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The Florida Trail by Sean "Run Bum" Blanton
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By Sean "Run Bum" Blanton
On paper, the Florida Trail is a 1400+ mile trail system spanning 80% of Florida. From the northern tip of the Everglades in southern Florida going all the way to Gulf Islands National Park in Pensacola, the Florida Trail covers just about every ecosystem in Florida 10,000 times over. When people not from Florida hear the words "Florida" and "Trail" put together, their minds immediately say “boring there are no mountains” or “ekkkkk! Snakes and alligators” The Florida Trail remains my favorite trail anywhere in the world to this day. Maybe it’s the insane biodiversity, or maybe it’s the constant change in scenery. From alligators to the largest population of nesting bald eagles in the lower 48, to manatees, otters, and carnivorous plants, the Florida Trail simply has it all. Lately, it has gained some notoriety in the trail running community, becoming home to many various trail races as well as people going for fastest times on the trail.
To understand where it is now, we have to understand where it started. In the 1960s, after making a trip to the mountains and hiking along the Appalachian Trail, Jim Kern said, "we need a hiking trail in Florida." He then dedicated the rest of his life to finding a route from the Everglades to Fort Pickens near Pensacola. Starting off armed with just some basic camping supplies, himself, and anyone he could get to join him, began exploring public lands all around the state. Just imagine bushwhacking in the 60s and 70s through thick, relatively unexplored areas of wildlife, state forest lands, and other various public properties. Vague paper maps that weren’t always accurate and no cell phones. This was one hell of an adventure. The goal was to make the Florida Trail the only winter hiking trail open for through-hiking and to be within a 1-hour drive of 80% of all Floridians. Jim’s vision and dream have come full circle into a reality. Today, the Florida Trail is one of the National Scenic Trails funded, protected, and overseen federally by the United States Forest Service. The Florida Trail Association is a nonprofit that helps maintain the Florida Trail, as well as trying to bridge the road gaps on the Florida Trail every year. Their goal is to trade 1 mile of pavement for 1 mile of trail. Currently, they are working on finding a way around approximately 200 miles of pavement. While the Florida Trail technically has over 1400 miles protected by the United States Congress, through-hikers follow the same route, which is the 1,108-mile route from Big Cypress Swamp to Fort Pickens. If you live in Florida, I highly recommend you check out as much of the Florida Trail as possible. If you don’t live in Florida, I highly recommend on your next vacation to Florida or maybe you make Florida vacation, and check out the Florida Trail. I contacted my good friend Abraham (Abe) Christian with the Florida Trail Association to ask him some questions about what all goes into maintaining the trail and working for the Florida Trail Association. Abe is one heck of a chainsawyer and helped recertify me for my last saw certification. He also goes to help when a hurricane, flood, or storm damages the trail. Here’s what I asked him and his answers.
