Hiking Florida

The Miami Herald reports on hiking the Florida Trail.

Reporter Dave Griswold recounts his winter trip:

I had decided a couple months earlier to start exploring more of South Florida's wilderness. The Florida Trail, started in 1969 by volunteers, winds up from Big Cypress National Preserve to the Panhandle. In South Florida, it's just about the only trail for overnight hiking.

Winter and spring in Big Cypress are when the wildlife is most concentrated around shrinking water sources, with ranks swelled by migrating birds. You avoid the hazards of the summer and fall seasons, which include myriad biting insects, water in places to your waist, torrential downpours, heat and humidity.

Read the full story: Away from the beaches

Photo Florida Trail Association Big Cypress Chapter