Branch State Park, Florida

Gold Head Branch State Park 2

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First off, the name of the park is Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park. This was one of Teddy's projects back in the day to give people jobs with the CCC in the 1920's. If you are looking for a different side of FL... this is it. At times I thought I was back in NC!

The trail is short and well marked. After the decent down the numerous flights of concrete stairs into ravine you are met with a choice. Left or right. Left will take you on a .2 mile loop through a deciduous tropical paradise where springs flow out of the hillside. After passing back by the stairs, continue on the 1.1 mile hike to the mill site. After you cross the spring for the final time we find a hill. Descent elevation gain through oak and magnolia hammocks. I even spotted some Mountain Laural and wild Azaleas. Once on the top rim you will pick up the Florida trail for a short bit until you get to the Mill site which is were we stopped and turned around. The location of the pic of the trees with the water rushing over the roots can be heard from the trail. A short walk down a water run will bring you to a tight little area where you can sit back a lisen to the stream.

This was a nice little morning hike and a great park! We stayed here for 2 nights at one of the tent sites. Number 31 to be specific and it was very nice. Plenty of room for 2 big tents.

Overall, great hike. Check out my other Gold Head Park trip for general park pics and info separate from this hike.

Kinlock Falls, Bankhead Natl Forest, Alabama

This was a super cool fall! If you find yourself in the area, it is a must! On the top of the falls, not shown in the pictures, there are two holes that you can swim in. I don't mean calm water on the top, rather holes dug into the rocks that are like hot tubs minus the hot! Super cool and fun on a hot summer day. I don't know if these were a result of the construction of the old mill no longer there or what but really nice to play in.
Below the falls awaits a very nice, large pool of water with a sand bar in the middle. There is a nice spot to jump from on the left, looking at the falls. About a 10 foot drop into about 8 foot of water.

This falls is just inside the Sipsey Wilderness which is a small portion of Bankhead National forest. This area offers ATV, horse and hiking trails. Hunting permits can also be purchased. In regards to how to get there... My best advice is use my mp and back out. The trail on Everytrail is our journey down what becomes Fire Service Rd 210. You will not find Kinlock Rd on any map. Directions from the ranger station in Bankhead;
Hwy 33 South
Right on Hwy 278
Right on Hwy 195 (North)
Right on CR 23 in Rabbittown. This road becomes FS 210.
This road becomes a dirt road but we did fine in my wife's car. Continue down, down and further down. After a sharp left, you will see random "Alcohol Prohibited" signs on the right. You have arrived. If you cross a bridge over a stream, turn round..

This is a great place to hang out and soak up this awesome place, however be super careful up top. We met a girl who talked about how another girl recently slipped on the moss and jacked her jaw.

Have fun!

Dismals Canyon, Alabama

Dismals Canyon is an extra special place and is a must even if you are remotely close to the area. I am gonna be extremely lazy and copy a little text from dismalscanyon.com...

Dismals Canyon - located in Northwest Alabama - is an 85 acre Natural Conservatory privately owned and operated. It is NOT a State Park or National Park.

Through the heart of the canyon flows "Dismals Branch", a winding stream that enters the canyon with a roar through "Rainbow Falls".

A 1.5 mile hiking trail on the canyon floor follows the stream through sky reaching boulders, past thundering waterfalls, into a secret world of mossy-green and pearl gray filled with ferns and giant trees.

Summertime finds Dismals Canyon cool and inviting. The temperature on the canyon floor runs some 14 degrees below Alabama's summer average. There are no mosquitoes, flies, or poison oak.

At night the place gets really cool! This is what separates this place..

Colloquially known as Dismalites, they are the larvae stage of a unique, native, and endemic species of insect (North American Orfelia fultoni) that emits a bright blue-green light to attract food, in the form of other flying insects.

It requires a select habitat to survive: humidity to prevent it from drying out; hanging surfaces to allow it to build sticky webs to trap the food; an adequate food supply of insects; a still atmosphere to prevent lines from tangling; and darkness to allow it to show a light.

Dismals Canyon provides the perfect habitat for these unique insects to survive.

When looking up at the moss covered canyon walls it's hard to tell where the Dismalites stop and the stars begin.

How to get there...

Dismals Canyon, is located in northwest Alabama

• about 30 miles west of Sipsey Wilderness
• 12 miles south of Russellville, Alabama
• off US-43 / AL-17 between Russellville and Hamilton
• on Hwy. 8

You may see Dismals Canyon labeled as "Dismals Wonder Gardens" on some maps and road atlases. That's the old name from many years ago, but it's the same place.

Lake Kissimmee State Park, Florida

Lake Kissimee

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We decided to do a little car camping and I wanted to take the boat to do some fishing. We looked into Lake Kissimmee State Park and it seemed nice so we made reservations on reserveamerica.com. We had a great Friday night. We got in late but had called ahead to get the combo for the front gate. Woke up Saturday, made breakfast and tok the boat down to the marina. Alls well so far..

We had a fun time idling down the canal to Tiger Cove until Koda decided to jump out of the boat. We still have no idea why she did this as she is not a big water fan. Once we got onto the big water I realized there was no way that we would make it out of the cove as the breeze alone had created quite a chop. So we found a nice little protected area among some reeds and got started. No victory stories here so we crossed Tiger Cove and decided to try fishing the other side and drift back to the canal until the boat died. Thankfully we were able to get a tow in.

The rest of Saturday consisted of cooking and napping with a little poker in between. Saturday night was very nice. After dinner we watched a movie on the laptop and passed out shortly after. Woke up to some sprinkles but it never really rained on us just passing sprinkles. By 11:00 we were headed home.

My regrets were that we went out on the water. Anitra couldn't enjoy herself because she was so afraid Koda would jump out again. There are several hiking trails here. A 6, 6.7 and a 3 and change. I wished we would have done that instead as there was wildlife everywhere and we probably could have seen some cool stuff plus the flowers were blooming and the scenery offered by the park is awesome.

I highly recommend this place. It is very remote and beautiful! I don't recall hearing an interstate at all. However the air boats went into the night and you can hear the for miles! That did get a little old!

For maps great info, go to
http://www.floridastateparks.org/lakekissimmee/default.cfm

Withlacoochee St Forest, Croom Tract, FL

Withlacoochee Croom Tract

This is such a great place to do these kinds of walks. All of the Withlacoochee areas have ways that they can be hacked up in order to make these kinds of trips. This time Koda and I went with Tampa Adventure Group. Dave had everything planned out. When it came time to find our camp site a few runners told us that the low site was underwater so we headed up to the dry site where we have slept before. We went back down to the river around 5ish and filtered some water. The river was crazy high. A good 10 feet higher then it was last summer. The trees had water marks on them telling us that at some point in the near past we would have been neck deep where we were standing.

The one thing I love the most about this area is that it is constantly changing. Sand flats on minute, pine scrub and oak hammocks the next.

The weather was great for this trip although rain was threatening. We hoofed it back to the cars and were on our way prior to getting wet!

Old Fort King Trail Paved Portion

Old Fort King Trail Paved Portion

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This was a nice walk yet not what I would typically do. I chose this as the area had received 2.5 inches of rain a couple of days ago and all of our normal trails would be flooded out. I have to say that the paved portion is really boring... so on the way south we noticed the horse trail coming and going and made a point to take that way on the way back north. After pulling a u turn at trails end we headed back up the horse trail. This was much nicer! Back into the woods! Really nice walk now... The stream crossings were interesting. Usually I would let Koda walk through as it was only knee deep but we just had her groomed so I carried her. The second stream crossing was only mid calf. Nice walk but I will only do this as a last resort. Not enough woods and the hwy is so close that the sound of passing cars is disturbing.


We did this trip 2 days after the area received 2.5 inches of rain so parts were kinda soggy. The first stream crossing was knee high and the second mid calf. Bug sprey is a must if not winter. When in the woods on the horse trail, be mindful of wild life as water is on both sides of the trail. We scared an alligator off the trail shoulder as we walked and I was constantly waiting to walk up on a snake sunning. Keep your eyes open!

Old Fort King to Hillsborough River State Park

HRSP Wetland Trail

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Well it was a beautiful day so Koda and I decided to take a walk. We went to the Old Fort King Area for the 500th time because its so close and free. However, I wanted to change it up again. Once again, this area is just south of Hillsborough River State Park (HRSP)on Hwy 301. The actual Wetlands Restoration Trail will link the two areas together. You can park at Old Fort King and walk or bike into HRSP. I wanted to give this a go as I have never walked it and wanted something different. This portion of the Wetlands trail is barely .5 miles and will take you to the paved loop in HRSP. We turned around and headed back but broke off the trail onto another trail that is basically a fire break between the two properties. This trail was washed out at the first way point. The swamp crossed the trail here and was about 2 feet deep. Almost lost a shoe in the mud! We wound up back at the Wilderness trail but further down. We continued on the fire break till we found a trail heading north. We took this for a while and came to a fork. At first we went left yet to find another wash out at the second way point. The trail started to get real faint so we doubled back and passed the trail that brought us here. Continuing on, we finally wound up at Hillsborough River at the third way point. The trail followed the river right into HRSP at the forth way point. We decided to double back to the fire break. At a break in the barb wire we got onto the wilderness trail and took it to the edge of the property then doubled back and took the Wilderness trail back to the truck.

This was a nice hike as it was new and finding trails that aren't on maps is always fun. These trails got real rustic and Koda was always hearing something. We also so a white tailed doe. Overall fun hike. Cant wait to get back out there and check out a few of those trails we passes up.

Have fun!

Balm Boyette and Triple Creek

Balm Boyette Scrub and Triple Creek

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This is a nice trail system that is overall almost 5.5 miles if you do the whole loop. There is a dividing trail that you can take to cut that in half if need be. The dividing trail cuts the area into 2 different parks. The north side is Triple Creek and the south side is Balm Boyette. There are 2 entrances into the area. The south entrance has facilities and also links up to Alifia River property which is awesome mountain bike riding. This is cool because from here you can access the bike trails for FREE instead of going to the park proper and paying like 5 bucks to get in.

I will start this by saying that this was not 38 miles as described in the stats. My GPS in my phone freaked out and I had to trim off a distant point. Bobby, Tyler and I decided to hike this trail as a group I am a member of was going on a day hike. We decided to get started a little early and took the trail clock wise while the other members of the group went counter clockwise.

There is a big difference from a county park and a state park and this is proof of that. I had read as much as I could find about the area but there isn't a lot of info out there. What I mean is, this trail is poorly marked! The creek crossings are merely RR ties which isn't horrible but.... There was also a fair amount of water on the trail as it had rained about an inch 2 days ago. This also doesn't seem to be a trail that is hiked often. The scrub areas are tight at times. This trail does have some nice wide open spaces and it is easy to wonder of the trail so keep your eyes open for wooden poles with arrows on them. In the sand flats you come across multiple options to take. Mind your manors or you will walk in circles out here. Look for foot prints to guide you if any. The trail gets really hard to follow as you begin the finish in the scrub. Once again look for the post for arrows as the blazes are dull. At times you will be on the trail but there is no trail to follow. HAVE A MAP which you can find online or at the trail head.

Back to the other group that went counter clockwise. We meet them on the trail after they had come thru the sand flats and scrub and had mentioned how they had gotten off course. Some of these guys are pretty experienced hikes and they managed to lose there way a bit.

Bottom line, nice walk but kind of sketche.

Old Fort King Trail to Dead River Loop

Old Fort King Loop

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I wanted to do a day hike but didn't feel like driving forever to do so, so I revisited an area that i'm familier with. I also didn't want the same hike so I added an elemant to change it up a bit. Koda and I started at the Old Fort King Trail head and followed it out of Hillsborough River State Park. At this point we are still on the trail following it along Dead River Rd. Right as you enter the Boundry for Dead River the trail breaks south towards Sargent Park. Thats a fun walk too but its a soogy walk and I wasn't going for that today. So we follow Dead River rd till it ends at the river. This road is only open to car traffic on the weekends so we had a few cars wiz past us. There is a nice bridge by the river that we always take a moment at. After the short break we continue on the trail north east that follows the river. I dont know what to call this trail but it is wide and hiked often and today its our way back to Hillsborough River State Park. Soon enough the gate to Hillsborough River State Park property and the trail is wide again.This is a nice hike and the Dear River rd section added in made the loop possible and deffinatly cut down on the repeditiveness.

Good times, Have fun!

Swimming with Manatees, Car Camping and Caving

Swimming with manatees in Crystal River

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Story: We decided to go swim with the manatees for Nikki's birthday so we went up to Crystal River to do this. Kings bay is one of the only, if not only, place that you can do this legaly. We rented an 8 seater John boat from Crystal Lodge Dive Center for 17.50 an hour. Once on the water, it takes a while to get to the springs as you have to idle most of the time because of the manatees in the water. Three sisters was our first stop. There were dive boats with tourist stacked on top of each other in the canal. Once in the water, you ajust pretty quickly to the 72 degree water which in the Summer is freezing but when the air temp is about 70 too, its not as much of a shock. Manatees were everywhere inside and outside the shallow spring! Once inside the spring, you could see them hanging out on the bottom sleeping. They would wake up from time to time and swim past you.Once back in the boat we went around to Big Spring but decided not to swim here as its 30 feet to the bottom so kinda hard to see anything. Once back to the dive shop, we had lunch and snuck into the next door hotels pool area and hung out in the spa. Very nice!Shortly after that we packed up and headed on over to the campsite at Tillis Hill.By far, one of the neatest things I have done. Glad I could share it with good friends!

Tips: If doing this, Crystal Lodge Dive Shop is the only place to rent a boat. You can call ahead and reserve them but reservations expire at 9am so get there early. The manatees only hang out in the springs mainly for sleeping and will leave as the tide lowers so you want a decent high tide prior so that they are in the springs to begin with. The rate to rent the boat is 17.50 per hour. We had ours for about 3. You can take a guided tour but wheres the fun in that? Most swimmers were wearing wet suits but we didn't except Karl had a shortee. The water temps not a big deal.The dive shop will play a video for you so that you know what and what not to do.

Camping at Tillis Hill and caving at Dames

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Story: First, be sure to check out the Crystal River trip as the camping was the night of and the caving the day after.The campsite was real nice. Tillis Hill is the only camp ground in Withlacooche State Forest that you can make reservations so we chose that one as it was about a half an hour from Crystal River. They have showers and facilities there in case thats something you need. We camped on site 27 & 28. 2 tents, 5 people, 15.00 bucks and 2 cars per site.While Karls stew was cooking over the fire, Nikki looked up a goecache and off we went. On our way to the cache, Chenelle got after a cut down pine tree with the axe seperating the bark from the stump for the fire. We found some grubs in the bark so Tyler and I pulled a Man vs Wild and ate them. The cache was in what I think was an old strip mine area. It was 20-25 feet deep with steep sides. Really neat place to find! The cache was cool too. It was in an ammo box under a rock next to a tree and servival themed. We took sparlers and left a lighter. The log said that we were the first to find it in 2010!Once we got back to camp, we ate drank and played some manhunt.The next day we got off to the caves which was maybe 10 minutes away. Vandal was kinda soggy but Peace was dry. This is always a neat thing to take in.

Tips: The cave hike is short and an easy walk. Bring water for sure. In the summer months the bugs are ruff around the caves so pack spray. The caves can get muddy as well,

Withlacooche State Park Citrus Tract Loop A

Withlacoochee State Forest Citrus Tract Loop A

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I love this trail system! I was looking for another under 9 mile day hike and decided to re visit the Citrus Wildlife Mngmt area. I did loop C as an overnighter but A can be done in a day.This is a nice trail that is well marked and hiked often. The constant crossing of fire roads allows for easy navigation while walking. The terrain was not as diverse as the C loop but still nice and relaxing. The coolest thing was hiking thru the burn field. Some things were still on fire. I have never hiked thru a burn that fresh.

Cool stuff!

Little Manatee River State Park

Little Manatee River State Park

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This was an awsome day hike. I know that I have said that before but this was a good one! I was seeking a nice hike for the day but I wanted a hike in an area I have never been before so I decided to go south about a half hour to Little Manatee.Ill start with how to get there. From Tampa go South on I-75. Get off on 240A and go East thru Sun City Center. Turn right on 301 going south. In about 4 miles turn Right on Lightfoot and almost shortly Right into the park. At the ranger station, let them know what you are up to and they will give you a trail map and a combo to the gate that will get you to the trail head. After that you leave the park and go back the way you came. Once back on 301 heading North, after the river, you will see a dirt road pulloff on the Left. Thats the parking lot. The gate combo is usefull if primitive camping mainly or if you cant jump a fence. There is a small parking lot inside the gate to leave your vehicle. I just left mine on the outside and hoped the gate. I guess you dont need to bother with the ranger station if you dont want... you didnt hear that from me.Once on the trail from the parking lot a short blue blazed trail will take you to the North / South split. I went North (right) as I wanted to see the river on the way back which is on the South side of the trail. Right away it was soggy so be prepared. As you walk, you will hike thru pine forest onto sand flats into marsh lands. The stillness was amazing out there. You quickly realize that you are the guest. There are constantly things going on all around you if you can tune into it. I took the campground spur just to check it out. .4 miles round trip so no biggie. Nice site with a table and thats about it.. At one point on the main trail it washed out so bad that I doubled back 100 yards to find a blaze to verify that I was on the trail which I was. After a while I was surprised to wind up basically in someones backyard as part of the trail borders a subdivision. As you get down in to the marsh it gets really neat. I was waiting for the whole forest to come alive but no luck. I didnt see a thing which really surprised me. Walking along the river is always neat too. Word to the wise, if hiking the whole trail.. after you pass the blue connector the trail gets really tight and ill maintained. Not a deal breaker but interesting. Overall, great hike. I want to make a point to do this during the differant seasons as the plant life is diverse and I look forward to the spring, summer and fall blooms that I have heard so much about. Today my hike was 6.7 but if you take the blue connector you can cut that in half. This can be a great day hike or short overnighter.

You choose but deffinatly walk it!

Flatwoods Park via Trout Creek

Flatwoods

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First I will say this; Flatwoods is a huge piece of property! There is the actual Flatwoods Park off of Morris Bridge Rd where you can access an 8 mile paved loop and a 15 mile un paved loop. Now the loop is what links the multiple smaller parks together. If you want to get technical, trail marker 0 starts in Trout Creek (where we start today), through Flatwoods, on to Morris Bridge, over to the Trout Creek off road area, and back across Fletcher into Trout Creek. When I ride the 15 mile loop, I start in Flatwoods as there is an air station and I like the way the varied conditions of the trail play out.

Today, we start our hike from the parking lot of Trout Creek and walk the road over to where we pick up the trail. Up the hill to the right will put us on the Levee where we are in wide open spaces however soon we drop into the oak forest. This is a great bike path so watch out if walking! Koda treed a poor Raccoon today. Felt kind of bad for the guy. Soon the trail is broken by a power line then back into the woods. Shortly after, the trail pops back out of the woods then back in. Now you are actually headed for the creek that gives the park its name. A large metal bridge spans Trout Creek and it gives a great vantage point to look down into the water. In the summer the water is the color of tea. We walk on till we get to the Panther sign. This is not a warning but a break off trail that will take us north. I have biked everything so far in the past but Panther was new to me and I set out today with Koda specifically to walk it. FYI, at this point, if you don’t take Panther, you will end up in Flatwoods Park after a short while.

Panther is a nice trail that takes you thru a variety of ecosystems. One minute you are walking past a huge swamp area then thru Palmettos onto dense pine forest. The wildlife is all over out here. Today, we saw a young buck with 2 of his ladies not 50 feet away from us! There is a lot of boar activity too. Also, down by the lake you can see many types of birds. Be aware on Panther though, oak and palmetto roots dash across the trail and it is tight and windy. Plenty of toe stumpers and rim dingers abound!

Over all, easy hike. My favorite moments were seeing the deer and taking time by the lake. Very cool!