Fort Braden Trails (East Loop) Tallahassee, Florida

At just under five miles (4.94 miles), the East Loop of the Fort Braden Trails in longer than either the West Loop (3.37 miles) or the Central Loop (2.98 miles). However, about a mile and a half of the East Loop is trail that it shares with the Central Loop. There is some also some doubling back, as you hike in 0.61 miles, make a loop, and then return on the initial 0.61 mile approach.

The trailhead for the East Loop is north of the parking area. Follow the road beyond the gate at the north end of the parking area for about 200 feet, passing a chain across the road. The trailhead will be at a wooden gate on the right side of the road. This is also the terminus of the Central Loop, and for 0.81 miles you'll be doing the Central Loop "backwards" (i.e., counterclockwise rather than clockwise). Beyond the wooden gate the orange-blazed trail begins, flat and firm, in a woods of scrub oak and pine. Deer moss covers the ground below the trees.

At 0.15 miles the trail comes onto a very sandy road. Follow the orange blazes right and don't curse the sand too heartily--it lasts less than sixty yards, after which you turn right off of the road and into the woods. At 0.23 miles the trail intersects the pink-blazed horse trail, turn right and follow the trail down into a small ravine. The trees grow larger as you descend. At the bottom of the ravine (0.32) the trail crosses a small stream on a foot bridge. Climb away from the bridge over a tangle of roots, and then descend back into the ravine to cross another small bridge at 0.38 miles.

After the second bridge the trail climbs out of the small ravine, turning left to briefly follow an old road or firebreak at 0.45 miles. At 0.52 miles you cross the pink-blazed horse trail and then begin a descent into a second small ravine, reaching the bottom at 0.59 miles. Crossing a bridge at the ravine bottom, the trail climbs to an intersection at 0.61 miles, the start of the "loop" part of the East Loop. A sign here directs you to the "Trailhead" (pointing back toward where you came from), the "Central Loop" (pointing left), and the "East Loop" (pointing right). We'll be going clockwise around the East Loop, so take the trail to the left, even if the sign says "Central Loop."

Heading away from the sign, the ravine that you just climbed out of will be on the left and higher ground on the right. At 0.77 miles the trail crosses the pink-blazed horse trail, and at 0.81 miles you reach another signed intersection. Here you'll take the trail to the right, following the arrow pointing toward the "East Loop." The trail makes a short climb to circle a small steephead around 0.88 miles. For the most part, though, the trail will be making gentle descents as it heads toward Lake Talquin. Around 1.23 miles you cross a low, wet patch where you might find a stream but more probably will find mud; you won't find a bridge. In this flat area undergrowth may obscure the treadway, so look for the orange blazes--fortunately, there are plenty of blazes.

The trail crosses a road at 1.35 miles. If you glance to the left along the road you'll be able to see Lake Talquin. Continuing across the road, the trail makes a sharp left and then crosses a stream at 1.48 miles. There is no bridge here, but the stream is small enough to hop. Keep an eye out for Lake Talquin ahead of you. At 1.59 miles the trail right to follow the shore of the lake.

A bit further ahead (1.63 miles), the trail meets an old road. Turn left onto the old road, which is also the treadway for the pink-blazed horse trail. Crazed trail runners will hate this stretch, but I'm fond of it. The trail is wide, smooth, and shaded, with views of Lake Talquin through the trees on the left. Look for islands and boats on the water. Listen for ducks and other birds, outboard motors, the voices of sports fishers over the water, and mysterious splashes made by turtles, fish, or alligators. However, there is no unobstructed view of the lake on the East Loop as there is on the West Loop and the Central Loop. Furthermore, the banks of the lake are rather steep here, so shuffling off the trail to get a better look is not a good idea. Enjoy what you can see from the trail; it's better than falling into the lake.

At 1.94 miles trail turn left off of the road and away from the pink blazes but closer to the lake. The trail turns to the right at 2.01 miles to avoid an inlet of Lake Talquin, and then leaves the lake for good. By the time you cross an unbridged stream at 2.09 miles, you've seen the last of Lake Talquin on this hike. For better or worse, there are no spectacular inclines to emphasize the fact that the trail is climbing out of the lake basin.

For the next mile or so the trail runs alongside (but not very close to) Coe Landing Road, so you might occasionally hear a car through the trees on the left. The trail also winds quite a bit on this stretch, so watch the orange blazes. There is an unbridged stream crossing at 2.50 miles, and a bridged one at 2.67 miles. At 2.86 miles the trail crosses the pink-blazed horse trail. A 1000-foot detour to the left on the horse trail would take you to Coe Landing Road. I don't recommend it as a scenic side trip, but it could be useful.

A small brown wooden sign reading "MILE 7" is at 2.90 miles. This is the seven-mile mark for a hike that combines parts of the West Loop, the Central Loop, and the East Loop to make a single nine-mile long hiking loop. I can't say how many trail re-routes have been done since these posts were erected, or how accurately they were placed, but this one means that you have approximately two miles left in the loop.

Just past the "MILE 7" sign the trail crosses a small stream bed. There are bridged streams at 2.94 miles and 2.99 miles. About 3.11 miles the trail makes it's closest approach to Coe Landing Road as it skirts streams and steepheads on the right; you may even be able to see cars through the trees on the left. Further on, several large trees have fallen across the trail. On my visit, there were flags leading around the trees, making it appear as if re-routing rather than removal was going to be the solution. Once you do make it around the fallen trees, at 3.24 miles the trail crosses the pink-blazed horse trail. A 500-foot detour to the left on the horse trail takes you to a gate on Coe Landing Road, but we're pushing ahead. At 3.29 miles the trail crosses a wet area above a steephead then turns left to climb a bank.

At 3.43 miles the trail crosses a small stream on a foot bridge. (The bridge had become a dam on my most recent visit; I cleared the waterway underneath the bridge but anyone with a shovel could do a better job.) Once across the stream the trail climbs out of a small ravine and into a flat pine woods. Not being longleaf pines, these trees are probably doomed to removal.

The trail crosses the pink-blazed horse trail again at 3.66 miles. Afterwards, it begins winding through a flat, wet area while skirting a logged-out savannah. There is a foot bridge across some of the worst of the swampiness at 3.87 miles, and at 3.91 miles there is a series of almost 200 feet of plank bridges keeping the trail out of the mud. After this the trail is much better drained. A "MILE 8" sign has been placed for your amusement at 3.95 miles, and the trail crosses Beech Road at four miles.

After hopping a small stream at 4.13 miles, the trail passes a group of metal artifacts, some quite large. Were these auto parts? Logging machinery? Is it left over from when this was private timber land, or was it dumped out here when the area was more accessible? Is this a cultural resource, or is it trash? While you ponder these riddles, at 4.18 miles the trail comes out into a stand of young longleaf pines, too small to cast shade and too skinny to hold a blaze. Blazes on this stretch are on posts.

The sunny stretch doesn't last long enough to be oppressive and ends at 4.27 miles when the trail crosses a firebreak and heads into the woods. Going down a short incline, at 4.31 miles the trail arrives at an intersection marked by a sign--the first signed intersection you came to on the loop. This time go left, following the arrow marked "TRAILHEAD." From here you backtrack the first 0.61 miles of the hike, and arrive back at the trailhead at 4.94 miles. Including the distance from the parking lot to the trailhead and back, you can call it five miles.


Links:

• Fort Braden Trails (West Loop)
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/03/fort-braden-trails-west-loop.html
  
  
• Fort Braden Trails (Central Loop)
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/03/fort-braden-trails-central-loop.html
  
  
• More photos of the East Loop
  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2660313&id=5215641&l=1c69dd988d
  
  
• Florida Trailwalker Program
  http://www.fl-dof.com/forest_recreation/trailwalker_index.html
  
  
• Lake Talquin State Forest
  http://www.fl-dof.com/state_forests/lake_talquin.html

Dutch & Faye Trail, Ebro, Florida

The Dutch & Faye Trail is located just south of Ebro in the Sand Pond Recreation area of the Pine Log State Forest. The Pine Log State Forest was established in 1936 as Florida's first state forest, but apparently did not require a park ranger until 1978, when Edgar "Dutch" Tiemann stepped into the job. Before retiring in 1992, "Dutch" laid out the campground and the original trail system in the Sand Creek Recreation Area. When I first visited the recreation area several years ago, the large loop trail was named the "Dutch Tiemann Trail" in his honor. Since then, the name has changed to the "Dutch & Faye Trail" to include Mrs. Tiemann.

To get to the trail head, turn west onto (unpaved) Environmental Road off of Highway 79, 1.4 miles south of the intersection of state road 20 and state road 79. (This turn was a bit hard to find on the day of our visit because of construction on Highway 79. ) Make the first right onto Longleaf Road. Drive past two ponds, one on the left and one on the right. Trail head parking will be one the left, near an elaborate picnic pavilion (stone fireplace, sunken floor, ceiling fans...yeah, it's elaborate). The information board and trail head for the Dutch & Faye Trail will be to the right of the picnic pavilion, next to one of the ponds. Two other trails pass by here--the red-blazed Campground Boardwalk Trail and the orange-blazed Florida National Scenic Trail. The Dutch & Faye Trail is marked with blue blazes and blue metal arrow signs. Most of the trail is in fact very well marked.

We did the trail clockwise, so we took the blue-blazed trail to the right. We were immediately in a forest dominated by pines, which does not change during the 5-3/4 mile length of the trail, except for a few plunges into swamp titi. Even if you don't look up, you'll notice changes in the species of pine by the size and shape of pine cones littering the path.

Soon after starting, at 0.14 miles the trail passes a open area with picnic shelters on the right. After that we were alone in the woods, with only an occasional glimpse of Crews Lake Road on the left to spoil the illusion of wilderness. Well, that and the fact that the pines seemed to be planted in rows, and that the forest has been well-managed with regular prescribed burns. We crossed a forest road at 0.42 miles and reached a bench on the left side of the trail at 0.91 miles. By now the trail was taking us south along state road 79, and you could make out cars through the trees behind the bench. Farther along, the trail and the highway angled apart for a while, so that the traffic was no longer visible from the trail even if it was still audible.

At 1.12 miles a side trail on the right goes first to the red-blazed Campground Boardwalk Trail and then crosses it to go to the campground. Past the side trail, the trail crosses a rough blacktop road at 1.27 miles, followed by some rare downhill. Most of the Dutch & Faye Trail is extremely flat, so any sort of uphill or downhill is unusual, and the slopes that do exist are barely noticeable.

The trail makes a very close approach to state road 79 around a mile and a half, running next to the highway right-of-way. This may not have been the case until recently, when work to four-lane highway started. The trail hurriedly turns away from the road and heads onto a foot bridge over a small creek. After the bridge the trail is going through a swampy area, and gravel has been added to the path to keep it from becoming muddy. This is not so bad for foot traffic, but can't be fun for the off-road bicycles that also use the trail. Pitcher plants grow along the trail here.

At 1.75 miles the trail crosses Enviromental Road near its intersection with state road 79. South of Environmental Road the trail skirts some depressions that look like they may have been borrow pits for the highway. Whatever their origin, they must make things more interesting for the cyclists. Past the pits, a bench is on the right side of the trail at 1.89 miles. Here the trail turns a bit to the west and away from state road 79. At 1.99 miles the trail crosses the orange-blazed Florida National Scenic Trail, which seemed somewhat overgrown on the day of our visit. After crossing the Florida Trail, the Dutch & Faye Trail went over another small footbridge at 2.02 miles. To the left of the trail there is a thick wall of swamp titi indicating the margins of Pine Log Creek.

At 2.48 miles the trail crosses Longleaf Road. Leaving the trail and turning left onto the road will take you to a primitive camp site on Pine Log Creek. Forging ahead on the trail takes you to an annoyingly pointless series of curves taking the trail away from the creek. If there was an appreciable slope here, I'd call these switchbacks and praise them, but the change in elevation here is too subtle to require switchbacks. Were the curves added to entertain bicyclists? To add extra distance to the trail? I can think of other possible reasons, but I lack the imagination to come up with a good reason.

The trail eventually straightens out, though, and at 3.01 miles you go over a very long bridge over a small tributary to Pine Log Creek. Coming off the bridge, the trail turns left into a recently logged area. In this clear area, the trail passes three short lengths of fence, or Fences Of No Obvious Utility. The first two F.O.N.O.U.s are two upright posts connected with two horizontal rails. The third is larger, with three upright posts. They are not old, nor do they appear to have ever been part of a larger structure. They are a mystery.

After the third F.O.N.O.U., at 3.21 miles the trail crosses a forest road and leaves the area that was logged. Once again the trail is a path with trees on either side, and remains so until 3.47 miles where it intersects with another forest road. This time the arrows direct you to turn left and head south on the forest road. At 3.65 miles the trail turns right off the road and back into the woods, but if you continue a short distance farther south on the road you'll reach primitive camp site #3 on Pine Log Creek. Camp site #3 features a picnic table, a charcoal grill, a fire ring, and Pine Log Creek.

Back in the woods, the trail continues west for a short ways and then turns to the north. At 3.87 miles the trail crosses a short footbridge and reaches a bench on the left side of the road at 3.96 miles, the first bench for over two miles. This bench had been staked out by a family of carpenter bees, one of which buzzed around our heads menacingly. However, his threats were empty--male carpenter bees have no sting, and any females were inside the bench, chewing out new tunnels and laying eggs. The rest of the benches on the trail were similarly inhabited.

Heading north, the trail runs along a creek, as evidenced by the thick growth of swamp titi to the left. Pines remain dominant, but there are a few magnolias sprinkled through the forest here. At 4.28 miles a forest road intersects the trail on the right, on the left it disappears into the titi. The trail crosses another small foot bridge at 4.52 miles, followed by a bench at 4.89 miles. The vegetation seems more upland on this stretch with more scrub and less palmetto. The wall of swamp titi has faded off into the distance. Too soon for another rest, the trail passes the last bench at 5.15 miles. At 5.26 miles the trail crosses a wide, dirt road, Environmental Road. By now you are headed northeast, almost straight toward the trail head.

Before you get back to the trail head you cross the Florida Trail again at 5.67 miles. The red-blazed Campground Boardwalk Trail also runs nearby, and you may notice hikers on it. At 5.75 miles the trail arrives back at the information board and trail head; the loop is complete.

The Dutch & Faye Trail is an easy hike, and would make for a relatively tame trail run. As mentioned earlier, the trail is also open to off-road bicycles, and any sort of fat-tire bike would do well here. As on any shared-use trail, pedal traffic needs to watch out for foot traffic and vice versa. Portions of the trail run through a part of the Pine Log Wildlife Management Area, that is open to bow-hunting, so everyone needs to look out for archers during bow-hunting season. A few miles away, the Crooked Creek Trail offers a 4-1/2 mile option and a nine-mile option to off-road bicycles as well as foot traffic. None of these trails is open to horse-riding, but the 12.5-mile Crooked Creek Trail has been established for equestrian use. If you're trying to earn a patch by collecting ten trails in the Florida Division of Forestry's Trailwalker Program, the Dutch & Faye Trail will count toward your total, as will the Campground Boardwalk Trail and the Crooked Creek Trail. Visitors to the Sand Pond Recreation Area are required to pay a day-use fee of $2.00 per person (as of 1 March 2009), or hold an Annual Day-Use Permit which the Division of Forestry issues for $30.00. The Annual Permit should be displayed in a car windshield and covers the driver and up to seven passengers--it's not a bad deal for regular visitors to Florida State Forests.

Links:

• Pine Log State Forest
  http://www.fl-dof.com/state_forests/pine_log.html


• Florida Division of Forestry Trailwalker Program
  http://www.fl-dof.com/forest_recreation/trailwalker_index.html


• Pine Log Wildlife Management Area
  http://www.myfwc.com/RECREATION/WMASites_PineLog_index.htm


• More trail photos
  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2605569&id=5215641&l=e9a01d0326
  

Fort Braden Trails (Central Loop) Tallahassee, Florida

Having discussed the West Loop of the Fort Braden Trails, let's move on to the Central Loop. Like the West Loop, I'll describe a clockwise circuit of the loop.

At 2.98 miles, the Central Loop is the shortest of the three hiking loops at the Fort Braden Trails. The trail head is the same as that for the West Loop, a wooden gate north and a little west of the Fort Braden Trails parking area. However, a few feet past the trail head, at the first fork in the path, you need to take the right fork to follow the Central Loop. You're still sharing treadway with the West Loop, but you're on the Central Loop. Don't worry if I haven't made this clear--just make sure to take the right fork. Starting off, the trail heads downhill in a wood of mostly young oaks seasoned with a few southern magnolias. As the trail gets lower, the trees increase in size and a stream appears on the right, which the trail crosses at 0.16 miles. 200 yards farther on, the trail passes a small steephead on the left.

At 0.34 miles the trail arrives at another intersection. The left fork takes you across a bridge and counter-clockwise around the West Loop, so you'll want to avoid the bridge and take the right fork to continue clockwise around the Central Loop. Some signs on the bridge explain this, but confuse matters by mentioning the East Loop.

At 0.51 miles a small footbridge takes the trail over a stream, after which the terrain becomes mostly flat. There is still some elevation to lose before the trail arrives at the banks of Lake Talquin, but the downhill isn't noticeable. The trail crosses another footbridge at 0.66 miles. At 0.74 miles a larger, meandering stream appears on the left. As the trail runs along this stream, you cross the pink-blazed horseback-riding trail, which crosses the stream at a ford here. After that, the hiking trail moves away from the stream and crosses a footbridge over a smaller stream at 0.79 miles.

The going is still mostly flat when the trail intersects the pink-blazed horse trail again at 0.90 miles. A little bit farther on, just past the end of the first mile, you can start to make out Lake Talquin through the trees. The trail turns to the right to follow the lake shore, which will be on your left. At 1.1 miles the hiking trail's orange blazes are joined by the riding trail's pink blazes, and the trails share a treadway along the lake front for a while. Traffic isn't so heavy on the trails that you're likely to run into any horses, but it's possible.

Still sharing a treadway with the horse trail, the trail crosses a forest road at 1.16 miles, then emerges into an open, grassy area, a kind of park on the shore of Lake Talquin. There is a shelter here with picnic tables, a charcoal grill, a couple of benches with a view of the lake, and hitching rails for horses. This is not a bad place to stop and have a drink, a snack, lunch, or a look at Lake Talquin.

The trail exits on the other side of the picnic area, still sharing a treadway with the horse trail. About a hundred yards farther on, you pass a "MILE 4" sign. You haven't gone four miles; this is a mile marker for hikers doing the nine-mile loop that combines parts of all three loops. Your actual progress up to this point is about 1.24 miles. A little farther on, at 1.29 miles, the shared treadway ends, and the horse trail continues along the lake while the hiking trail heads to the right and inland. A little later, the trail heads back to the left and the lakeshore, crossing the horse trail at 1.39 miles. From here, the hiking trail has the view of the lake while the horse trail goes farther inland. To the best of my knowledge, no horse has ever said anything positive about the view of the lake, anyway.

Around a mile and a half, the trail heads away from the lake briefly and uphill to skirt the mouth of a creek flowing into the lake. Looking to your left, you can see where the creek meets Lake Talquin, and below the trail you can see a steephead spring that feeds into the creek. At 1.57 mile you make a bridgeless crossing of the creek, then turn left back toward the lake. As the trail regain the lake shore, at 1.60 miles you come upon a sign and blue blazes leading to a primitive campsite. Amenities are limited to a fire ring and a great view of Lake Talquin. Campers are required to have a Forest Use Permit, available at the Florida Division of Forestry offices at 865 Geddie Road. Shortly after the primitive campsite, the trail turns to the right and heads away from Lake Talquin for good. At 1.70 miles the trail crosses a north-south forest road, giving you one of your last views of Lake Talquin to the left.

At 2.02 miles a foot bridge takes the trail over a small stream. There's another sign for a primitive camping area on the right side of the trail at 2.12 miles, but this one is not as easy to find. A small arrow on the signpost points west; follow it if you want to visit the campsite. This will take you uphill and onto an east-west running forest road. The road is easy enough to follow, but there are no blazes to assure you that you're going the right way. After over 100 yards of trudging uphill, you arrive at the campsite. This is the one referred to on the maps of the Fort Braden Trails as the group campsite; it includes a picnic table, charcoal grill, fire ring, and a lot of hitching rails for horses.

Back on the Central Loop, the trail drops after the primitive camping area sign to cross a small stream on a foot bridge. Climbing away from the stream, the trail arrives at an intersection with the East Loop at 2.17 miles. Go right here, following the signs directing you back to the trail head. The trail crosses the pink-blazed horse trail, after which there will be a ravine on your right and a ridgetop to your left. That would be a small ravine and a small ridge; this is not the Appalachian Trail. Shortly the trail arrives at another intersection with the East Loop. Once again follow the sign directing you to the trail head and turn right, down into the ravine. At the bottom of the ravine the trail crosses a small stream on a foot bridge at 2.39 miles, then turns left to climb out of the ravine.

Once out of the ravine, the trail once again crosses the pink-blazed riding trail. After passing a stand of recently-planted longleaf pines, you descend into another small ravine. At the bottom of the ravine, at 2.60 miles you once again cross a small stream on a foot bridge. Shortly after that you cross the last foot bridge of the Central Loop and climb out of the ravine. At 2.75 miles you reach the top of the climb and an intersection, follow the orange blazes and turn left here. At 2.79 miles the trail makes another left to follow a torturously sandy road for about 60 yards. After the loose sand, though, the trail returns to a firm-surfaced path in the woods. A sign along the path proclaims "MILE 9," but that's for the combined loop, not the Central Loop. Just around the corner from the sign is a wooden gate marking the end of the loop (but not the same gate you started at). Go through the gate and turn left to return to the parking area. You might also want to check yourself for ticks; at times the Fort Braden Trails have been plagued with them.


Links:

• Fort Braden Trails (West Loop)
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/03/fort-braden-trails-west-loop.html


• Fort Braden Trails (East Loop)
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/06/fort-braden-trails-east-loop.html
  


• More photos of the Central Loop
  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2604316&id=5215641&l=753ea20716


• Florida Trailwalker Program
  http://www.fl-dof.com/forest_recreation/trailwalker_index.html


• Lake Talquin State Forest
  http://www.fl-dof.com/state_forests/lake_talquin.html
  

Fort Braden Trails (West Loop) Tallahassee, Florida

Another good trail experience in the Tallahassee area is the Fort Braden Trails, 8.7 miles west of Capital Circle (SR 263) on the Blountstown Highway (SR 20).

The trails are located on the Fort Braden Tract of the Lake Talquin State Forest. The forest was established in 1977, mostly on land the State of Florida acquired from the Florida Power Corporation. Florida Power had held land in the area since 1929, when (as the West Florida Power Company) they constructed the Lake Talquin Dam on the Ochlockonee River to generate hydroelectric power.

The Fort Braden Tract itself is one of the few areas in the Lake Talquin State Forest that is closed to hunting, having been set aside for hiking and horseback riding. There are over nine miles of orange-blazed hiking trails, and over eleven miles of pink-blazed horse-riding trails. The hiking trails are closed to all but foot traffic. Foot traffic is allowed on the horse trails, but let's be fair and leave them to the riders. Anyway, large portions of the riding trails go through deep sand, and all of the water crossings are fords rather than bridges. Apparently, horses have not found an effective way to complain about poor footing or wet hooves. Both trail systems are closed to bicycles, although bikes are allowed on the tracts small network of forest roads. However, a better option for cyclists would be to head farther west to the Lines Tract of the Lake Talquin State Forest, which has a dedicated bicycle trail. The entire tract is closed to motor vehicles outside of the parking area.

The parking area is quite spacious, or spacious enough to accomodate trucks pulling horse trailers. There's a picnic pavilion with a charcoal grill next to the parking area. A toilet is nearby but no water; make sure you bring everything you need to drink. Just north of the parking area are the trail heads.

There are three hiking loops; these are rather uninspiredly named the west loop, the central loop, and the east loop. These can be combined to form a single nine-mile loop; the mile markers on the trails are for this nine-mile loop. The individual loops range in distance from three miles up to about five miles. The trails are part of the Florida Division of Forestry's Trailwalker program; hiking any one of the three loops will satisfy the programs's requirements. The horse trails, by the way, are part of the Division of Forestry's Trailtrotter program. There is no Trailbiker program; bicyclists get the dirty end of the stick again.

The trail surface is good for walking and somewhat acceptable for running. Runners used to the roads will be put off by the roots, dips, and turns, while hardened trail runners will find the area a bit tame. I'd rather hike at Fort Braden and do my running somewhere else, but it's a matter of taste.

We've got to start somewhere, so let's start with the West Loop. The trail head for the West Loop is north and a tiny bit west of the parking area, through a wooden gate. The gate is supposed to keep all but foot traffic off the trail, but it's more of a reminder than a barrier. This is also the trail head for the Central Loop, which you'll notice almost immediately when you pass a sign directing you to go left for the West Loop and right for the Central Loop. The sign also lists the length of the West Loop as 2.9 miles--don't believe it. You actually pass a three-mile marker while you're still on the loop, and I've measure the entire loop at 3.37 miles.

From the sign you walk down to cross a small stream on a foot bridge at 0.11 miles, the first of many such crossings. The next is at 0.33 miles, after which the trail makes a hard left. Leaving the stream, the trail emerges from the trees and turns left to follow the edge of a field, crossing a forest road at 0.45 miles. A short distance later the trail returns to the trees, a wood of young oaks.

At 0.65 miles the trail crosses another forest road, this one the pink-blazed horseback-riding trail. This is not the last you'll see of the horse trail; the two networks intersect frequently. The trail crosses a third forest road at 0.86 miles; to the left you can see the north end of the road at the Blountstown Highway. Moving ahead, the trail passes a sign reading "MILE 1." This is for the nine-mile loop, but because the nine-mile loop starts with the West Loop, it's also the mileage for the West Loop. From the mile marker, the trail starts a descent to a small stream. Crossing the stream on a foot bridge at 1.03 miles, the trail then turns right to follow the stream as it flows down to Lake Talquin.

At 1.09 miles, the trail intersects with a blue-blazed trail on the left, the Eagle Scout Spur Trail. this is a short trail that connects the loop to a trail head at the back of Fort Braden Park, a Leon County recreation facility. There are rest rooms and water at the front of the park. The West Loop, however, continues on to recross the stream at 1.15 miles, and then turn left to follow the east bank of the stream. As the trail gets closer to Lake Talquin, it angles away from the stream. By one-and-a-half miles, you'll have caught your first glimpses of the lake through the trees. The trail makes gentle turns to the right to follow the shoreline.

By 1.56 miles, though, the trail is turning right again to leave the lake shore. Don't worry; there are more and better views of Lake Talquin up ahead. At 1.59 miles the trail crosses a pink-blazed horse trail and starts to follow a stream on the left. Eventually, the trail turns to the left to cross the stream on a foot bridge at 1.67 miles. Beyond the stream, the trail climbs to an intersection with a forest road at 1.80 miles, pink blazed to indicate that it's part of the horse-trail system. The trail drops to a foot bridge at 1.93 miles, followed by over half a mile of hill-free walking. The "MILE 2" sign is on this flat stretch, as is another stream crossing at 2.09 miles. At 2.23 miles the trail is back at the shores of Lake Talquin, and turns right to follow the water. Just past that, at 2.31 miles, is another intersection with the pink-blazed riding trail. At this point the two trails have a shared treadway, so it's possible that you might run into a horse. With so many miles of trails it's not particularly likely, but on a run one afternoon where I was the only person on the hiking trails, I met the only rider on the horse trails here. I stepped off the trail; there is no point in doing anything that might make a 1,500-pound animal nervous.

At 2.39 miles a sign on the left side of the road indicates a primitive campsite. "Primitive" means no plumbing and no electricity; nothing, in fact, other than a fire ring and a great view. Camping here requires a forest use permit, available at the Division of Forestry's office at 865 Geddie Road, Tallahassee, FL 32304. Whether you're camping or not, it's worth detouring a few feet to the campsite for an unobstructed view of the lake. Unless the weather is foul, you're likely to see boaters on the lake. Small islands peek out of the water, the tops of ridges and bluffs that were submerged when the Ochlockonee River was dammed 80 years ago. Turtles, ducks, and leaping fish may be visible on the surface. Overhead you may see hawks, cormorants, herons, egrets, or even bald eagles.

After leaving the campground, the hiking trail and the horse trail separate at 2.46 miles, the hiking trail going to the right and starting to climb up away from Lake Talquin. It's not a steep climb, nor an uninterrupted one, but you still have to pay back the elevation that you dropped while descending from the trail head to the lake shore. Near the "MILE 3" sign, a shallow trench runs on the left side of the trail. It runs straight enough to be some kind of earthwork, but it's too short to be a firebreak. Beyond the "MILE 3" sign, the trail makes a short drop to a bridge. After crossing a bridge, you come to a fork. Left will take you on the Central Loop and the rest of the nine-mile hike. To finish the West Loop, though, turn right and follow the shared treadway of the two loops up toward the parking area. A sign informs you that this is 0.3 miles away.

At 3.21 miles the trail dips to cross a stream on a small foot bridge, the last such crossing on the West Loop. From here it's an uninterrupted climb back up to the trail head. The trail passes the first fork and at 3.37 miles arrives back where it started.

The Fort Braden Tract is a fee area, by the way. As of 2 March 2009, there is a $2.00 per person charge for visiting the Fort Braden Trails. An annual pass good for all state forest lands is available through the Division of Forestry; this costs $30.00 and covers the driver of a vehicle and up to seven passengers. This could be your best deal if you're going to make several visits to the Fort Braden Trails. After you're first visit I'm willing to bet you'll want to make many more.


Links:

• Fort Braden Trails (Central Loop)
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/03/fort-braden-trails-central-loop.html


• Fort Braden Trails (East Loop)
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/06/fort-braden-trails-east-loop.html
  
  
• More photos of the West Loop
  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2601547&id=5215641&l=c479ee7948


• Florida Trailwalker Program
  http://www.fl-dof.com/forest_recreation/trailwalker_index.html


• Lake Talquin State Forest
  http://www.fl-dof.com/state_forests/lake_talquin.html
  

Ellaville Loop, Twin Rivers State Forest

One of my favorite walks in north Florida is the Ellaville loop in the Twin Rivers State Forest. It's not an obscure trail--it's a listed trail in the Florida Division of Forestry's Trailwalker program, and a good bit of the loop is actually part of the Florida Trail. But I've never been there when I had to share the five-mile loop with more than a couple of other groups of hikers, the scenery never disappoints, and there are no strenuous climbs or descents.

The trail head is at the end of a dirt road south of US 90 just west of the Suwannee River. Parking is under some serious-looking power lines. Most often I've done the loop clockwise; to do this you'll toward the river on a small road. At the river, you'll pick up the orange blazes of the Florida Trail. Follow these downstream. You'll soon pass under the serious-looking power lines for the second time; you'll see different sets of these eight times during the loop. You should also be able to see the source of the power lines on the far bank of the Suwanee--Progress Energy's Suwannee River Power Plant. Depending on the water level, you should also soon be able to see and hear some "rapids" as the Suwannee passes over some limerock shoals. At times the river level has been low enough that the Suwannee is nothing but rapids flowing over shoals. I suspect that at other times the river is deep enough that the shoals aren't evident, but the trail might be underwater then. As you head southerly on the trail there are nothing but great views of the Suwannee.

Shortly after you pass under power lines for the fifth time, you'll come to Interstate 10 and the southernmost portion of the loop. The intersection is clearly marked, but make sure that you follow the blue blazes of the trailwalker trail to the north rather than continuing east along the orange-blazed Florida Trail. Most of the northbound trek is along dirt roads through wooded areas. You don't get the views of the river that you do on the journey south, but I have never failed to see groups of feral pigs on this part of the loop. There are also several places where you can see the remains of old farming enclosures back in the trees--shabby wire-and-sheet-metal structures of indeterminate use. Count three sets of power lines on your walk north; the fourth will be the trail head and the end of the loop.