Invigorated by the chill, I put
Parker in my car, pointed us back in the direction of Hog Island Recreation
Area, and proceeded to enjoy the low temps every bit as much as the prior
weekend’s warmth. The forest’s bright green foliage stood out on photographs,
which is one never-gets-old benefit we get from cloudy skies letting only a
small amount of light get through:
Soon after starting our hike we came
to the following spot, beyond which the path forks with the yellow-blazed Hog
Island Nature Trail (HINT) going left and the orange-blazed River Trail going
right:
I went left for the simple reason
that I had gone right the time before. I was eager to see what the HINT’s
two-mile loop has to offer, and almost immediately it turned up this:
Taking you northeastward then west, it is
not long before the trail crosses the recreation area’s dirt road. We saw an
armadillo scurrying around shortly before the crossing and four does bounding
through the woods shortly after it. Interestingly, the armadillo made much more
noise than all of the deer combined.
A double-blaze is the universally
recognized signal that a trail’s route is about to turn. If you walk the HINT
counter-clockwise like I did, you will find that it forks immediately after the
first double-blaze you encounter, and that it seems as if you should take the
right fork (which actually goes straight) because it is so much wider. Ignore that
instinct, however, and instead follow the blazes down the narrow, nondescript
fork on the left. Eventually it takes you to the Withlacoochee River ,
which looked especially handsome when we trod down to its bank:
The trail passes several old
sinkholes that now hold water and are ringed by botany. It feels wrong to call sinkholes attractive so soon after one right
here in our area caused a tragic death that generated international news – but
there is no denying that they do look
attractive after being reclaimed by the forest:
It is important to pay close attention to the blazes while walking the HINT, for there are several places where its path is not particularly distinct from the rest of the forest floor. And there is a place where one 90-degree turn is followed very quickly by another.
Although this trail is usually
called a loop, it should be noted that it is really a horseshoe. When you reach
the spot where it ends, you will find yourself needing to walk a short ways
down the dirt road to return to the spot where your hike began. It’s probably
best to start from the trailhead at the canoe launch, which means going in the
opposite direction than I did. That will allow you to pick up a key that tells
you what is identified by the 27 numbered signposts along the way:
For directions to the trailhead I
used, please visit the post to which I linked in the first sentence of this
one. To reach my recommended trailhead at the canoe launch, just keep driving
past the one I used and it will soon be obvious on your right. Happy Trails!