A new 3-mile section of the Florida National Scenic Trail has just recently
been added. You can access it where it crosses Brumley Road, or if you're a
through hiker coming from the south, you can use Whispering Forest Trail (a
private road) to get to it. Currently there are no kiosks or designated
trailhead parking but they are in the works from what I've heard. There's even
talk about making a loop trail.
From the Brumley access point you can either hike north or go south on the
Florida National Scenic Trail. If you go north, you'll have to go through the rudimentary
gate that's been setup to keep the cows from getting out on the road. It's
covered with barbed-wire, so be careful. The trail then follows a narrow
easement along a picturesque green pasture before entering the woods again.
One of the first things that caught my eye when I first hiked this section
were three small tepees made out of sticks placed right next to the trail. I'm
not sure who made them or why they are there. Maybe it's some kind of animal
trap. Very strange.
If you go a little bit further down the trail you're likely to see lots
bumble bees and butterflies. That's because this area is usually covered with
blazing stars and yellow buttons during most of the year. Beyond this point
the trail goes through some some wetlands before entering the Little Big Econ
State Forest.
If you decide to go south from Brumley Road, the trail will take you
through a nice oak hammock before descending down into a rather boggy area. In
the very near future, the Florida Trail F-Troop volunteers will be building a
700-foot puncheon style boardwalk through this wetland. It will probably be
done by the time you read this.
Back when they were first cutting a new trail in this area, you could see
where they tried to take a different route. In fact they left behind a chain
linked bridge over Mills Creek and a couple of hammocks made out of rope.
One you get past the wetlands, you'll come across a couple of fence
sections that look out of place. This is where they had the big ribbon cutting
ceremony to celebrate the opening of the trail.
There's a couple of private roads that cross the trail. There's one that's
called Panorama Drive. I suspect it will become the new access road to the
area. It already has a trailhead sign for it.
My favorite place is where the trail crosses Mills Creek. Very pretty in
that area. Nice place to cool your feet. There's a bridge made out of
telephone poles that gets you over to the other side.
There's another bridge that goes over Silcox Branch. It's just made up of a
couple of planks. From there it's just a short distance to Whispering
Forest Trail which is the end of this section.
