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[ramblinChet]

Panhandle Adventure Trail

 

by Chet Szymecki

 

It's time to begin heading west for the winter months. This adventure is known as the Panhandle Adventure Trail, or PHAT, which is another 500+ mile long overland trail running from east to west across northern Florida. Spoiler alert - it ended up being much longer! The trail begins on Amelia Island and ends near Mobile, Alabama, in the central time zone. If I were to summarize the trail I would break it into three separate 200 mile sections:

• east
  • begins at Amelia Island
  • flat and sandy with some paved roads
  • passes through Bethea State Forest, Osceola and Cypress Creek Wildlife Management Areas (WMA)
• central
  • begins east of Tallahassee and ends around Marianna
  • if you can only complete one section this is the one to shoot for
  • trail turns south and drives down to the gulf coast
  • much time spent in Aucilla WMA, Bradwell Bay Wilderness, Tate's Hell WMA and State Forest, and Apalachicola National Forest
  • approximately 1,000,000 acres of wilderness for away from cities
  • sandy, swampy, wet, and overgrown trails
• west
  • Mariana to near Mobile, Alabama
  • central time zone
  • flat and sandy with some occasional clay
  • passes through Blackwater River State Forest
  • many water activities and sandy trails just north of Milton and near Pensacola

 

Many thanks to Tony (Vman1313 Adventures) for all of the time and effort in creating this and many other adventure trails in Georgia and Alabama. You can find his website here with over a dozen separate overland trails.

 

 

Here I am the night before my next adventure begins - my ship is full of supplies and fuel, my pre-adventure checklist has been completed, and I am ready to begin chasing the sun. What you see in this picture and what is reality are sometimes two very different things. What you do not see is the pile of garbage behind me in a small grove of trees left by what I suspect, were homeless people. Clothes, food wrappers, filthy blankets, etc.

 

My main point is that even though I explore the most beautiful locations in these United States, not everything is perfect. We all struggle and life would not be complete without the highs and lows. I guess another way to put it is, the good would not feel so good unless the bad hurt so bad.

 

On the shore of the mighty Atlantic Ocean; more specifically, Fernandina Beach, on Amelia Island. Let another adventure begin!

 

Early on I wound through a maze of backroads with nice balance between pavement and sand. Some of the sandy roads showed signs of frequent travel while others say limited use. Our speed varied from 25-35 mph and it was fun to just enjoy a relaxing ride through the forest, pop out into a remote rural setting, and drop back into the trees.

 

Throughout my travels in the forests it is not unusual to happen upon sections of the working forest that are being harvested. If you begin to see signs posted along the trail saying "beware of logging trucks" you can be assured you are in an active area. I have never had any problems whatsoever and even if the road is temporarily blocked, the men have no problems suspending operations for a moment as I squeeze through. It is fun watching the different equipment cut and handle the trees.

 

Yikes, here was a tough decision to make - I was in the middle of the forest, alone, and was just below one-half tank of gasoline, and the road ahead was rough-graded. It was sandy and soft with 1:1 water filled ditches on either side, and I didn't know if things improved a mile down, or if they became much worse. Even though I had my Warn 16.5ti heavyweight winch and AEV Full-Size Trail Recovery Gear Kit, I still had no desire to become stuck in the middle of a 750,000 acre forest with no cellular service. With that in mind, I tested the situation and proceeded forward in two-wheel drive, all seemed fine as long as I continued forward at 5-10 mph. For close to ten miles I was concerned that at any moment I could become stuck since some of the areas felt very soft and mushy with water just below the surface.

 

In the middle of the forest I came upon a huge dragline excavator mining phosphate use to produce fertilizer for farmers. In order to properly reference the size you must consider that this machine was off to the right, and slightly behind the pickup truck in the lower left hand corner. Note there are no tracks on this machine since it is so large - it uses pads to "walk" since it only occasionally moves. From what I was able to gather, the phosphate vein in this area has been mined since the late 1960s and there is enough material for the next few thousand years. The operation involves clearing off the top ten feet of soil and then removing the vein which itself is around ten feet thick.

 

My gosh, another even more interesting road in the middle of the forest. This one felt like wet bread so without much argument, I took time to study my map and locate a safe go-around. If you have been following my travels you are beginning to recognize that finding washed out bridges, impassable roads, etc. happen occasionally. This is part of the adventure and adds some excitement to the mix. If everything were perfect as expected, life would be boring.

 

The sun has begin to set on another night in the forest. I never worry about finding a place to camp for the night since there is normally not another soul within a dozen or more miles of me. There are days where I will drive for most of the day and never come across another person. Sometimes I pass a hunter or another local taking a shortcut but much of my time is peaceful and alone. If you have not camped alone deep in the forest I would encourage you to do so. It's unusual these days but it feels so good so give it a shot and share your experience with others.

 

Trails in Florida would not be complete without the occasional 'Sippie Hole to cross. Most are around one foot deep but you always must remain cautious. In 2001, just months after my newest Jeep arrived, a brand new 2002 Solar Yellow Wrangler TJ with 4.0L inline six and 5-speed manual, I was playing in a local area of Florida where the big boys played with their full sized rigs running 44s behind built V8s. If you can, visualize me dropping into a deep hole with huge ruts and becoming high centered. My Jeep slowly leaned over to the right and I watched my hood sink below the water line. I was smart enough to shut off the engine since I realized I would be sucking in water in about one-half a heartbeat. Water entered the engine but there was no damage - I was pulled out and after some time we had her back running again. I changed the oil, transmission, transfer case, and differential fluids several times over the next week until all began to look like oil, and not chocolate milk. Be careful and make sure you check - grab a stick and poke around, or take off your shoes and trousers and walk in.

Edited by ramblinChet, 12 February 2024 - 09:38 AM.

[ramblinChet]

The trails in Florida are quite different compared to those in most other areas since they are mostly sand with occasional mud or clay. Of course, the trees and other plants are very different also and despite this being a very long trail, I was enjoying every single mile in the forest. There were times I would travel for a half-day or more without seeing another person.

 

You may not be familiar with the panhandle of Florida but long ago I worked for and represented Tampa Bay Engineering throughout the 11,000 square mile we referred to as LA, or lower Alabama. Here is an example of what we called a "gun and knife club" back in the day. As you may have guessed, this is where young men met to drink and engage in all sorts of manly competition. We called them gun and knife clubs because you were checked at the door to see if you were carrying a weapon. If you were not carrying, you were not permitted to enter, although sometimes they had a house collection of guns of knives you could borrow if you bought a drink for everyone.

 

This was pushing into that beautiful hour in the forest as the sun was falling asleep and the moon was beginning to wake. This picture was taken with the factory projection LED low beams on and nothing else. I enjoy travel at night through the forest since it provides a very different type of appearance compared to daytime travel. If you are on a multi-day adventure I would encourage you to engage in some night time travel. Auxiliary lighting is not mandatory but is nice to have in some situations. Since our speeds are normally limited to a maximum of 25 mph or so and our eyes do a great job of adjusting, OEM lights are fine for most situations.

 

This is the third time in as many years that I have enjoyed camping at Wilderness Landing Park in Blackwater Creek State Forest, Florida. A dozen grassy, flat campsites, flush toilets, warm showers, moderate weather, and free! Finding a gem like this is akin to hitting the lottery. I decided to hang around for three days and two nights to just slow my exploration down and conserve some funds for the long trip to the west. As always, you meet cool people at a campground and there is always some entertainment regarding campground drama.

 

This is what early German settlers in Texas referred to as Panzerschwein, or armored pig. We call them armadillo, or more specifically, nine-banded armadillo. They are edible, I ate one during a survival training on Eglin Air Force Base back in the 1980s. I don't remember is being all that bad but it was not as rubbery as the snake I ate a few days later. Anyway, I was chasing this armadillo and attempting to convince it to jump straight up since they can jump around three or more feet into the air. This one would simply bolt forward and go back to hunting for food. Playing in nature and having fun is what you do when you camp for extended periods without cellular service. Try it, you might like it!

 

This is another example of some of the cool people you meet camping in the forest. This is Dan, a retired architect, who now spends his time camping, hiking and looking for interesting pieces of wood, and them crafting them into all sorts of interesting usable type of art - in the back of his camper.

 

Dan has what most would call a toy-hauler. His toys are different though since he has a wood shop in the back of his rig. He currently runs off two 100 Ah lithium batteries and 480 watts of solar although his goal is to effectively double his energy system. Here are a few more of the pieces he has recently created. From what I gathered, he creates these pieces and gives them away to people he meets. Dan is a really nice guy and I do hope to cross paths with him again.

 

This is not the greatest picture but it is an example of the private beaches you find along the Blackwater River deep in the forest. The sand is white and the water is tea colored. The water is crystal clear but has a tea colored tint due to the tannic acid seeping in from nearby trees. It's not harmful and actually quite refreshing on a warm day since this water is cool and only a foot or two deep in most areas with a sandy bottom.

 

Previously, we covered venomous snakes which are a minor concern. Alligators take concern up to the next level. I have swam in many inland locations in Florida but when there is a sign posted, I will respect it and consider another. A friend called a few weeks ago and shared with me that there were two alligator attacks in a spring in the Ocala National Forest where we cooled off and swam back in February. We both agreed that we will swim there again, but Paul asked me to jump in first.

 

And after a 915-mile adventure through northern Florida with approximately 70% of the travel being on sand, dirt, or gravel, through the forests and swamps I can say I have completed the Panhandle Adventure Trail with twenty-nine hours of drive time spread over seven days. The route is advertised as 500+ plus miles although I do not believe that is entirely accurate. Some of the additional miles were a result of visiting nearby towns for supplies which is normal on longer excursions. Many other miles were racked up when I would come upon a road closure or locked gate sometimes deep in the forest.

 

Identifying different routes is normal and part of the fun although west of Milton, Florida, was a nightmare. There were multiple locked gates when I believe were public easements running through private land. Since this was in a rural and undeveloped section of the state the rerouting were long and there were two times I came upon another road closure and locked gate during rerouting. My suggestion is unless you wish to explore the entire northern section of Florida, focus on the central section down south including Tate's Hell State Forest and Apalachicola National Forest. Happy trails!

All images and text property of Chet Szymecki

 

Edited by ramblinChet, 06 February 2024 - 10:26 AM.

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Chet thanks for another fun adventure.

Frank

[Occidental]

Thanks for a great trip report! I have put it on our list, and also bookmarked the source page - it looks like a lot of routes can be found there.  You have sure been covering the miles out east - what seems like several years of adventures packed into a few months.  Awesome.  

[searching for nowhere]

Thanks for the report.  You have such different travels than in the west.  

[dr.tucson]

What a great trip, thanks.  I generally think of the east as being full of people, so it is surprising to see you write: since there is normally not another soul within a dozen or more miles of me.

I believe I would avoid any place where men, alcohol, and weapons mixed.