On the Monday after Thanksgiving, in the early evening, I gave a program at the REI store in Jacksonville about the very first four hikes in 1966 announcing the creation of the Florida Trail. The first hike stretched from …
Warrior Hikes Guest Blog from Daniel Caballero
We are welcoming guest bloggers and are pleased to be associated with Daniel Caballero (FT Class of 2016-Warrior Hike) of Warrior Expeditions. By: Daniel Caballero As a veteran who served as a Combat Infantryman in the U.S. Army, sometimes …
Mark Woods: A walk in woods 50 years after Jim Kern founded Florida Trail
PALATKA | Jim Kern led the way. He laced up his hiking shoes — the right shoe with an extra 1¼ inches in the sole to compensate for a hip replacement that left one leg shorter than the other — …
Warrior Hikes – 11.9.16
While Sean Gobin was under fire in Afghanistan, he imagined himself taking a long hike to transition from a war zone to a settled life back home. Once back in the States he followed through, bought some hiking equipment and …
An Update from Jim Kern
Lots happening, all of it good. On September 20, Florida Governor Rick Scott issued a resolution at his cabinet meeting, praising the Florida Trail Association for 50 years of constructing and maintaining the Florida Trail. We have been working most …
Florida’s National Hiking Trail is at Crossroads
Carving out the Florida National Scenic Trail began in 1966, and now the hiking path from the Everglades to the western Panhandle visits springs, manatees, wetlands, alligators, white beach, turquoise ocean and bird life not seen in more famous wilderness …
Path to Completion: Looking to bridge gaps, the creator of the Florida Trail seeks solutions
On a brilliant, end-of-summer day, sunshine illuminated the foliage obscuring 82-year-old Jim Kern’s waterfront St. Augustine property. The modest house peeked through the trees, less a noticeable landmark and more a strange hiccup of white breaking through emerald splashes of …
Jim Kern accepts resolution from FL Governor Rick Scott and Cabinet
It was about 10:30 during the Florida Cabinet meeting last Tuesday, September 20, that Rick Scott turned to Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam and said, “Commissioner Putnam would like now to recognize the 50th anniversary of the founding of …
Jim and Rich’s Travels Along the Panhandle–Cont’d.
Jim and Rich Kern’s travels through nature in the Florida panhandle cont’d: St Mark’s River: Where the Aucilla meets the Wacissa: Hiking on the FT along the Aucilla Sinks:
Travels on the Florida Trail in the Panhandle
Let me tell you about a beautiful part of Florida most Floridians have never heard of and fewer still have seen. I’m talking about the rivers and streams that flow south out of Georgia and Alabama across the Florida panhandle …