Wow! What a surprise! From the maps I had downloaded about Ross Prairie Forest, it just looked like a grid of dirt forest roads, so we weren’t expecting much. When we got here yesterday, I noticed we were on the edge of a Greenway as well as the Forest, so I quickly located a map online of that, and it seemed like a simple enough loop just north of the forest. We headed out the back of the campground, and almost immediately came across trail markings that didn’t seem to correspond with anything on the Ross Prairie map, so we just started following them. We headed out, appropriately, on Trail #1, also marked as the Yellow Trail. It wound us through one of the nicest pieces of old growth forest we had been on in a LONG time. Huge live oaks and magnolia trees, sometimes intermingling with native pines (not the rows and rows of managed forest we’ve been riding in the last week, thank goodness). The trail was mostly single file, the footing was mostly good except the occasional patch of soft sand, and it was so well-marked we were astonished! The markers even told you whether you were heading east or west on a trail! As we traveled on #1, we crisscrossed several other trails which also seemed to meander through this luscious piece of forest. We got a little off track at one intersection, because the trail led up a sandy hill that seemed to have tracks everywhere, so we backtracked to a wider trail that we soon discovered was designed as a buggy trail. That quickly led us to a sweet little spot of a primitive camping area, including a picnic table, a hand pump and small trough and a fire ring. We also discovered that the #1 trail also led there, so we were able to pick it up again and proceed from there. We followed it all the way the Route 484 (only about 2+ miles, but it seemed longer because it was so beautiful), where we turned around and headed back, this time on Trail #2, which occasionally merged with Trail #3. Whenever it did, we got in a nice trot or canter, and in one spot the horses even decided to gallop! We were out less than three hours, but it was such a surprise we kept exclaiming how incredible it was, and that made it so enjoyable! When we got back, I did some more research on the Greenway, its history as a former Cross-Florida Canal acquisition (that never got built all the way), and found trail maps for each section along the way. Our host Cornelius had mentioned about being able to ride all the way to I-75, which didn’t exactly seem like a "destination" ride to us, until I discovered that there is actually a "land bridge" that crosses that Interstate. It’s a wide overpass that apparently has it’s own landscaping, like a little island across, so we’ve decided we need to make that trip tomorrow. It will be a long day, about 16 miles or so, so we’ll have to get an early start. That said, it’s time for bed!
Wow! What a surprise! From the maps I had downloaded about Ross Prairie Forest, it just looked like a grid of dirt forest roads, so we weren’t expecting much. When we got here yesterday, I noticed we were on the edge of a Greenway as well as the Forest, so I quickly located a map online of that, and it seemed like a simple enough loop just north of the forest. We headed out the back of the campground, and almost immediately came across trail markings that didn’t seem to correspond with anything on the Ross Prairie map, so we just started following them. We headed out, appropriately, on Trail #1, also marked as the Yellow Trail. It wound us through one of the nicest pieces of old growth forest we had been on in a LONG time. Huge live oaks and magnolia trees, sometimes intermingling with native pines (not the rows and rows of managed forest we’ve been riding in the last week, thank goodness). The trail was mostly single file, the footing was mostly good except the occasional patch of soft sand, and it was so well-marked we were astonished! The markers even told you whether you were heading east or west on a trail! As we traveled on #1, we crisscrossed several other trails which also seemed to meander through this luscious piece of forest. We got a little off track at one intersection, because the trail led up a sandy hill that seemed to have tracks everywhere, so we backtracked to a wider trail that we soon discovered was designed as a buggy trail. That quickly led us to a sweet little spot of a primitive camping area, including a picnic table, a hand pump and small trough and a fire ring. We also discovered that the #1 trail also led there, so we were able to pick it up again and proceed from there. We followed it all the way the Route 484 (only about 2+ miles, but it seemed longer because it was so beautiful), where we turned around and headed back, this time on Trail #2, which occasionally merged with Trail #3. Whenever it did, we got in a nice trot or canter, and in one spot the horses even decided to gallop! We were out less than three hours, but it was such a surprise we kept exclaiming how incredible it was, and that made it so enjoyable! When we got back, I did some more research on the Greenway, its history as a former Cross-Florida Canal acquisition (that never got built all the way), and found trail maps for each section along the way. Our host Cornelius had mentioned about being able to ride all the way to I-75, which didn’t exactly seem like a "destination" ride to us, until I discovered that there is actually a "land bridge" that crosses that Interstate. It’s a wide overpass that apparently has it’s own landscaping, like a little island across, so we’ve decided we need to make that trip tomorrow. It will be a long day, about 16 miles or so, so we’ll have to get an early start. That said, it’s time for bed!
No comments:
Post a Comment