57: Deep Absorbtion

Catfish Creek State Park, Haines City, Florida
L A K E  P I E R C E,  F L

The Florida heat has arrived.  Midday surpasses mid-80’s.  I estivate through the worst of it but then emerge from the Lake Wales Holiday Inn squinting as the late afternoon sun begins to relent.  The half-hour drive ahead should bring me to the trailhead just in time for ideal conditions.  An early-evening, sunset hike is on tap with more ideal metadata lining up again.

The horseshoe-shape route I follow up and around Lake Pierce leads through rural, agricultural lands.  Orange orchards and cattle ranches abound along the elevated ridge of Florida’s highest ground.  The fruits are in full bloom and I can’t resist – illegal as that might be.  The sweetness of the fresh-picked juicy treat is definitely worth the risk. 

Mixed equally in fields are cattle and cattle egrets.  The cattle egrets feast upon the flies that notoriously accompany the herds.  It’s a black and white communal relationship fairly prevalent in this part of the state.  Cumulus clouds lain over deep blue skies add the perfect backdrop to this colorful u-shaped course I’m traveling. 
Black.
White.
Green.
Blue.
Orange.

Near the very end of Firetower Road, I pull into an empty gravel parking lot.  It’s the only parking area affording access to the remote 8,000-acre Catfish Creek State Park.  The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) interest in the scrub habitat along the Lake Wales Ridge in the early 1990’s led to the initial formation of this now state-owned and protected property. 

Not long after setting out on the trail I come across the first of many encounters with one of the property’s more prominent residents: the Florida Scrub Jay.  These beautiful blue and gray native species thrive in the scrubby growth found on the Lake Wales Ridge and they’re not skittish.  One seems to be heckling me as I progress down the trail.  Or viewed more optimistically, perhaps its warning me of trouble ahead?  A gator?  A feral hog?  A panther?  All alone on this 8,000 acre property brings an extra level of alertness; a particular attunity to movements and sounds.  

The trails crisscrossing this property are essentially just deep sand paths.  Progress is slow and each step requires groin tugging extra efforts, especially as the trail traverses up and over hills.  But I’ve never been a fast-paced hiker; I prefer the deeper absorption that accompanies going slowly. 

Over two hours, I complete a nice circuit route giving a taste of the differing environments found in this park.  At times, it’s a heart-pounding trudge.  But when resting and still again, the quiet found here is remarkable.  Even as I return to the parking lot, not a single unnatural sound can be heard.  For long periods of time, I hear no cars drive by.  No planes overhead.  No distant chain saws or tractors moaning.  It’s very still.

Tomorrow there’s a meeting, and a return flight home, so I dawdle in the parking lot a long while as the sun sets.  I’m hesitant to leave this extremely still environment.  When I finally decide to leave, the satisfaction of having successfully planned for and tour three amazing properties during ideal conditions brings a deep sense of fulfillment.   

Before pulling out, I snap a picture of the Catfish Creek State Park sign which includes this trademarked catchphrase: “Florida’s State Parks… the Real Florida”. Over the past few days, I do feel like this trip has revealed the real Florida.  The stereotypes that come with this state - South Beach, gated retirement communities, Disney World, Daytona, and Cape Canaveral – have their place in our lives.  But in between, Florida has plenty of wide-open, rural, and yes, even hilly natural spaces. 

The Real Florida.  


LEARN MORE ABOUT TNC’S WORK AT CATFISH HERE.
Location: Catfish Creek Preserve State Park, Haines City, FL

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