Trekker Talk. Backpacking 101 (or How We Survived Starvation Slough!)

Transcription

1 F L O R I D A T R A I L A S S O C I A T I O N Tropical Trekkers Chapter P.O. Box 423 Palm City, FL Trekker Talk J u l y V o l u m e 2 0, N u m b e r 6 Chapter Meeting Welcome The Tropical Trekkers meet on the second Monday of each month at the Palm City Community Center, located on Cornell Avenue at the Southwest corner of the Palm City Bridge. The meeting begins at 6:45 PM with sign up sheets available for upcoming activities. By 7:00 PM the monthly program begins. We often invite outside speakers that compliment our outdoors theme. July 8th Program: Ice Cream Social! Bring your favorite topping to share :) (Continued on page 2) I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e : Five Beliefs 5 Activities List 6 Activity Corner 8 Officers & Directors List 9 BOD Meeting 10 Backpacking 101 (or How We Survived Starvation Slough!) We are sisters and marathon training partners, so when Elaine got bitten by the Appalachian Trail Bug, she talked Laurie into trying one of the day hikes with the Tropical Trekkers. Having survived that experience (and, incidentally, we had a great time), Elaine felt it was time for an overnight hike. Being a novice, she jumped at the chance to hike with experienced and willing Trekkers. Convincing Laurie to join her was a more difficult matter. STARVATION? What happened to last year s group? SLOUGH? Isn t that a muddy bog? Our adventure started with a gettogether hosted by Lori Burris, our Chapter Council Notes June 15, By Laurie Cadigan Peterson & Elaine Cadigan Zumsteg The intrepid slough sloggers! Marc Minnis, Chuck Hamlin and daughter Susan, Bob Austin, Penny Snyder, Laurie Peterson, Bob Pedraza, Elaine Zumsteg, Janet Bartha, Audrey Minnis (Continued on page 2) by Kay Clements This is a short summary of topics at the chapter council meeting and doesn t begin to cover all of the discussion and ideas that took place. Kay and Tom Clements attended the meeting in Gainesville from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Carlos Schomaker reported that a FNST coalition meeting, between the USFS, land managers, and FTA, took place. They are determining projects to be done. They wish to have the same basic information and a map of the trail in the local area at all kiosks. For example, they want to avoid saying that the FNST is 1500 miles long on one kiosk and 1000 miles long on another kiosk when the trail is actually 1300 miles. The information needs to be consistent. A new regional representative has been hired for the Suwannee area. Noel Payne will start Aug 1. There will be a few changes in volunteer hour reporting in order to capture individual hours. (Continued on Page 3)

2 P a g e 2 Chapter Meeting (Continued from page 1) August12th Program: Movie night: Florida State Parks. September 9th Program: Amanda Phillips, Florida Wildlife Commission Information Officer October 14th Program: Vicki Lambie, an experienced Appalachian Trail Hiker, with more than half the trail under her belt will discuss What s in YOUR Pack. Backpacking 101 (Continued from Page 1) trail leader, at her wonderful Port St. Lucie home. Bob Austin, intrepid hiker and raconteur, demonstrated stoves and fire making. We then sampled different trail meals and practiced putting up a tent and loading a pack. We tried to remember all the good his daughter, Susan. Starvation Slough is part of the Kissimmee Management Region near Basinger, Florida. The trail is wide, flat and mostly sandy and alternated between oak hammock and plains. No mud at all. We hiked about four and a half miles to a secluded hammock where we set up camp. Just at the spot that looked good for our tent, Penny noticed a pygmy rattle snake hiding in the leaves. We decided to relocate our tent somewhere else. Bob Pedraza had the Cadillac of tents which we greatly admired; Bob Austin opted for a hammock slung between two trees. This was a primitive area no fire ring, or picnic tables or even a tree stump. advice we received as we gathered our supplies and equipment for the next week s hike. Saturday, April 20th started out cool and cloudless, despite a rainy forecast which prompted several hikers to drop out at the last minute. Our group consisted of leaders Lori Burris and Bob Austin, and newbies Penny Snyder, Janet Bartha, Bob Pedraza, and the Cadigan sisters. We were joined by day hikers Audrey and Marc Minnis and Chuck Hamlin and After settling in, we set off about a mile for the Eastern side of the Kissimmee River. As it was gator mating season, we didn t venture too far from shore. The water felt wonderful and even Lori took the plunge. Bob Austin caught and released several fish. Lori showed us how to filter water using a pump. After dinner, when we tried our luck with ramen noodles on a stove borrowed from Lori, we practiced bear bagging. Lori demonstrated an ingenious technique of suspending a bag of food from a tree limb in such a way that keeps it, and consequently campers, (Continued on Page 3)

3 P a g e 3 Backpacking 101 (Continued from Page 2) safe from bears. We all took turns slinging ropes and fashioning a pulley system. Lori also provided us with tips on clothing, supplies, and showering. Then we were off to the river again for a bonfire (darn we forgot the marshmallows). Hiking back in the dark was a different experience it was difficult keeping on the trail and for a short while, we feared we would never find the camp. But we arrived safely back at the camp just before the rain started. It took us awhile to get used to sleeping on the ground; it was a lot colder than we had imagined. We had another beautiful morning which some of us spent exploring the area. We found dozens of old beer bottles and other evidence of long-ago campers. The guys headed back to the river for a little more fishing. The hike back to the trail head was just as interesting. It amazes us how different a trail can look from different directions. We practiced reading the trail markings and saw more rattle snakes and other wildlife. A stop at the Cracker Trail Country Store for ice cream and boiled peanuts was a sweet finish to a great weekend. Backpacking 101 was a great success. The hike was just far enough to challenge the newbies but not enough to discourage us from another adventure. Thanks to Lori and the Trekkers we were able to try out different equipment. For example, we learned that a two-man tent should only be used by two people who really, really like each other and that backpacks can come in extra small size (not good on the shoulders for anyone larger than that). We are both looking forward to our next adventure with the Trekkers, although Elaine has not convinced Laurie to join her on the AT. Take a look at the route map on Page 4 A few weeks later another group of Trekkers followed their footsteps on a day hike. Enjoy the photos from that hike by clicking on the link: Starvation Slough/No Name Slough Photo Album Chapter Council Notes (Continued from Page 1) It will also include a volunteer profile. When this is all in place the land managers will be able to get hours from the web site. In addition to hours worked they want to know amounts of money from the pockets of trail workers that is spent on trail maintenance. There are promises of a new FTA web site that will actually be usable. In the meantime Deb Blick is in the process of writing a new map program. She wants us to beta-test it and give her constructive criticism. Don t forget, this is a work in progress. Here is the link. webmap=3498e5266be2485bb1365f39626cfe03 What we saw at the CC meeting looked really good. Deb needs someone, a contact person, from each chapter to obtain GIS (Geographic Information System) data using their GPS (Global Positioning System) to locate the trail on the ground. This would be done when the trail is moved, relocated, or new infrastructure is added to the trail. Tom Daniels said that the Trails Committee meeting will be held on September 15 (the day after chapter council and board meeting). This meeting will actually be a workshop out in the field. It was requested that we define acronyms so uninformed persons can understand what we mean when we say FNST (Florida National Scenic Trail), FTA (Florida Trail Association), USFS (United States Forest Service), etc. Pam Hale, our new treasurer, gave a wonderful presentation explaining the financial reports. She explained balance sheets, income statements, trends, etc. The bottom line for FTA is that we have a $19K deficit as of April 30,. Most of this is due to the USFS s large decrease in support that has trickled down from their own cuts. We plan to get a copy of Pam s presentation to present to the Tropical Trekkers board. A discussion focused on how chapters might help by raising funds for the FTA organization. Fred Davis suggested that an appeal for help be sent in letter form to all members. Carlos introduced the nominating committee which is looking for good board members with skills that can benefit FTA. There has been a slight upward trend in memberships. As of Apr 30 FTA had 4460 members with 3233 memberships. There are now three staff members in the Gainesville office: Diane Strong, Janet Akerman, and Deb Blick. (Continued on page 5)

4 P a g e 4 Backpacking 101 (Continued from Page 3) This map shows the northern section of the proposed reroute of the Florida Trail from the west side of the Kissimmee to the east side. We still have a road walk from Rt 98 near the Cracker Store in Basinger along Micco Bluff Road to Starvation Slough but the road is much less traveled than Rt 98 so even that is a major improvement. Some day we hope to eliminate all or at least part of that road walk.

5 P a g e 5 Five Beliefs That Aren t Serving Us Well Comments and clarifications inserted in italics are from Kay Clements. 1. I give my time/sweat/knowledge/moral support, so I don t have to give financial support. -- I believe in what we re doing, and recognize it costs money to keep the effort strong and viable at all levels. I ll back my mouth and work with my money. 2. I m only interested in thru-hikers/trail maintaining/ day hikers/ my chapter/ my portion of trail, etc., and don t see supporting those other things as important for me or FTA. --While, like everyone else, I have certain passions, I recognize that together we re strong, and can successfully get what we all want in these challenging times. 3. FTA was better off when it was only us volunteers, and/or there was no pesky Forest Service, staff, National Scenic Trail Designation, etc. By Carlos Schomaker, FTA President --Everything changes, and not adapting means irrelevance and no stake in the process. Jim Kern s dream wasn t a little irrelevant hiking club. Other trail organizations have successfully adapted and are viable, meaningful partners and stewards to their region s outdoor recreation. The ones who don t adapt close their doors like CDTA (Continental Divide Trail Association) did. FTA Chapter Council Notes (Continued from Page 3) Eric Mason and Megan Donahoue are FTA staff in the Tallahassee. Information about these persons and their jobs is in the summer Footprint. Chapters can be reimbursed for holding a CPR/first aid class once per year. Upcoming Regional Conferences: North Oct 26 no venue as yet South Nov at Fisheating Creek Campground. Big Cypess and the Fisheating Creek subchapter need assistance with this as they have few chapter members. Central no info. Northwest Nov 8-10 no other information. Plans for the annual FTA state conference are unknown at this time as the previous conference was not wellattended and the state organization lost money. The board and staff are looking at different options. Chapter council reps. discussed different ways to award chapter workers. They reported the things that had been happening in their chapters. Tropical Trekkers reported (a) new membership activities to help retain membership, new patches, pens (b) upcoming movement of the trail to the east side of the Kissimmee River, (c) trying out Meetup, (d) November work week (e) giving new members a $10 discount in membership fees through donations from chapter members. If you don t have your new Tropical Trekkers patch, ask about them at the next chapter meeting! 4. Boy, I hope we get new members/volunteers/tools/ money, etc. -- If FTA is to survive, thrive, and fulfill its Mission, I need to help. We all do. Hoping doesn t help. Doing helps. 5. That isn t how we do things around here. You re not FTA enough. --FTA s culture wasn t around since before the Pyramids. It grew out of many experiences, beliefs, and actions. If those aren t moving us forward (and instead leading to stagnation or worse), we need to change them.

6 TROPICAL TREKKERS ACTIVITIES LISTING July P a g e 6 When Where Event Description Difficulty, Participation* Activity Leaders, Contact Mon. July 8, Wed. July 10, Fri. July 12, Sat. July 13, Wed. July 24, Mon. Aug. 12, Tues. Aug. 13, Tues. Aug. 20, Mon. Sept. 9, Mon. Sept. 16, Palm City Monthly Chapter Meeting - The public is invited to attend our annual ice cream social. Bring a topping to Community Center share, we will bring the ice cream. Share conversation with fellow Trekkers. Sign-up begins at 6:45 p.m. Stuart Port St. Lucie Stuart Jensen Beach Stuart Causeway Mid-Week Walk - Let's stay in shape even though it's hot, walking your own pace up to 5 miles. New time. Contact leader for meeting time and place. Take me out to the Ball Game - Watch the PSL Mets battle an opponent in the Florida State League at Tradition Field (525 NW Peacock Blvd.). Enjoy America's pastime with fellow Trekkers, and eat dinner and/or walk up and down the stadium steps if you like! Game starts at 6:30 p.m. Stuart Bike Ride - We will bike ride about 15 miles in the Stuart area of neighborhoods around Willoughby and Cove roads. Call or write for details. Jensen Beach Causeway Mid-Week Walk - Let's stay in shape even though it's hot, walking your own pace up to 4.5 miles. Contact leader for meeting time and place. Palm City Monthly Chapter Meeting - Social and activities sign-up Community begins at 6:45 p.m. The program begins at 7:00 p.m. This Center month's program is a video on Florida State Parks. Port St. Lucie Take me out to the Ball Game II - Watch the PSL Mets battle an opponent in the Florida State League at Tradition Field (525 NW Peacock Blvd.). Enjoy America's pastime with fellow Trekkers, and eat dinner and/or walk up and down the stadium steps if you like! Game starts at 6:30 p.m. Seabranch Trail Care in Seabranch - Help care for our trails! Join Preserve SP us to work on maintaining the East Loop trail in the late afternoon. Call or write for details. Palm City Monthly Chapter Meeting - Social and activities sign-up Community begins at 6:45 p.m. The program begins at 7:00 p.m. This Center month's program is a presentation by Amanda Phillips, Information Officer for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Seabranch Trail Care in Seabranch - Help care for our trails! Join Preserve SP us to continue to groom and blaze the East Loop trail in the late afternoon. Call or write for details. Moderate, Leisure, Moderate, Moderate, Leisure, Bridget Kean (850) bridgetkean@comcast.net Paula Miller (772) pnmille1@yahoo.com Jon Hillen, Jim Couillard Bridget Kean (850) bridgetkean@comcast.net Paula Miller (772) pnmille1@yahoo.com Bridget Kean (850) bridgetkean@comcast.net Jon Hillen, Jim Couillard Audrey Minnis (772) aminnis@bellsouth.net Bridget Kean (850) bridgetkean@comcast.net Audrey Minnis (772) aminnis@bellsouth.net Sat. - Sun. Sept , Sanford Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST) Symposium and Florida Outdoor Recreation Summit (FLORC) - Come celebrate the 30th anniversary of the FNST in a FNST symposium and join outdoor partners in "Building Stronger Outdoor Recreational Partners" in this engaging annual summit of premiere Florida outdoor organizations. Watch your for details from the FTA. (Continued on Page 7)

7 TROPICAL TREKKERS ACTIVITIES LISTING July (Continued from Page 6) When Where Event Description Difficulty, Participation* Mon. Oct. 14, Tues. Oct. 15, Fri. - Sat. Nov. 8-9, Palm City Monthly Chapter Meeting - Social and activities sign-up begins Community at 6:45 p.m. The program begins at 7:00 p.m. This month's program is a presentation by Vicki Lambie, What's in Your Center Pack? Seabranch Preserve SP Rafael Sanchez Memorial Trail Trail Care in Seabranch - Help care for our trails! Join us to work on grooming and blazing the North and South Loops in the late afternoon. Call or write for details. Trail Work - It is time to get this trail in shape. We will be mowing, trimming and re-blazing. P a g e 7 Activity Leaders, Contact Bridget Kean (850) bridgetkean@comcast.net Audrey Minnis (772) aminnis@bellsouth.net Tom Clements (772) thomasc09@comcast.net Fri. - Sun. Nov , TBA FTA South Regional Conference - Save the date! Details to follow. Tues. Nov. 19, Seabranch Preserve SP Trail Care in Seabranch - Help care for our trails! Join us to work on grooming and blazing the North and South Loops in the late afternoon. Call or write for details. Audrey Minnis (772) aminnis@bellsouth.net Wed. - Sun. Nov , Florida National Scenic Trail Trail Work - This is our annual, multi-day work hike on our section of the Florida National Scenic Trail. We will be camping at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park (KPPSP). You can come for the entire time or come for a day - your choice. We will work all of the pieces of the trail including the new east side section from US98 through KPPSP. For those that stay over on Saturday night there will be a nice dinner provided. Come help us! It is a lot of fun and if for a good cause. * Guide To Difficulty/Participation Column Meaning Difficulty: Leisure Generally 5 miles or less, good footing, casual to medium pace Moderate Strenuous Participation: Generally 5 to 10 miles, uneven footing, possibly water, and/or fast pace Generally more than 10 miles and/or backpacking, uneven footing, possibly water, and/or fast pace Event is open to members and anyone else approved by the event activity leader Tom Clements (772) thomasc09@comcast.net Members & Event is open to members and their guests approved by the event activity leader Guests Members Only Event is open only to Trekkers and other FTA members in good standing Note: Biking, paddling, swimming or backpacking events may depend more on an individual's physical fitness for the activity than any rating. Always discuss any physical limitations, concerns or questions you may have with your activity leader before confirming for the event.

8 P a g e 8 Activities Corner Contributors: Karen Lindenberger Elliot Museum Tour, June 14th, Fourteen Trekkers and guests joined Audrey Minnis for a fascinating tour of the new Elliott Museum of Art, History and Technology located in Stuart, Florida. The museum honors inventor and social activist Sterling Elliott, , whose many inventions focused on improving the quality of daily life of his time. The beautiful, 48,000 square foot, eco-friendly building also showcases the world s largest collection of Model A vintage cars in an exhibit titled Wheels of Change. Pick the car you want to see up close and the custom built, three-story robotic stacking garage will bring it to the 360 degree rotating viewing stage! The highlight of the tour was the Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion traveling exhibit. Joan Murphy, our knowledgeable tour guide, brilliantly described the life, genius, times and inventions of da Vinci as we explored the forty full-size, hands-on machine replicas that were on display for everyone to touch and move. The tour was a resounding success as it was a great way to expose us to history, creativity, ingenuity and culture. The Elliot Museum is highly recommended for all Trekkers, families and friends. Attendees: Photo by 1. Audrey Minnis 2. Joel & Naomi Bernstein 3. Gretchen Dewey 4. Jeanne Couillard 5. Barbara Quinn 6. Janice Gues 7. Karen Lindenberger 8. Blair Sala 9. Carol Pulliny 10. Pat Saboury 11. Chuck, Alex & Cindy Barrowclough

9 P a g e 9 Officers and Directors Chapter Chair Bridget Kean bridgetkean@comcast.net Vice Chair Jim Couillard koolyard@bellsouth.net Secretary Lori Burris loriburris.swamptromper@gmail.com Treasurer Lucy Fribourg lwf_cpa@yahoo.com Chapter Council Rep. Kay Clements kayclements@comcast.net Trail Coordinator Chuck Barrowclough cbarrowclough@treasuredlands.org FNST Section Leader Tom Clements thomasc09@comcast.net Programs Chair POSITION OPEN Activity Chair Kay Clements kayclements@comcast.net Membership Chair Jim & Jeanne Couillard koolyard@bellsouth.net Newsletter Chair Kim Himmelmann kimhim1@gmail.com ity Chair Gretchen Dewey Gdewey1@hotmail.com Fundraising Chair POSITION OPEN FNST Trailmasters Kissimmee South Kay Clements kayclements@comcast.net Yates Marsh John McArdle barbaraschmucker@bellsouth.net Chandler North POSITION OPEN Chandler South Vicki Lambie Lambieva@aol.com Basinger & EEEE POSITION OPEN Hickory Hammock Jim Glancy dsjg1204@sbcglobal.net Bluff Hammock Joel Kaiser joelka355@aol.com Other Trailmasters Okeechobee Ridge & Rafael Sanchez North POSITION OPEN Rafael Sanchez South Kay & Tom Clements thomasc09@comcast.net Hawks Bluff Chuck Hamlin Johammy4@aol.com Seabranch Audrey Minnis aminnis@bellsouth.net South Fork & JDSP Rick Binder binderpd@hotmail.com Links! Trekker Talk Archives Activity List Archives Photo Gallery Live Bald Eagle Nest Cam! Guide to Florida s Greenways & Trails

10 P a g e 10 FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION Hike Florida on Florida s National Scenic Trail Florida Trail Association 5415 SW 13th St Gainesville, FL PHONE HIKE-FLA (answered during office hours) Website: The Florida Trail Association is a 501(c)3 nonprofit volunteer organization responsible for building, maintaining, promoting, and protecting hiking trails for the public across the state of Florida, with a special focus on the 1,400-mile Florida National Scenic Trail, one of only eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. With 18 local chapters throughout Florida, the Florida Trail Association offers educational opportunities for people to learn to appreciate and conserve the natural beauty of Florida, and provides recreational opportunities for hiking and camping. Tropical Trekkers Chapter P.O. Box 423 Palm City, FL We re on the Web! Meetup (Join Now!) Trekkers.FloridaTrail.org T rail Tip: Always make and use your own checklists! Don t be caught in the backcountry without the essentials. JOIN TODAY... ENJOY HIKING FLORIDA S GREAT OUTDOORS! Florida Trail Association Join online, call the Florida Trail office (1-877-HIKE-FLA), or download, print and mail in an application from this link Membership Brochure B.O.D. MEETINGS The Board of Director meets at 6:30 PM on the first Monday of each month. All members are invited to attend (please inform the host). July 1st Meeting: no meeting scheduled August 5th Meeting: Audrey Minnis (772) or via at aminnis@bellsouth.net for further information or