Archive for August 2009

It seems like it's been forever since I last stepped foot on the trail. Today I finally got to do a very short shakedown hike and it was a nice one. Typically I would've hit Hanna Park but a friend told me about some trails I hadn't known about. Nestled in the Theodore Roosevelt Area of the Timucaun Ecological & Historic Preserve is the Willie Browne Trail. There are others but this is where I spent the bulk of my time.

I pulled into the trailhead parking lot late (4pm). Unfortunately the sign said they close the gate at 5. Oh well, I figured I'd cover as much ground as possible. Heading into the woods the trail varied from sugar sand to soft dirt. At .5 mi. I crossed the wooden bridge over Hammock Creek. I was glad to see that while it was brown from tannic acid it was at least flowing. I was tempted to stop and filter just to try it out but I was short on time and decided to keep hiking.

Following the blue-blazed Willie Brown Trail eventually led to alongside the marsh where the trail turned to what must have been oyster beds at one time. The trail splits off to a black-blazed trail simply marked 'Other' on the map. This side trail leads down to the open marsh and a short tower with a beautiful view. The area was alive with wildlife and small crabs scurried out of my way as I walked past. Standing atop the tower I spent a little time watching the white storks nesting in a large tree about 75 yards off to the east.

After enjoying the scenery for a few brief moments I headed back down the black-blazed trail to the green-blazed Timucuan Trail. I didn't spend much time here and only followed it along the marsh's edge until it rejoined the black-blazed trail back to the blue-blazed Willie Browne Trail Loop. By this time I only had about 15 minutes to make it back to the parking area so I picked up the pace a little.

As I headed up from the marsh I came upon a grave marker for a Confederate Sergeant, Jonathan Spiering (1812-1879). Shortly after this I stopped at the Browne family cemetery.

I really wish that I had grabbed my camera before leaving the house. I would have loved to have grabbed some shots of the area and the wildlife. As I neared the parking area I came upon a large tortoise (about 1' head to tail). I was surprised at how much was out with the heat. I'll definitely be back.



Overall I didn't have any problems with the new Deuter pack. Granted, it was only a 2 mile hike but it felt nice. I could definitely tell a comfort difference between it and my cheap Pacific Crest.

Well, I got my new Snow Peak LiteMax stove from REI last week. Unfortunately I've been so busy with other projects I haven't even tried firing it up. I'm a bit gun-shy now. I'm tempted to actually pay attention to the manufacturer's warning to only use their fuel canisters. I wonder if the MSR canister (or was it JetBoil?) is what caused the threads to strip.

In all honesty I'm not sure what to do. I'm waffling on whether to trust it or take my Giga also. But then I'm losing the weight savings by taking a backup stove. I guess I just need to spend some time putting it on a canister and removing it to see if I hose the threads on this one too.

The AT trip is 3 weeks away and I can't wait. The way things have gone for me this week and last I'm beyond ready to get away and recharge. While changing out the garbage disposal I realized the cabinet bottom was rotten as the undersink filter fell through it. Then I had to replace the battery in the wife's car. I lost the data drive on my computer. Today I had to replace the battery in my truck and I discovered that my trailer connection isn't working. Calgon take me away!