I would rather be hiking

Lately I have been a wild streak of adventure and hiking. It's a collaboration of being active, being outdoors, and getting Stella some exercise that makes me enjoy it so much. I grew up in the middle of literal no where, so the woods is something that I am quite familiar with. One of my best childhood memories involves a patch of palmetto bushes! When I was younger (probably around 8 or 9) my stepdad created a series of tunnels through the insides of a large patch of palmetto bushes on our property. This isn't something that's easy to describe, but just try to imagine a bunch of children crawling around on their hands and knees in the bushes. It's something that I don't think any child is experiencing today with the surplus of technology and the lack of outside playtime. To say playing out there was fun is an understatement. I also have very fond memories of my dad and I walking a few trails when I was younger, we even got lost a few times as I do recall; but anytime spent with my dad was fun for me and still is today. So my history with nature is very much entwined with who I am. When I moved to Orlando in the Fall of 2011 I found myself concerned that I would never see a cow again, yes that was a real thing... yes I did cry about it, but that's how women are for some reason (it probably wasn't about the cows). It might not be that nature is such a big deal to me, it may just be that I want to have some serenity and sense of ruralism in this metropolis. Sometimes the city can be a wonderful place and then other times you just want to know that there are still places where the birds sing proudly and the wind blows without the background noise of a freeway.

With the discovery of nature trails here in Orlando came the spark of desire to hike them all! (Or at least the ones that Stella is allowed to join me on.) So far I have hiked six different locations, a couple of them I've gone a few times and always with Stella. My favorite so far has been Wekiwa, and that's simply because of the vastness of the entire park.

Wekiwa Springs Trail Loop: I always thought of Wekiwa only for the springs, never thinking that there was a whole other world on the park's property where you could walk along the water's edge and run through the palmetto bushes. We've gone to Wekiwa twice and I know for sure I will return a few more times before I complete everything there. Both times I took Ricky along, the first time was his first hike and was almost his last one... We got a little lost a little close to sunset and didn't make it back to the car until well after the park had closed. Let's just say we had a little run in with the park ranger about the park hours! But I love Wekiwa, it's beautiful. The trees are enormous, we saw a few deer, a troop of boy scouts, and across a couple streams.

Ricky kept trying to make her cross the streams, she wasn't having it!

Isle of Pine Preserve: This trail is closest to our house and it's one that we've been to many times. I enjoy it because there is never anyone there (except for the run-in with the jogging woman one time) and it's not too long. The past two times we've went I have attempted to walk the orange trail in the back but it's impassable due to flooding and with the recent heavy rains I don't see it happening anytime soon. On our last hike here I saw three too many snakes for my liking, and they were all over three feet long!

She always always always finds mud

Chisholm Park: I am unsure as to how this trail operates and I don't really know if dogs are allowed here at all, but we went nonetheless. I found it simply by following a state park sign off of the main road. The day I went here it was a little wet so we didn't hike the actual trail but I still got my shoes drenched. I want to return here when the ground has time to dry out because the trail might be good. It's meant more for horseback riding but that's fine with me! There aren't any maps that I could find online and there are only signs indicating where the trail begins, no maps. When we visited we just walked along the shore line of the lake that is nearby.

Econ. River Wilderness Area: Close to the very populated campus of UCF, Econ River Wilderness Area is a lesser known treasure that I'm glad I discovered. We went here on a gloomy Saturday morning but it was still fun and I enjoyed the twisty loops of this trail. Some of the paths were crowded with overgrowth but we managed. I think one of my favorite parts was the option to take a bridge instead of the muddy ground considering I had just bathed Stella!

Split Oak Mitigation Forest: Split Oak is vast and beautiful but I know that dogs are not allowed... we broke the rules. I'm not planning on taking her there again simply because there were too many people and I don't know what people are going to bitch at you for having a prohibited animal. But I would encourage this area if you're looking to hike without a canine companion.

Bill Frederick Park: This was the very first nature trail we went on and my first time using my Nike+ Running app. It was a nice area although the trail wasn't well marked and there were parts where I didn't think we should've been. We saw a few sand hill cranes and some guys playing disc golf but other than that it wasn't too eventful and not very wooded either. This is mostly a campground area.

Now for a list of a trails I want to hike soon! In no particular order:
Single Creek Trail Pine Island
Black Bear Wilderness Loop Trail
Black Hammock Wilderness Area
Econ Sandhills Conservation Area
Charles H. Bronson State Forest
Chuluota Wilderness
Little Big Econ State Forest
Seminole Ranch
Tosohatchee Trails

As I finish this list, I'll add more to it; I just want it to stay manageable for the time being! Have you had any fun hiking adventures? Is there anywhere here in Orlando or the Central Florida area that you know of end enjoy going to? I'll be sure to keep you updated along our journeys! Happy hiking!