Myakka River State Park
Florida
February 2002
Reminds me of the time I was backpacking in the Myakka River State Park on the Gulf coast of Florida. Florida, as you may know, is flat. The swamps where we hiked were nothing like the rolling forests of the northeast or the mountainous hikes we have done in New England or out in the West. When I say this area was flat, it was flatter than a flitter. Drainage was something you might read about in a geology textbook. Our flat trails were waterlogged; there was no drainage, no good reason for the water to be anywhere else.
Upon leaving, my hiking partner mentioned to the ranger that the footpaths were flooded and there was no dry land to walk upon. Without looking up from his clipboard, the ranger sardonically replied, “Those are canoe trails, ma’am.”