[ft-l] Nearly run over on the trail

[Deb" <dblick@cfl.rr.com (Deb)]

Thats not exactly right about Tosohatchee. FTA wanted the
through trail portion of the Florida Trail to be painted
orange so the thru-hikers won't be confused.  DEP approved
orange blazing for the Florida Trail as a hiking-only trail,
but the local ranger in Tosohatchee has consistantly refused
to go along with his agencie's policies.  So HE permits
permits bicycles and horses on the trail. After many years
of wrangling with him about it FTA has given up and will
have to wait out his tenure as head ranger there, since he
is supportive of FTA in many other ways.  So it's not the
fault of the users in Tosohatchee - there is a big sign at
the entrance giving the colors of the trails and orange is
posted as multi-use.

As for Bull Creek, it is a WMA and hunting is allowed.  The
hunting regulations state "A marked footpath called the
Florida Trail traverses the area.  This trail is open to
hikers throughout the year." and shows it on the map.  The
hunting regs also state camping is permitted throughouyt the
year at designated campsites on the Florida National Scenic
Trail provided that access to area is via the trail."

This is language we are trying to get into all WMA's that
the Florida Trail passes through.

Deb


> Unless things have changed recently, bike riding
> is allowed on the Florida Trail section in
> Tosohatchee and so is horse back riding. Only
> the white blazed trails are restricted to hiking only.
> The land owners or managers are usually the ones
> that have the final say as to who can use the trail.
> Not FTA. In Tosohatchee's case, they wanted
> Florida Trail to be a multi-use trail.
> Bull Creek is a wildlife management area so
> I would expect there would be a lot of hunters
> utilizing the trails out there.
>
> The Boonie Man