Orange Blaze: A Florida Trail Podcast

The podcast is taking a massive hiatus in 2024! I will be back. If you'd like to be a guest on the podcast, leave a comment or email me at orangeblazepodcast at gmail and we can go from where. Thanks for listening over the years! Burnout how gotten hold of me and I need to reinvigorate my interest in the podcast with a long break.

As a nature lover, I am drawn to those who share the the wonders of Florida's natural history as they document their hikes along the way. Claire's Instagram account caught my eye well before their 2022 thru-hike and still captures my interest today even though they are no longer on a thru-hiking journey. The perspective Claire offered on both their Florida Trail and subsequent Appalachian Trail thru-hike was one I deeply appreciated. We talk about those hikes but also about their background prior to coming to the thru-hiking world, life after thru-hiking, and determining whether thru-hiking is in their future and how best to enjoy a hike for oneself. We also talk about Claire's very excellent art, another perspective from their Instagram accounts I have appreciated.

For several years now I have been following the news about the push to Free the Ocklawaha River from the Rodman Dam, first via the Florida Native Plant Society, and later through other entities in Florida. The idea intrigued me because the Rodman Reservoir and the Kirkpatrick Dam as well as the Cross Florida Barge Canal are all intertwined with the Florida Trail. The reservoir was created when the dam was sealed off on the Ocklawaha River in the late 1960s, thus drowning multiple springs and severely altering the ecosystem. Almost since it's creation there has been a call to restore the system. I invited Margaret Spontak, Chair of the Free the Ocklawaha Coalition, on to talk about the history of the project and to provide insight into the coalitions goals and hopeful timeline in restoring the Ocklawaha River system. This episode is part of my greater series highlighting managed lands that cross through or are adjacent to the Florida Trail.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hattie Spring (@searchingforspring) Earlier this year I put out a call for Ocean to Lake hikers to come on the podcast and share their stories so I could get their perspective on that segment of what isn’t really the Florida Trail but I think we’ve all come to think of it is as a special little piece of the FT. We’ve heard from Sandra Friend who helped put the Ocean to Lake Trail together as well as Josh Widdowfield on his Ocean to Lake hike and subsequent Florida Trail thru-hike. Hattie Spring answered my call for folks to share their perspective and I am so glad we did. We had a delightful conversation that spans the FT but as well as adventure racing, paddling, volunteering, and about being a FTA Next Gen Coalition member. We cover a lot in our conversation! http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/OB_HattieSpring_11052023.mp3 Download Episode 92 .emd_dl_blue { -moz-box-shadow:inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #bbdaf7; -webkit-box-shadow:inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #bbdaf7; box-shadow:inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #bbdaf7; background:-webkit-gradient( linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0.05, #79bbff), color-stop(1, #378de5) ); background:-moz-linear-gradient( center top, #79bbff 5%, #378de5 100% ); filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#79bbff', endColorstr='#378de5'); background-color:#79bbff; -webkit-border-top-left-radius:0px; -moz-border-radius-topleft:0px; border-top-left-radius:0px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius:0px; -moz-border-radius-topright:0px; border-top-right-radius:0px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius:0px; -moz-border-radius-bottomright:0px; border-bottom-right-radius:0px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius:0px; -moz-border-radius-bottomleft:0px; border-bottom-left-radius:0px; text-indent:0; border:1px solid #84bbf3; display:inline-block; color:#ffffff !important; font-family:Georgia; font-size:15px; font-weight:bold; font-style:normal; height:41px; line-height:41px; width:200px; text-decoration:none; text-align:center; text-shadow:1px 1px 0px #528ecc; } .emd_dl_blue:hover { background:-webkit-gradient( linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0.05, #378de5), color-stop(1, #79bbff) ); background:-moz-linear-gradient( center top, #378de5 5%, #79bbff 100% ); filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#378de5', endColorstr='#79bbff'); background-color:#378de5; }.emd_dl_blue:active { position:relative; top:1px; } Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

Earlier this year I asked for folks who had hiked the Ocean to Lake Trail to reach out to me if they would like to share a bit about their experience on that trail for a short series wanted to do here on the podcast. Josh '301' Widdowfield was one of those hikers who offered to chat with me on the podcast and I’m glad he did. Josh thru-hiked the FT this year (2023) but has done several LASH (Long Ass Section) hikes on the AT and PCT, and likes to combine his hikes with giving back to the thru-hiking community through trail magic and hiker outreach. It was certainly interesting to hear how Josh combines his love of hiking with giving back to other hikers and I think something we should also consider more often.

I've been wanting to get Jim Kern, found of the Florida Trail, back on this podcast since he was first on the podcast, the very first episode that launched the podcast in 2018. It took me a while but I finally made it happen. This episode is likely to stir up some thoughts and hopefully some positive conversations. I read Jim’s book Broken Promise: The Plight of our National Trails this summer with the express purpose of speaking to him about the book. If you aren’t familiar with the book or his organization Hiking Trails for America, Jim is very eager to get all of our remaining incomplete National Scenic Trails finished without any road walk gaps. As Florida Trail hikers we all know the problems with the gaps in the trail and all wish for the trail to be complete. While most hiking organizations these days rely on the process of easements or slowly purchasing trail corridors, Jim is advocating for the agencies that manage the scenic trails to use their constitutional powers of eminent domain to complete it. After all, that is how the Appalachian Trail was completed. Why not others? Another reason I was interested to hear his perspective was because I’ve been mired in some activism here in Texas this summer to save a state park that had been leased for 50 years by the state and had been located on an energy company’s property. Needless to say, I've had a crash course in eminent domain law and reading Jim’s book added another dimension to the whole subject. I think I’ll save more commentary on this for a longer podcast episode--–I’m contemplating a round table discussion with folks about how we should feasibly move forward in completing all of our national scenic trails. It certainly seems like we should be pushing Congress to do more than they've been doing the last several decades. Even if you haven’t read Jim’s book this is a fascinating subject and if you pair it with the goals we heard a few episodes ago from the FTA, I think we can all reasonably find a solution to closing the gaps in our long trails.

Today's podcast guest is Sandra Friend, someone you all should know well by now! If by some chance you are new to the podcast and new to Florida hiking, well this is your lucky day and you caught the right podcast to listen to! Sandra Friend and her partner John Keatley are the folks behind Florida Hikes and much of the guidebooks related to Florida’s hiking trails out there in publication. John wasn’t able to be interviewed for this episode due to other life constraints but Sandra and I had a wonderful conversation. The primary purpose for our conversation was to talk about the development of the Ocean to Lake Trail in the early 2000s and her involvement in its beginnings. We pivot to her Florida Trail guide as well as her fiction writing, too. As always, a conversation with Sandra is a great way to spend some time and I hope you’ll find as much value in her words as I do.

Episode 88's guest is Florida Trail Association Executive Director, Royce Gibson. It’s been a while since I’ve had a representative from the FTA on the podcast and when I saw the latest campaign from the FTA, the Close the Gaps campaign, I knew I needed to get someone on to speak directly to this. Royce was the natural fit and it was great to sit down and hear what the current plans are for closing the approximately 300 miles of gaps in the Florida Trail. Road walks are the number one complaint about the Florida Trail, probably followed closely by loose dogs, and there’s no shortage of people looking for answers on how to close these gaps. Since it had also been quite a while since the FTA has had an Executive Director, this was a wonderful opportunity to get some insight into how the organization is run. If you aren't a member of the Florida Trail Association, consider becoming a member and supporting the work to keep the trail maintained and accessible to hikers!

Darby Calm is a hiker based in SE Florida and this interview with her is probably long overdue as I’ve long been a fan of her Instagram account and persistence as a hiker. Darby is a day hiker and by day hiker I mean, she is out on a trail most days of the week. And if she’s not out on a trail, she’s walking through her neighborhood or out on the water exploring Florida’s waterways. When Darby isn’t out exploring in Florida, she’s a Conflict Coach, and as you’ll hear in our conversation she often employs some of the techniques she uses in coaching on herself while out hiking. What I love most about Darby and her account is that she shows the rough and tough stuff and that you don’t need to call yourself a thru-hiker or section hiker to have some kind of meaningful experience on trail. Just get out there and start hiking and make it the experience you want it to be. We talk about the Ocean to Lake Trail, her explorations around the state and much more! Let’s hear what Darby has to say! http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OB_Ep87_DarbyCalm_07252023.mp3 Download Episode 87 .emd_dl_blue { -moz-box-shadow:inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #bbdaf7; -webkit-box-shadow:inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #bbdaf7; box-shadow:inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #bbdaf7; background:-webkit-gradient( linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0.05, #79bbff), color-stop(1, #378de5) ); background:-moz-linear-gradient( center top, #79bbff 5%, #378de5 100% ); filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#79bbff', endColorstr='#378de5'); background-color:#79bbff; -webkit-border-top-left-radius:0px; -moz-border-radius-topleft:0px; border-top-left-radius:0px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius:0px; -moz-border-radius-topright:0px; border-top-right-radius:0px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius:0px; -moz-border-radius-bottomright:0px; border-bottom-right-radius:0px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius:0px; -moz-border-radius-bottomleft:0px; border-bottom-left-radius:0px; text-indent:0; border:1px solid #84bbf3; display:inline-block; color:#ffffff !important; font-family:Georgia; font-size:15px; font-weight:bold; font-style:normal; height:41px; line-height:41px; width:200px; text-decoration:none; text-align:center; text-shadow:1px 1px 0px #528ecc; } .emd_dl_blue:hover { background:-webkit-gradient( linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0.05, #378de5), color-stop(1, #79bbff) ); background:-moz-linear-gradient( center top, #378de5 5%, #79bbff 100% ); filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#378de5', endColorstr='#79bbff'); background-color:#378de5; }.emd_dl_blue:active { position:relative; top:1px; } Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

Earlier this year I interviewed Mills Kelly, historian and host of the Green Tunnel Podcast, which as the podcast website declares, "delves into topics including the quirky history of trail food, the shelters and structures built along the trail, and dangers you might encounter during a hike". Mills and I have kept in touch over the last few months and we’ve decided to do a podcast episode swap today–an episode of the Green Tunnel Podcast will play on the Orange Blaze Podcast and an episode of the Orange Blaze Podcast will play on the Green Tunnel Podcast. I’ve chosen an episode from February of this year entitled The Lost AT. I love these tidbits of Appalachian Trail history and think you will too.

This is a bit of a different episode, one from my gardening podcast, The Garden Path Podcast. You are probably already familiar with Valerie Anderson as she has been on the Orange Blaze Podcast before to talk about the plight of Split Oak Forest near Orlando. I had Valerie on my garden podcast to talk about the Florida Native Plant Society and thought it would be relevant to many Florida Trail hikers and wanted to share the episode here. I’ve left the original introduction to the podcast so you’ll hear that episode straight through…now. Thanks for listening!

Today's episode features the Florida Madcaps, a trio of Florida outdoor enthusiasts some of you may already know: Chris and Chelsey Stevens of the Sunshine State Seekers and Ryan Worthington the Florida Excursionist. Chris and Chelsey have already been on the Orange Blaze podcast before, in February 2019 and May 2020, but this is the first time I’ve gotten to speak with Ryan. Chris, Chelsey, and Ryan recently launched the Florida Madcaps podcast, a recreation and conversation podcast about Florida’s outdoors. I for one am so glad they had the idea to do this podcast because it was a niche that needed to be filled! Florida is full of wonderful public green spaces for residents to explore but the trio offer a unique point of view on the subjects they cover, from conservation to education and even the environmental activism required to keep these lands open for public use. We had a great conversation and I really hope it will lead you to add the Florida Madcaps to your podcast feed! Alright, onto my conversation with Chris, Chelsey, and Ryan.

Hello hikers! I have a fun and different episode than usual—this is the book club episode I mentioned in my last set of episodes released. I chose Life and Death on the Loxahatchee by James Snyder for the book club and several folks reached out to say they were interested in having a zoom book club discussion about it! My guests in the conversation are David Magness, Paul Arsenault, and Leslie McConachie. All bring interesting insight and viewpoints to the book discussion and I was delighted they were interested in chatting with me! Since this is the first time I’ve had so many people on the podcast I wasn’t quite as used to juggling different conversations and people talking over each other at the beginning so there are some areas that were too difficult to edit where one person started chatting while another also chimed in. I think there was also some lag with everyone’s internet connections in who could hear who when it came time to chime into the conversation. It’s a little messy in a few spots is what I’m trying to say! Hopefully I’ll get better at managing it in the future! Now, if you didn’t get a chance to read the book, I suggest listening to the author interview first. But if you enjoy spoilers and wild speculation without having read the book, then go forth and listen to this episode!

Late last year I decided to start a book club for the podcast and chose Life and Death on the Loxahatchee, for a few reasons, one of them being that it had been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long and I knew I needed to read it. Another, because of the interesting folk history of the area along the Loxahatchee River, an area that the Ocean to Lake Trail traverses and an area that many Florida Trail hikers explore, particularly in the Jonathan Dickinson State Park area. But who was Trapper Nelson? I had read the book but I wanted to talk to the author himself, to find out why he was curious enough to devote the time to write about the mysterious man who lived for decades along the Loxahatchee River, and to hear his own thoughts about the man behind the legend. If you didn’t get a chance to read the book but wanted to listen go the book club discussion, I think this is an excellent episode to jump in and get an idea of who Trapper Nelson was and maybe it will entice you to pick up the book to read yourself, or any of the other many historical books Mr. Snyder has written as well.

Eleni McDaniel was first on the podcast back in March of 2019 and a lot has changed in the four years since then. She’s changed trail names for one and expanded her career and hiking life beyond Florida, though as you’ll hear her ties to the Florida Trail still reel her back into the state every Florida Trail hiking season. I love chatting with Eleni, not just because we are friends but because she’s someone I can talk about the hard aspects of hiking with, the uncomfortable truths we all need to face on the trail. We talk about the growing pains the Florida Trail is experiencing as well as Eleni’s hiking adventures in North Carolina and New York in recent years and her hiking ambitions for the future.

Day hikers make up the bulk of hikers on the Florida Trail, just like on other National Scenic Trails. I think we all tend to focus heavily on thru-hikers for these trails because of their epic nature and the way long distance hiking intrigues a lot of us, but the day hikers are the ones getting to know certain localities of a trail in a more intimate manner. They are out there for quick weekend jaunts or short overnights, often becoming familiar with trail maintenance and feeling a sense of pride in their local trailheads. I would love to start showcasing more Florida Trail Day hikers on the podcast and David Magness was a great person to start propel that idea forward! We had a great conversation about his hiking adventures in Central Florida and I think you’ll enjoy our conversation. Also, stay on at the end of the podcast for a special bit of music that David created and mentions in our conversation.

New this season is the Orange Blaze Podcast Book Club! Our first book will be Life and Death on the Loxahatchee: The Story of Trapper Nelson. If you have spent any time around Jonathan Dickinson State Park or the Loxahatchee River you may already know the legend and lore of Trapper Nelson. I've had this book on my shelf for years and it is about time I read it! Reading along and if you want to participate in a book club discussion email me at orangeblazepodcast at gmail dot com or leave a comment below. I'm looking for 4-6 folks to have a zoom chat with about the book and those who don't want to participate in the zoom chat are welcome to read along on their own and listen to the episode airing in April! We'll have another book club this fall! Book suggestions wanted!

After our 2011 thru-hike I wrote a post on my blog detailing some of the more important notes needed for thru-hikers on the Florida Trail. There wasn't a lot out there at the time on social media, though there were Trail Journals and the books produced by Sandra Friend---there just wasn't the community in 2011 that there it today. That said, I think this episode is long overdue and should have been one of the first episodes I produced when I started the podcast. If you have questions about hiking the FT, I am always here to answer questions and point you in the right direction!

When the Green Tunnel Podcast debuted in late 2021 and I began listening to episodes I quickly realized this was not your average hiking podcast. Mills Kelly and his team at R2 Studios at George Mason University have put together a stunning series of podcast episodes that rival some of the NPR-style podcasts out there. Covering history of the Appalachian Trail from Benton MacKaye to the Roller Coaster section of the trail and everything in between, every few weeks we get to learn in-depth history about the AT we may not have known. Mills and his team dig deep into the archives of the ATC and local trail club chapters to come up with their stories and as you’ll hear Mills say, it is easy to fall down rabbit holes to get new stories.

Jason ‘Out and About’ Tompkins is a 2022 Florida Trail Thru-Hiker and progenitor of a new eastern route called The Carolinian. A Florida native, Jason has spent many years living and exploring regions outside of Florida but returned to Florida in late 2021 to begin a year of thru-hiking. He first kicked off by hiking the Ocean to Lake Trail and getting his legs literally and figuratively wet for the Florida Trail which he started a few weeks later. From the Florida Trail he continued on to many other trails including putting together the Palmetto Trail, a Carolina Road Walk, the Mountains to Sea Trail, the AT, and the Bartram trail to create the 2200 mile Carolinian route. Even with all of that done, Jason wasn’t done, and went off to hike the Superior Hiking Trail, too. It’s been a big year for him! 2023 isn’t going to be any quieter as Jason has plans to complete the Eastern Continental Trail, which includes another thru-hike of the Florida Trail. We talk about the ups and downs of trail life, hiking with a trail family and then hiking completely alone, and his goals for future adventures. I think you’ll love the conversation and Jason is an all around interesting and inviting person to talk to! Maybe you’ll come across him on your own hike this year!

Maria caught my eye as someone to interview for the podcast because I though she offered a unique perspective to podcast listeners. Having discovered hiking during the early parts of the pandemic in 2020 as a way to get outside and not go stir-crazy, she began exploring Everglades National Park and other parks closer to her home in Miami. As you’ll hear Maria say, Miami residents aren’t often known for their extensive outdoorsyness, unless it is particularly centered around the beach and partying, though there are definitely folks getting out there and exploring their own backyards. Maria’s interest and confidence in hiking grew which led her to create the Miami Hiking Club, an effort to mentor other folks in the area who might be curious about hiking but unsure where to begin. This fledgling group is spreading their wings and several group hikes have already been led by Maria. Maria is currently on the Florida Trail and we recorded this episode a few days before she was scheduled to leave for her southbound hike. I’m hoping I can get Maria to come back on for an ‘after’ interview to share her different perspectives.

Welcome to a new season of the podcast! The podcast in 2022 floundered a bit and if you saw my social media posts you will know that I lost a lot of momentum to keep the podcast going in late summer. If you’ve listened to podcasts with any sort of high frequency over the last 8-10 years you will have noticed how podcasts typically fade with time. Some because they had a certain lifespan to begin with, and others because the hosts lose interest or move on. I don’t want to lose interest in this podcast, because I truly enjoy it and have so many ideas for it but it does get tough to keep up with monthly because I’m also juggling life, work, a family, another podcast, and other hobbies. Plus, i’ve gotta get some hikes in there, too! To prevent burnout I am switching to a quarterly release of episodes. I’ll be recording podcasts in between releases but this will allow me to edit them in a bit more relaxed schedule and not feel compelled to get an episode or three out every month. Instead you can look for 4-7 episodes every 3-4 months that will be released all at one time. That’s how I’ll be handling the podcast for 2023 at least, and we’ll see how it works and go from there. In addition to these changes, I’m also looking for ways to spruce up the podcast, to not have strictly interviews with hikers but I’m also interested in having a few folks on just to have a conversation and chat about hiking, nature, and the outdoors. It could be Florida focused but also, maybe not. I have a few folks in mind to consider for this but if you think you’d be up for a chat or two this year with a lot more flexibility than a typical episode, email me at orangeblazepodcast at gmail.com or DM me on social media! I would also like to get more interviews from folks running the local trail chapters and will be digging into some of those Facebook groups this year. If you listen and are involved in any of those chapters and can recommend someone to interview, get in touch with me! I’m also starting a book club this year! You’ll hear more about it in a special episode for this batch of released episodes in January 2023 but the gist is to have a group of 4-6 folks chat about the chosen book with me and discuss it. Everyone can read the book on their own, whether or not you will be in the discussion, and then listen to the chat afterward. I am hoping to also pair this with an author interview if I can make it happen for each book. So, that is one other addition I’ll be doing at least twice this year. The five year anniversary of the podcast is coming up in the spring, too. I’m still brainstorming some ways for listener involvement on that and will let you know as soon as I have some more information for that so y’all can get involved with that. I can’t believe it will be 5 years! The last three years have been simultaneously a whirl but also the most slow years ever! One last note, the FT has been seeing an increase in usage over the last several years and I think we’re on the cusp of an even bigger explosion. This means there is likely going to be an increase in folks who may not play nice, let’s just say it that way, and an increase in negative rhetoric about the trail may proliferate on social media. Long time FT hikers and supporters all know of the trail’s shortcomings—please limit your complaining to the trail itself and not to the people who have put in many hours of effort and work over decades to get the trail to what it is today. There’s no reason to belittle people if you are having a bad day on a roadwalk. If you have significant issues with the trail, like poor blazing, conditions are bad enough to prevent safe crossing of areas, please contact the FTA itself, or contact me and I’ll put you into contact with people who will be there to listen and solve problems. There are now several thru-hikers on the FTA board of directors and they will understand your gripes and complaints—we all know how bad a roadwalk sucks! But your poor planning or knowledge of the FT before launching a hike in this era of excess information does not mean you get to say nasty things about people. There are other trails out there that may suit you better–we all know the FT isn’t for everyone and that’s ok! And I would hope other hikers would call out bad behavior on trail, not even limited to this type of issue. I really appreciate all of you for listening to this podcast and sticking with it over the years. I’m hoping to do better with some of the audio this year as I had previously not taken into account just how many of y’all listen in your cars! Some of the audio differences can be challenging for those folks, the differences between me and the guest, so I’m working to get better with equalizing that this year. Thank you for your patience with that. If you listen on iTunes, please consider leaving a 5 star rating and review. It’s been a bit since I’ve had one of those and it always helps the podcast become visible in the search or referral section. Also, I recently found out Spotify has a rating system, too. Consider leaving a 5 star rating there as well! I know from my stats there are quite a bit of y’all who listen over there so this new development will also help with getting the podcast out to other folks. I’m not sure about other podcast apps but if your podcast platform allows ratings and reviews, do it there, too! And best of all, word of mouth is where it is at! Tell fellow hikers and let them know about the podcast! It goes a long way and I appreciate it! That’s it for this introduction into 2023 series of episodes and I look forward to bringing more of the Florida Trail to your ears this year! Happy hiking, y’all!

When I launched the podcast I had no idea how many people I would connect with via podcast interviews and social media, muchless the other podcasters within the hiking world. Lori Prima is one of those delightful people I’ve gotten to know a little bit and she’s been kind enough to have me on two episodes of her podcast over the years. I thought it was high time I reciprocated and invited Lori on to talk about what her podcast has to offer, and with nearly 200 episodes covering hikers from all walks of life and trails, there is bound to be something for you to listen to on your own hikes in there.

Back in 2007 (I figured out the date, the year I mentioned in the podcast is wrong) my husband Chris was exploring in Big Cypress National Preserve in some of their cypress domes and sloughs. Some of these are very remote and require bushwhacking or hiking into from swamp buggy trails. He was out looking for plants and just exploring the area. This podcast details an encounter with a Florida black bear that he had out there and probably one of the most scary wildlife encounters he's had to date. I wanted him to share the story hear for hikers to hear and for everyone to just reassess their general safety awareness and remind themselves that wildlife encounters of various species can occur in the wild and Florida is no exception!

Ultrarunner Amy Ansbaugh together with her crew chief and partner Dani set out to set the women’s supported FKT along the Florida Trail, with a western corridor focus, earlier this year. Amy’s long history of running and the challenge to set a women’s record on the Florida Trail originally enticed Amy and her sister Kitty to attempt an FKT of the trail. When Kitty bowed out due to injuries, Amy decided to continue alone with Dani navigating all of the issues that come with being the support person for someone attempting an FKT. While the official FKT is still in limbo, Amy is proud of her accomplishment, especially coming from a non-backpacking background. Amazingly, Amy spent every night in the comfort of her and Dani’s converted school bus, which Amy admits may have thwarted some of her time spent on trail due to the logistics of getting to the trail and back to a campground every day. I especially loved hearing Amy’s unique perspective of the Florida Trail, with the running background, the alternative FKT route, and no experience on a long distance trail prior to this FKT attempt. She handled various hurdles with grace and still managed to cross the finish line at Fort Pickens!

This episode originally aired in December of 2020. At that point in time it seemed as if Split Oak Forest may have some time before it was decided if a toll road would be built to split the park in two. Unfortunately that time was shorter than expected and the vote to go ahead with the plans for a toll-road has taken place despite overwhelming support to keep Split Oak Forest in-tact and continue the premise of conservation it was given in the 1990s.

Julie Gayheart is a section hiker, podcaster, and hiker safety advocate. Coming from a long distance running background, Julie section hiked the Appalachian Trail over the course of 12 years, going on to begin section hiking the Mountains to Sea Trail and other trails along the way. In the last few years she's become a hiking safety advocate after the son of her sister's close friend went missing on the PCT as well as noticing just how unprepared many hikers of all backgrounds and skill levels can be. Julie is an enthusiastic guest and her love for the trails she hikes comes through in our conversation.

Lu Dodson is the Park Manager for the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail. This episode is a continuation of my efforts to include land managers into the mix as they are as important and vital to the Florida Trail as hikers are. While the FKOSHT isn't on the offical Florida Trail route, it is part of the Eastern Continental Trail and is increasingly being used by FT hikers as they begin or end an overall Eastern Continental Trail hike. The Florida Keys offer a glimpse of the tropics and habitats change drastically from tropical hardwood hammocks near Key Largo to scrubbier views further south. There's something for everyone in the Florida Keys! Lu offers up a brief history of the FKOSHT and what can be found along the way while walking or biking the trail.

Several years ago when Alex Fogt took his skateboard along on his thru-hike of the Florida Trail, he inspired several people, including David 'Moondog' Roop, to use their skateboards along the road sections of the FT. That inspiration led David to embark on his first ever thru-hike, including building his skateboard for the hike and learning to skateboard in the process of it all! Hiking wasn’t new to David but thru-hiking was and he found what so many of us find during a first-thru hike, that he loved it and wanted more. In our conversation we talk about all of this, of course, but how he’s made van life a choice in his day to day life and not in the manner most of us envision van life to be. David’s an engaging hiker and I know you’ll enjoy what he has to say about his hike and laugh at some of the antics he got into along the way.

Johnny Molloy is the author of more than 80 books, many of them trail guides to various regions of the United States but he has written several memoirs as well, including his Florida Trail memoir, Hiking the Florida Trail: 1100 Miles, 78 Days, Two Pairs of Boots, and One Heck of an Adventures about his 2006 thru-hike. In this episode Johnny and I chat about this thru-hike but also about how he’s crafted a life that involves spending a lot of time camping and being outdoors while writing books as well. He’s got a lot of wisdom from those years outside and I don’t think it will escape any hike or nature enthusiast who finds themselves rearranging their life to spend more time outdoors.

Three years of producing the Orange Blaze: A Florida Trail podcast are in the books. Here are 10 episodes to highlight this wonderful trail!

After Christmas my husband and I took a short trip to the Wichita Mountains and the Charon's Garden Wilderness Trail. Enjoy this mid-break bonus episode!

Jane Pollack is the Florida Trail Association's Gateway Community Coordinator and a 2020 Florida Trail Thru-Hiker.

This episode has been a long time coming as I’ve had several folks recommend having Sammertime on as a guest for the podcast. A multi-time FT thru-hiker, he began his long distance hiking adventures on the Mountains to Sea Trail in the early 2010s. It set forth the upending and changing of his previous life and after a few years away from the trail he found himself on the FT in 2017. Next he completed a southbound ECT hike and most recently he revisited the Mountains to Sea Trail for a second time as he hiked for charity, raising money for a good friend who had recently had medical issues. We talk about all of this and more, including how profoundly Trail Angels and kind encounters along the trail are to hikers and just what kind of an impact they have, especially for the hikers who tend to stay away from large groups while hiking.

I admit, this last hiker season I checked out a bit from who I was following along the trail. Call it FOMO or maybe pandemic burnout, but I just couldn't get into the hiking season with the exception of a few folks. One of those was Amy Jensen, known online at Trail Trekkin Teacher. Yes, Amy is a teacher and it was pandemic burnout from the school year last year that had her requesting a leave of absence from her job and finding herself on the Florida Trail for a thru-hike. Amy is a Florida native and while Amy has been curious about the natural world from a young age, it wasn't until the last several years that she turned to hiking as a hobby. We talk about how she took her short day hikes around Central Florida and turned them into a backpacking and traveling obsession. We also talk about how she slows down on the trail, to stop and notice things instead of letting the miles pass without acknowledgement. Something that I think we all find it hard to do when we're putting in long days on the trail. I loved my conversation with Amy and I think you will too---and maybe you'll take a few minutes to ponder the natural wonders she talks about in the episode.

If there ever was a podcast episode to deviate from my typical episodes, this is the one. I take a turn from our typical natural history land management episodes to bring you some cultural history, focused around Fort Pickens and the Santa Rosa Island area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. When I reached out to the park service to see if a representative would be interested in coming on the podcast I wasn't sure what to expect and to whom I would be speaking with, but Casimer brings out so much information that I wasn't completely aware of in the episode, that unless you specialize in Gulf Coast maritime and military history, you will learn a lot from what Casimer has to say. From the native tribes who inhabited the region to Casimer's recent discovery that brought to light that Fort Pickens served as a component of the Underground Railroad during the American Civil War, you might find yourself wanting to jot down notes as you would in a college history class---I know I certainly did. I hope that after listening to Casimer speak to the unique depth of history in this area you will take it to heart the next time you find yourself walking down the beaches of Santa Rosa Island and certainly as you being or end your hike of the Florida Trail at Fort Pickens.

As I've set out to create this third season of the podcast I've been trying to bring more land managers to the podcast to get a bit of a more rounded outlook on just what the Florida Trail is overall. Many folks may not even know that the USFS is a key component in the Florida Trail's protection and overall administration. The Florida Trail Association may be the overall face of the Florida Trail in many ways, but the USFS, like the National Park Service for the Appalachian Trail, is the federal government component to how the trail is protected through the National Scenic Trails system. Shawn offers a lot of insight into what his duties are with the Forest Service, from how sometimes the smallest acts such as creating a short boardwalk through a wetland can create a few extra steps to get completed than what we might envision as we are walking across that wetland, how he coordinates with other land managers throughout the state as well as the FTA, and what he hopes to see happen with the Florida Trail in the future. I tried to cover a few topics that I knew were coming up as potentially problematic with hikers but if you want to reach out to Shawn directly to let him know any of your concerns, he gives his email in the podcast and I've included his contact information in the shownotes for the podcast as well. In addition, I'm including several links in the shownotes for the podcast so you can understand some of the items we talk about, particularly with the Big Bend re-route, which we don't go into detail about but there's been several big changes over the last year regarding that. I'm also going to include the link to the original comprehensive plan for the FT from the 80s which is absolutely fascinating to read. I enjoyed the conversation with Shawn because it was an aspect of the Florida Trail I didn't fully understand how it fit into the picture until recently and Shawn fleshed a bit more of that information out in our conversation.

Eric 'Orange Blazer' Emery is a 3-time Florida Trail thru-hiker. Along with hiking the FT, he volunteers along the Trail and at various parks throughout Florida and other regions in the US. When he's not hiking he's traveling in his RV.

Melanie is a travel writer from Wisconsin who's adventures in trail racing and ultra marathons lead her to first, the Camino de Santiago, and then to the long distance trail in her own backyard, the Ice Age Trail. In 2013 she set the women's fast packing record on the Ice Age Trail and went on to write about her hike and some of the history of the IAT in her memoir Thousand-Miler: Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail, published by the Wisconsin Historical Press in 2017, which is how I came across Melanie a few months ago when I read her book. After digging into who Melanie was, I found out she was on a quest to hike all of the National Scenic Trails and of course had hiked the Florida Trail in 2017. It was a natural fit to have her on the podcast. Melanie completed the Florida Trail in 2017 in four large chunks and I appreciated her unique perspective of hiking the Florida Trail in this manner and I think you will to. We all approach our hikes of long distance trails in different manners and I enjoy hearing how other people manage to make it work for them!

Ben and Louann Williams are Floridians with a deep connection to the land and water in North Florida. After decades in the fisheries industry on the St. Johns River, they began purchasing and conserving land in North Florida with the goal to protect the waterways they loved so much. One mile of the Florida Trail traverses their property in Putnam county, adjacent to Rice Creek Conservation Area.

Rob and Kelley Wimp are full-time RV travelers, working and living from the road. In 2020, Rob completed a thru-hike of the Florida Trail.

Aaron Owens Mayhew is a registered dietician and ultralight backpacker with 20 years of experience as a hiker and nutrition expert.

Kyle 'Mayor' Rohrig thru-hiked the Florida Trail in 2019 with his blind Shiba Inu dog, Katana. With a lot of perseverence they both finished the FT at Fort Pickens.

Park Ranger Lisa Andrews is Outreach and Education Coordinator with Big Cypress National Preserve. She talks about the history and ecology of BCNP.

Split Oak Forest WEA is a tract of conservation land in central Florida under threat of development. Valerie Anderson joins the podcast to talk about the issues and about the property itself.

Patrice Lavigne joins the podcast to talk about thru-hiking New Zealand's Te Araroa trail, travels in Florida, and writing a trail memoir.

Season 3 of the podcast is here! This is a quick update on Florida Trail Closures, guidelines for COVID-19, and what to expect from the podcast!

A short episode wrapping up Season 2 of the podcast! It has been great sharing stories from the Florida Trail this year!

Stephanie Dunn is a landscape architect in south Florida with an avid interest in south Florida ecosystems and native plants.

Lilly Anderson-Messec is a botanist and horticulturist living in Florida's Big Bend region. She explores areas such as St. Marks NWR and Apalachicola NF.