Gen. James A. Van Fleet State Trail

[lokheed]

The Van Fleet trail runs a total of 29.2 miles, with only one slight bend about five miles in.  Being a former rail line that makes perfect sense, as a freight train would appreciate having very long very straight rails through rural areas.  Speaking of rural, in that entire 29 mile length there are only two road crossings.  The heart of the trail runs through the Green Swamp, "the headwaters for some of Florida's most canoed rivers" according to the state park website.  It is very rural, very beautiful, and more than a little awe inspiring to look off to either side of the trail and see land literally unchanged by man.  I skated a portion of the trail this morning for the very first time, and I will most definitely be going back.  In the hour I spent skating I saw only three other humans, and two of them I would have missed if I hadn't skated just a little bit farther out than I had intended to (I passed my target distance and was just looking for the next bench to sit down on for a rest).  According to those two, they usually don't see anybody else on the trail even on holidays.

I saw plenty of birds, plus the standard variety of squirrels, rabbits, and other small woodland creatures.  I saw the evidence of the wild boars that live in the area (distinctive tusking marks in the soft ground on either side of the trail), but fortunately they are predominantly nocturnal.  I really wouldn't want to come face to face with a wild boar, I just don't think I can skate that fast.  I also saw a ten foot gator off in the swamp as I was going by, and he had no more interest seeing me close up than I him.

I did a total of ten miles this morning, and that pretty much wiped me out.  I have a wee bit of training to do yet before I am ready to tackle the entire length of the trail.  Still, at some point (perhaps in the fall) I would really love to have Kris drop me off at the Polk City trailhead in the morning and then meet me in the afternoon up in Mabel.  It's something to work towards, anyway.

Comments

[stannius.livejournal.com]

How strenuous is skating compared to say, walking, running, and biking?

[lokheed.livejournal.com]

More strenuous than walking, certainly. I would say less than running, in that it is a low impact excercise (presuming you don't fall down). Probably on par with biking. For me, I don't particularly enjoy running or biking. Skating, on the other hand, just appeals to me for some reason I can't really define. Part of it is the motion, part of it is the scenery which I appreciate more at skating cruising speed than at biking cruising speed. The way I figure it, I found something physical that I enjoy so I may as well go with it.