Arrival
A Whole New World
We have never been here, didn't even know it existed, but my brother Bruce turned us on to AllTrails so here we are. Pulling into the parking lot, we both realize that in front of us is a whole new world to explore right in our backyard.
The first thing we see is a large body of water filled with people fishing, boating and wading. Stephanie says "We have to bring Frank here!"
A Tiny Friend
We are both excited and ready to get started, but before we hit the actual trail, I see this beautiful butterfly getting his feast on. He stayed on this flower for a while, giving me a chance to get some really great shots. He couldn't get enough of this little bush and I couldn't get enough pics.
Trail Head
The trail starts here. Just a dusty path into adventure...
Historic Timber Remains
Our first look at what the trail has to offer, and our curiosity is piqued. What else will we see? Will most of the sights be natural or man-made? We are so damn excited in this moment!
Trail Map
We get a good look at what we have in store for us! We had originally planned on just doing the Purple Loop, but as we look at this map and see that the red loop runs out to the beach, I start thinking This might end up being a longer hike than planned...
The trail stretches out in front of us; an infinite hallway of forest green. I can feel Stephanie's excitement in sync with mine. We can't wait!
Into the Forest
Into the Forest We Go
As we step out onto the trail, we are greeted by beautiful trees and green everywhere.
Broken Webs and Trees!
As I'm looking at the spider web, Stephanie studies a large broken tree. She loves how there is an actual trail, but also how the wild and tangled forest is just steps away!
We go into these hikes with intention. Intention to look around, to observe, to capture... the environment, the memories, the beautiful, the odd, the common, and the extraordinary. On another day these would just be sights barely noticed, but here in this mood and environment, they are sights to be recorded and catalogued.
The Paths Taken
On this trail, the path is straightforward, there aren't many choices that we need to make now (there will be later), we are happy to be swept along down the paths laid out in front of us.
A foreshadowing of Driftwood to come
We both love these trees, color leached from them, branches twisted and gnarled. Old bones of ancient forest guardians. These are great first sightings, and we both hope to see more.
Beauty and Majesty
We are surrounded by beauty and giants. Stephanie stands beside one such giant, and I'm reminded both of her beauty in this place, but also of our insignificance against the magnitude and majesty of these aged trees!
A Fine Vine
As a boy, I loved the Tarzan movies. The forest is thick with vines, and this one brings me back to those days. I'll spend the rest of the trip trying to find one to climb or swing on.
More Trees Please!
We are surrounded by trees. Plain old trees. They are gorgeous. We laugh about this often. The irony isn't missed by us, trees aren't a rare sight, but we never just look at them, enjoy them, actually breathe them in... until now!
Strange Plated Bark
Speaking of trees, Stephanie wants to get a closer look at the bark on this tree. It reminds her of armored plates and we have a discussion about the many different types of bark on the various trees around us here and in our everyday lives.
Deep Green
Moss-Draped Corridors
We keep moving deeper and the trail starts to feel softer and quieter, with Spanish moss hanging over us like curtains.
Stephanie Takes Point
This picture resonates deeply with me. It's like the cover of a book, the first scene of our hero's journey, as they look upon the path with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Before I can find out if I can run up that tree like a ramp, Stephanie grabs my hand. Side by side, hand in hand, our excitement wins and pulls us further into the forest.
The Forest Ceiling
I run daily, and Stephanie and I also walk every evening. During those times, we spend most of our time heads down moving forward with purpose, but here it's different. We are looking up and around, heads on a swivel so they say, breathing it all in.
Every time I look up here, the canopy feels thicker and more alive, like the whole trail has folded in around us.
Under the Hanging Moss
I have to stop for a photo here. The moss and light make the whole place feel ancient and powerful. I'm not superstitious per se, but I feel like there is power and secrets to be learned from nature in general and this forest and these trees specifically.
Peek-a-boo, I see you!
I take every chance I can to make Stephanie laugh or smile, so I try to take a quick candid shot from behind a tree and through the moss.
It didn't come out great, but I believe it captured the mood if not the details. Stephanie looks perfectly at home out there, framed by branches, shade, and the filtered afternoon light.
Beauty Off the Trail
Even the spaces just beyond the path feel worth studying, tangled and wild in a way that makes the whole preserve feel untouched.
The Trail Keeps Calling
The path opens up again, inviting us to keep going just a little farther, a little deeper into the mystery and the depth. Stephanie, the curious, fun-loving part of her, has come to play and she is all smiles and excitement.
WTF
It isn't all beauty and nature, we find some human touches here too. We stumble across a violated stump with this weird stick protruding from a hole in its base. We get a good laugh at someone's playful joke and leave it as is!
Under the Canopy
Blanketed by moss, staring out at my beautiful wife, I can't be happier or more at peace.
The Trail Opens Up Again
After the tighter pockets of trees and brush, the path opens back up and feels inviting again, like it is pulling us onward.
Spiders and Lizards, oh my!
Every few steps, the forest gives us something new to notice. Here we see a spider web and a lizard in close proximity. We don't stay long enough to watch their dynamic, but we do realize the trail feels even more alive around us and little scenes like this are happening all over these woods.
Twisted Beauty
These bent trunks and tangled branches feel almost too strange to be natural. The forest keeps making shapes that stop us in our tracks.
The Sky Through the Moss
We keep looking up. The Spanish moss sways above us, and the blue sky peeking through makes the whole canopy feel bigger, brighter, and almost endless.
Forest Oddities
This trail keeps showing off. A knot in a branch, a scarred trunk, a shape that looks almost too deliberate to be natural. It feels like the woods keep slipping in jokes or requests for aid to anyone paying attention.
Palmettos and (more) Hanging Moss
We slow down here and just take it in. Palmettos below, curtains of moss above, and that soft green light all around us make this stretch feel close and comforting.
The Decision
Purple's Demise and Red's Rise
We thought about it earlier, but now the decision is a no-brainer. Stephanie agrees. She points to the point, well, that's what she did, at the end of red and says "This might be the beach." No more discussion needed. We transition to red.
The Halfway Point
We reach the halfway point, but it doesn’t feel like the middle of anything. It feels like the trail is just getting started, opening wider and showing us more with every turn.
The Bones of the Forest
Then we look up and see this dead giant stretching into the sky. Stripped down and jagged, it feels like the skeleton of the forest, stark and beautiful all at once. I think this is one of our favorite views.
Red Loop Wonders
Arnie the Armadillo
We stumble upon this guy, just off the trail five or so feet away. Not real concerned with our presence, he goes about his business, using his small snout to lift up leaves to find tasty little treats.
Stephanie is so excited. It's the first armadillo she has ever seen, live and alive. I love it. For her, I try so hard to get a pic of his face, but he's way too shy. I cautiously circle around him, but no joy; it's like an odd little dance. As I circle, he circles away as if to say "No portrait today, sir." Touché! The closest I can get is the last picture in this group.
Beneath the Branches
The trail narrows again under twisting branches and filtered light. It feels like we are being folded back into the woods for one more quiet stretch.
Tiny Forest Kitchens
Normally I would notice none of this... but this is why we are here. In this place, the fallen wood is busy making new life. Little shelf mushrooms pop out of the trunk like the forest is quietly cooking up something of its own.
Signs of Water Ahead
Our hopes are high. Our curiosity higher. A monolithic trunk bodes great things to come. I find the first small shells we've seen and the trees begin to open just enough to hint that the water is waiting for us up ahead.
Beach Reward
Beach at Last
We've been anticipating it. Imagining it. And then there it is. After all the woods, turns, and wondering, the water finally opens up in front of us and the whole trail feels like it has been leading here all along. Just amazing. Beautiful. Exciting. Better even than we imagined.
Alone on the Beach!
The choice to leave Purple and trek down Red has paid off better than we can imagine. This decision added three miles to our hike but the beauty and the smiles were worth every step.
Driftwood and Sunlight
The beach is wild in its own way too, full of bleached branches, twisted limbs, and bright sun. It feels less like an ending and more like the trail has changed shape again. We realize, in order to capture our own footprint here, we need more pictures of ourselves. We grab a selfie in front of this wild skeletal tree and I find some more moss to hide in.
Over the Rainbow
The sand path, curving toward the horizon, reminds me of a rainbow that we need to follow to the end. No pot of gold was waiting for us, but the memories found and made are infinitely more valuable.
Dolphin Sighting!
This is probably Stephanie's favorite part. As we approach the end of the point from the woods, we pass a couple returning from the opposite direction on bicycles. Yes, most people probably bike this part. As they pass, the woman says, "I hope you get to see the dolphins when you make it to the end!" This both excites me and worries me. On one hand, dolphins were there. On the other hand, we are now expecting them to be there. I'm thinking that if the dolphins aren't there, Stephanie and I will be disappointed.
Not to worry. Karma smiles upon us. This way lies dolphins!
Weathered on the Edge
Even here, at the very edge of the water, the trees keep holding on. Twisted, weathered, and sun-bleached, they belong to this shoreline just as much as the sand and shells.
Beauty gazing upon Beauty
Enough said here.
Treasures Washed Ashore
Now that we finally make it to the beach, I stop looking only at the big view and start noticing the smaller things too. Shells, driftwood, mangroves, and all the little pieces the water leaves behind make this place feel even more alive.
Turning Back
Peace out, Beach!
Reluctantly we decide to turn back towards the forest, thinking we've seen the best this trail has to offer. Have we, though?
The Path Back
The path back is no less beautiful and to our joy, no less surprising because, well, you'll see...
Another Place to Pause
On the way back, to our joy and surprise, the trail keeps offering little invitations to stop. A twisted tree, a quiet bench, a patch of shade. It feels like the path is in no hurry to let us go.
The Forest Tells Its Secrets
The small details matter to us here. Even the broken trunks and strange little stumps catch my eye. The woods keep hiding odd shapes and quiet details everywhere we look, like there is always one more thing waiting to be noticed.
Life, Death, and the Tide
At the water’s edge, life and death sit right beside each other. A nest hangs above us in the branches, a dead trunk rises out of the shoreline, and the tide keeps moving through it all like none of it is separate.
Ducking Off the Path
Now the water is on our left, to be seen through a small line of trees and even though we have already seen the water, we step off the beaten path to see if we are missing anything else.
The Trail Isn't Done With Us Yet
Just when it feels like we are winding down, the trail gives us more to look at. A last stretch of shoreline, a strangely beautiful cactus on the ground, and a light and shadow dappled corridor through the trees.
Maybe my Favorite
Crisp. Bright. Majestic.
The Edge of the Woods
Here the forest doesn’t really end. It just thins out enough to let the water in.
King of the Forest
Not me sitting on the throne-like trunk... but this regal tree surviving and thriving despite its age and the environment around it.
You can't see this, and we don't take a pic for their privacy, but down to my left a couple have dug a small pit and fashioned a makeshift grill in the sand. They are preparing lunch. Wish we could stay for a bite.
Final Stretch
One Last Archway
Even this late in the walk, the trail still finds a way to surprise us. The bent branch hanging over the path feels like one last little gateway, as if the forest is seeing us out.
The Woods Say Goodbye Too
As the path winds on, the moss hangs low and the light softens again. It feels like the forest is giving us one last beautiful goodbye before the day is done.
The Holy Tree...Holey?
Yeah. You get it!
The Clearing and the Pond
A little off the beaten path, we find a clearing and a small but very STINKY pond. This is Stephanie looking at me as I say "This pond stinks!"
The Wandering Way Home
Even on the way back, the trail refuses to feel ordinary. Bent branches, a broken trunk reminiscent of a kid's slingshot, and sunlight on the path make the return feel like its own little journey.
One More Beautiful Stretch
Just when it feels like we should be winding down, the woods open up into another stretch worth slowing down for. The path keeps finding ways to stay beautiful.
Reaching for the Sky
This tree stands above everything around it, tall and unbothered, like it has been watching over this place long before we ever arrived. Maybe it is observing our trek through the woods it's bound to protect. I like the thought.
Our Old Friend Arnie or a New Sighting?
This little guy scares us pretty good. We almost walk over him and he scampers away. He is pretty far from where we saw Arnie and a little more nervous. We aren't sure if this is our old friend or not.
Stephanie's Dead Body Theory
Stephanie loves a good mystery. She brings that with her everywhere she goes. We pass this oddly darkened patch of leaves and earth. Her wheels are spinning.
Stephanie says, "Look at that soil and the way it is disturbed. There might be a dead body there."
I laugh. "Might be."
This girl. She's always on the lookout for dead bodies.
The Lonely Bridge over Nothing
This little boardwalk makes us laugh. It looks important, almost ceremonial, and then it goes almost nowhere. Still, there is something charming about it, like even the trail wants a place to pause and look around.
Birds and Nerds!
In the distance, there is a small pond with several small birds bathing and playing. We grab a quick pic, smiling because we see some damn birds in a pond. Yeah, we are the nerds.
One Look Back
We can't help but take one last look back at the path we just took. It seems more like a dream than a memory.
Our Happy Ending
This was our longest hike yet. Over 7.5 miles. Almost 4 hours.
An adventure filled with lush vegetation, small creatures, a section of isolated beach, and much more. We both know that enjoying these trails together brings us closer to each other, our inner selves, and nature, which we are coming to appreciate more and more.