This is definitely reassuring, planning a trip from Washington to Sebring, Florida in Febuary and wanting to hang at Highlands Hammock state park.
This is definitely reassuring, planning a trip from Washington to Sebring, Florida in Febuary and wanting to hang at Highlands Hammock state park.
Charles
Quest Velomobile QB005
I'm not trying to talk you out of Highlands Hammock (great place) but if you will be here Feb 22-24 then you can join us at the 2nd annual sherpa hang. We'd love to have you along. Maybe you can do both
There isn't much more than a date set yet but you can read the trip report from last year.
Either way you should have good weather... enjoy!
Dave
edit: I forgot to mention that the sherpa hang is about a 20 minute drive from Sebring up near Frostproof
Last edited by samsara; 08-26-2012 at 07:07.
The best things in life aren't things. -- Art Buchwald
That's certainly doable, I think. I'll be at Sebring for the 24hr Bike Sebring Race event from the 16-17 of Febuary. It's a great event, distance records get set at this event.
http://www.bikesebring.org/index.html
I'll be riding a recumbent hi-racer, a Bacchetta Corsa. Recumbents and hammocking go hand in hand IMO because they're both comfortable! Perhaps I can make some converts out of you! : P That would be funny.
Let's see how it goes, looking forward to it at a minimum. Thanks for letting me know about it.
Charles
Quest Velomobile QB005
I'm pretty sure I've seen some of this race! I just looked at the "Long Race Route" map and if you look at the northern end near Lake Reedy you will see a Lake Arbuckle to the east. That is where I live (I have to drive on Lk Reedy blvd to go anywhere... and see large groups of cyclists and race route signs from time to time) and where the Sherpa Hang will be.
If you ride that route you'll see signs for the state forest (you will be riding next to the forest when you are on Old Avon Park rd.) when you are on Lk Reedy blvd with a right turn onto Lk Arbuckle rd. If you turn on Lk Arbuckle rd, drive a mile or so, turn right at the big state forest sign onto Rucks Dairy rd (dirt road) and go about a mile to the parking near the bridge just south of the creek. That's where we'll meet.
Good luck in the race!
Dave
The best things in life aren't things. -- Art Buchwald
JaxHiker aka Kudzu - WFA
Florida Trail Association: NE FL Trail Coordinator (Gold Head to Stephen Foster)
Trail Issues? Please let me know.
Blazing Trails with Kudzu @ www.idratherbehiking.com
Follow me @idratherbhiking
*** UPDATE ***
Florida hangers, we are at the halfway point in the pilot program. Unfortunately, the overall volume of requests to hang in our state parks has been lower than expected and only a handful of survey responses have been collected.
The temperatures are starting to drop so I hope we'll all be getting out more to enjoy the parks and our hammocks. The parks are saying that hammock camping is happening without prior arrangement from the Bureau of Operational Services who is managing the pilot. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing it may contribute to the lack of feedback collected via the surveys.
Please continue to share the survey link with your fellow campers and be sure to submit the survey yourself when you use a state park. We need to work together to make sure this becomes a change in policy and doesn't whither on the vine at the end of the 12 month trial.
JaxHiker aka Kudzu - WFA
Florida Trail Association: NE FL Trail Coordinator (Gold Head to Stephen Foster)
Trail Issues? Please let me know.
Blazing Trails with Kudzu @ www.idratherbehiking.com
Follow me @idratherbhiking
For us lazy bums... what's the deadline?
Any chance that all of the hangs currently in the queue for FL will be in areas that are controlled by the pilot program?
Maybe we could get some ingenious person with a mobile internet device and PC/Tablet to walk around and get everyone to fill out the survey. Would something like that help?
Or do we just need to be doing more hanging...
We all know of the original "Walk off the war" thru-hike - but, check out these guys, they're helping folks 'walk off the war' today -
Donate to help fund gear for the warriors who are coming back home and need help walking off the war!
WarriorHike.com
A big factor is that most of the period has been in the summer months.
I don't leave the house during the summer in Florida and it's still 90+ degrees every day with near 100% humidity here in south Florida.
Mike
"Life is a Project!"
I'll try to have an answer for you tomorrow. But figure sometime around 6 months from now.
Unfortunately the annual hang is hosted within the National Forest. I'm not aware of any that are currently scheduled within the State park system.Any chance that all of the hangs currently in the queue for FL will be in areas that are controlled by the pilot program?
Unfortunately the survey asks questions pertinent to hanging at a given park.Maybe we could get some ingenious person with a mobile internet device and PC/Tablet to walk around and get everyone to fill out the survey. Would something like that help?
Now you're talking!Or do we just need to be doing more hanging...
I think they realize this which is why I pointed out the temps dropping. Well, at least up here they are. You might have a longer wait. I just wanted to make sure we're not forgetting that there's a formal process to recording our hanging experiences during the pilot and we don't want to lose the opportunity that's been presented to us.
I learned this weekend that (I'm assuming) not everyone is behind it. At Gold Head Branch State Park there aren't any designated hammock sites. Not a single one! Fortunately the Park Manager is new and didn't do the original survey. He's also open to my coming back to help him do a new one and he's on board with the program. I hope to have a complete list of parks and their current status from the Bureau of Operational Services by the end of the week.
I'd encourage each of you to do whatever you can to reach out to organizations in your area to help spread the word. This weekend I gave a hammock presentation at the Florida Trail Regional Conference and I'll be doing it again in March for the State Conference. I'm also reaching out to groups like the Sierra Club and various Meetup groups. Together we can make this a permanent change!
JaxHiker aka Kudzu - WFA
Florida Trail Association: NE FL Trail Coordinator (Gold Head to Stephen Foster)
Trail Issues? Please let me know.
Blazing Trails with Kudzu @ www.idratherbehiking.com
Follow me @idratherbhiking
Anyone planning on going to a state park make prior arrangements with:
Philip Madden
Bureau of Operational Services
Florida Park Service
(850) 245-3089
He has helped me a few times.
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