Syrup and Spirits

Posted Nov 26, 2006 by Mike DeWitt

Updated Nov 26, 2006 at 06:06 PM

Evenin’ Hikers,

Man, I don’t even know where to start!

Do I start where I tell you that I’m writing this from the kitchen of a 160 year-old cabin in Blountstown, Florida?  And that there’s a coffin in my circa 1846 bedroom?

Do I start from where I was filling my plate with black-eyed peas, fried cornbread and collard greens – all nestled around some smoked sausage and washed down with home-made sweet tea… seriously….while a bluegrass jam session involving at least eight varieties of stringed instruments tore it up right next to me on the porch?

Or do I start with learning about and participating in the creation of one of Florida’s most delectable contributions to civilization as I hope you know it – the languid amber sweetness of 100%, no additives, no preservatives, as sweet as true love sugar cane syrup.

I’m gonna need a bit of time to sort it all out.  It’s all too crazy-good to write about coherently after the day we’ve had on this trail, isn’t it?

Let’s go to bed… or coffin.  I did mention the coffin, didn’t I?  Did I mention the urn in the room that I was warned to not even think about, so hard was the life of its long-dead inhabitant.  And the pictures on the walls, all of very grim-looking people who may or not be occupying the room, depending on your belief in ghosts?

This trip just gets cooler and cooler, doesn’t it?  Ooooo, wait a minute! What was that chill that just passed through the room….even more coolness, that’s what.  I’ll fill you in on the details in the morning, OK?

And cheers from the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement along the Florida Trail! Mike

PS - If you guys don’t hear from me again, don’t worry… I’ll be lurking for you*….

* Thanks for the memories, Dr. Paul Bearer, WTOG Channel 44 “Creature Feature”

Good night.

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Make Pet Lovers’ Holidays Merry

Posted Nov 25, 2006 by Kristen Levine

Updated Nov 25, 2006 at 11:14 AM

Here are a few gift ideas for the pet lover in your life:

Books
Pet lovers will enjoy reading a book while sharing a cozy chair with their pet. Dozens of new books about pets are available. Here are a few of my favorites:

“Shelter Dogs” (Merrell Publishers, 2006). While volunteering at animal shelters, photographer Trader Scott was asked to take photos of the dogs she was working with for records and Internet adoption sites. The hardcover, 96-page book features 50 dogs, their souls and spirits revealed through Scott’s images.

The author includes notes explaining how each dog came to the shelter and where the dog ended up.

“Shelter Dogs” makes a great coffee table book and is available at the ASPCA Online Store for $19.95 plus shipping at http://www.aspca.org. Proceeds benefit the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet? - 101 of the Most Perplexing Questions Answered About Feline Unfathomables, Medical Mysteries and Befuddling Behaviors,” by Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori (paperback, Health Communications Inc., 2006).

How well do you know your cat? After reading this book, you’ll understand why your cat kneads against you, the best way to hold your cat and how kitty can leap onto a countertop without so much as a running start.

The book also answers curious questions such as, “Why do cats’ eyes glow in the dark?” and “Why does catnip make kitties so silly?”

Becker is the resident veterinarian on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The book lists for $12.95 and is available at major bookstores and online. (For dog lovers,“Why Do Dogs Drink From the Toilet” is also written by Becker and Spadafori.)

“Mostly Bob,” by Tom Corwin (New World Press, 2006). Written with humor and love, “Mostly Bob” tells the amazing story of a ferocious, distrustful dog named Bob who changed his own destiny.

After suffering eight years of neglect, Bob doggedly worked his plan to adopt Corwin as his new owner. “Mostly Bob” is the touching tale of how both of their lives were changed through the relationship.

This small hardcover is a quick read at $12.95. It’s available online at http://www.barnesand noble.com and http://www.borders .com, or visit Bay area bookstores.

Practical Gifts
Hidden Litter Box, from Pet’s Best Products. Finally, a litter box you don’t have to hide! The decorative, claylike pot accommodates a plant, while the inside of the planter hides a litter box.

A patented design and filter control dust and odor. Various models, colors and finishes are available to fit your decor. The large-capacity pot is great for big cats or multicat households. An attractive artificial plant is included; just add litter.

Prices for pot and plant range from $98.95 to $198.95. The Accessory Liner Pan is $28.95. Shipping charges apply. Order at http://www.petsbest products.com.

Dog breed luggage tags. Distinguish your luggage from others’ with a luggage tag that resembles your favorite breed. The tags are durable, easy to see and have a tough, clear strap with a chrome buckle. They come in 31 breeds and sell for $5.95 each plus shipping from the ASPCA Online Store. Sales benefit the ASPCA.

Gifts That Give Back To Pets
Memorials: Consider a gift that memorializes or honors the recipient’s beloved pet. Check with your local shelters to find out what kind of programs they have available to honor the memory of your pet, while benefiting the shelter. http://www.TBO.com, keyword pets, for a comprehensive listing of animal shelters in the Bay area.

2007 calendars: These are a great practical gift that can benefit animals all year long.

Golden Retriever Rescue of Mid-Florida is offering its 2007 full-color calendar for $12. Go to http://www.grrmf.org. Check with other rescue groups to see if they offer calendars for sale.

For Little Kids Who Love Pets
“Tails Are Not for Pulling,” by Elizabeth Verdick (boardbook). This delightful children’s book won a Companion Animals Award in 2005.

Using simple language and delightful illustrations, the book teaches kids how to pay attention to their pets’ body language and that teasing isn’t nice. “Tails Are Not for Pulling,” for ages 0 to 3, is available at the ASPCA Online Store for $7.95 plus shipping. Proceeds benefit the ASPCA.

Barbie Hug & Heal Pet Doctor: Barbie may have a tiny waistline, but apparently she has a big heart, too! If only I had had this toy when I was a kid. Instead of dressing up Barbie and her friends, I could have been healing sick pets.

Give the little girl in your life the best Barbie has to offer: the Hug & Heal Pet Doctor kit for girls 3 and older. The toy retails for about $19.99 and can be found at Wal-Mart and Target locations.

Love & Licks Puppy: Kids begging for a puppy yet? Get all the love and affection you love from puppies without ever having to pick up any mess with the Amazing Pets Love-N-Lick Puppy.

The puppy (Jack Russell terrier or cocker spaniel model) responds to your love and care by wagging its tail and by barking and kicking its hind leg when you pet it. It will even give you a wet puppy kiss!

The toy is appropriate for kids 4 and older; $26.88 at Wal-Mart and Target.

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And among them there lives a poet

Posted Nov 24, 2006 by Mike DeWitt

Updated Nov 26, 2006 at 06:01 PM

Happy Thanksgiving, Hikers!

The turkey and ham came through the door in yard-long aluminum pans and their much-anticipated arrival instantly put the finishing touches on the mouth-watering Thanksgiving aroma that had been wafting through the Midget lounge since the first pot-luck sides began to land upon the banquet table.

That delicious dinner, enjoyed in heaping hiker platefuls in the company of 50 good people, is one that I’ll remember always.

Until the dinner bell sounded, I’d spent the day with my gear spread out on my poncho.  Thanksgiving Day brought with it the first warm and sunny day in weeks, and I happily took advantage of it to inspect and maintain the contents of my pack and, just as importantly, the feet that carry it down the trail.

I hope your Thanksgiving Day was just as good.

But hikers, Thanksgiving is not the theme of today’s blog. No, this turns on my time with John “Happy” Fenn.  I referred to him in my most recent post as the man who once worked as Mick Jagger’s bodyguard. 

He wanted to share his story with me, and invited me into his home for the night.  “You need to write a book about me,” he boomed. “I’ll tell you some stories you won’t believe.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. And I look forward to writing that book.

Gruff and hard-edged, Fenn is an unlikely poet, but a poet he is. One of the best I’ve ever read.  His words are tightly-issued in ball point pen on lined, dog-eared paper.  They are his tears and his blood rendered with unflinching honesty into gritty, rhythmic verse. 

A lifelong musician, Fenn has put a few of is poems to music.  The gentle notes of his six-string cannot mask the pain of a life that has left Vietnam, his wives, his health and his fortunes in its two-fisted wake.  He accepts my praise with an uncharacteristically shy shrug and a beer.

 

He unfolds his 6-foot 4 inch frame and heads for the kitchen to make us a steak sandwich on toast piled high with grilled onions and mushrooms.  An unapologetic Yankee from Branford, Connecticut, he doesn’t just make sandwiches, he crafts them. He makes three, including one for his dog, Bear.  The three of us eat together.  I am a firm believer that you call tell much about a man by how he treats his dog.  ‘Nuff said.

Tomorrow I head for Blountstown, but I now know that I will return to this place, which Fenn calls “a paradise for underachievers.”  That leaves nothing else to write but..

Cheers, from the Florida Trail, Mike

 

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Black Friday’s Lunch

Posted Nov 24, 2006 by Janine Dorsey

Updated Nov 24, 2006 at 01:25 PM

There were no crowds at Publix today. Usually that location is slammed at lunchtime.  Not on the High Holy Day Of Leftovers, though.

And not, apparently, when people are swarming the malls.

Sweet.

In addition to my yum turkey cobb salad and watermelon, I also grabbed a few items for preparing my family a belated Thanksgiving meal later tonight.

Nothing fancy, just a slightly higher level of meal preparation than my normal routine. That is to say, I wll actually be cooking.

One of the desserts offered will be “Dump Cake.”  It’s a can of cherry pie filling, a can of crushed pineapple, yellow cake mix and butter layered in a baking pan. You can’t get any more low tech or delicious than that!

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Econfina falls and the Fountaineers

Posted Nov 22, 2006 by Mike DeWitt

Updated Nov 27, 2006 at 11:14 AM

See Econfina Waterfall video

Keepin’ warm, hikers?

I unzipped my tent this morning and for the first time in three days a sheet of ice didn’t drop into the spacious vestibule of Big Agnes.  I popped out of the other side of Econfina yesterday afternoon.  What a place!!!

It has been said that the Econfina section is the beautiful part of the Florida Trail.  After three days of living within its lush confines I can understand that point of view as clearly as Econfina Creek’s spring-uttered waters.

It was on the chilly side.  Highs in the mid-50’s lows in the low, low, low 30’s.  The real crowd-pleaser was the wind.  Before it showed up I had the brilliant notion of taking the blue-blazed trail (leads to water) that showed a sweet campsite situated on a strip between Rattlesnake Lake and a sink-like smaller lake.  Wouldn’t you know that I’d chosen the windiest, coldest and – certainly – the most beautiful campsite on the trail?  I admit to a late start the next morning.  It took three cups of coffee to fully and properly thaw my enthusiasm.

I had a chance to re-flag a part of the trail as well.  As I headed toward Devil’s Hole, the trail emptied out onto a huge opening of clear-cut.  Clear cut is what is left after the timber industry harvests the timber.  All they left behind was a few spindly trees and the Florida Trail signpost.  There was no sign of trail beyond it.  This is why it pays to buy the Florida Trail’s maps and why it pays great dividends to know your way around a compass.

The map indicated the trail led east so that’s where I headed, flagging my route with orange tape I appropriated from my Nokuse expedition with the Trail Hogs.  I used it up on my way across.  Bob and Tom, there’s one blaze-able tree on the way through the wasteland. FYI

The GPS cords are –
West side –  N 30 27.564   W 085 33.021
East side –  N 30 27.508   W 085 33.170

I reached Devil’s Hole camp around mid afternoon, which means an hour before dark.  It is here that a prodigious spring boils from the limestone bottom of the Econfina, The volume of the creek appears to double as a result of its contribution, a feature that makes Devil’s Hole a favorite swimming hole among those in the know.  Like you.

The trail becomes Appalachian Trail-like once Devil’s Hole is in the rear-view.  Small, spring-fed creeks abound – one reason the Northwest Florida Water Management District has claimed these lands as a protected watershed.  Nice job, ya’ll. 

There are so many bridges in this section that I could almost write a coffee table book called the “Bridges of Econfina Creek.”  From single-logs crossings to high-wire suspension acts, this place has them all.  What a blast!

The main attraction of Econfina is Florida’s only true waterfall.  I’ll post pictures of it and this beautiful section later today.  It lies surrounded by old-growth magnolia and oak.  It’s no tourist attraction by along shot.  No observation platform, no bench from which to contemplate nature’s miracles, nope, none of that.  Here you’ll find a steep, leaf-covered bank that prompted me to tie off my pack during the photo shoot to keep it from tumbling into the chilly flow of the Econfina.  I tried to shoot some video for you, and by crackety, I think I may have had some success, there.  I’ll leave it to brilliant technical capabilities of tbo.com to be the final judge of my decidedly amateur effort at film making.

A little over a mile later – I keep time by way of distance – an interesting development that I like.  It’s cool, isn’t it?  Yeah.

So that brings me to today.  Blogworthy all by itself, it is.  I awakened on private property about a mile north of the Scotts Road trailhead – the sad northern terminus of the Econfina section.  This forlorn trailhead gives absolutely no proper indication of the breathtaking wilderness that lays only a ten minute walk down a scrub-lined sandy trail.  Maybe that’s good.  The jury is still out on that.

Anyhow, I got at zero dark thirty to make sure I was un-trespassed before the locals found me out.  No coffee, no oatmeal – just the seabag-drag ASAP.  Light was breaking over the trees when I began my lonely 20-mile roadwalk to Blountstown. Bummer, huh?

NO WAY!  I’d gone about three miles and change when I stumbled upon Midget’s Lounge.  Yup, and it was open, ya’ll.  No kidding.  They were cleaning up and invited me inside for a cup of coffee.  Can you believe it?  Hot strong coffee made by new friend Dave Padelt, who cleans up after the night crowd.  Good stuff.

Well, let’s just say that they get started early around Betts, FL.  Just down the road a piece from Fountain, Fl. These “Fountaineers” –their term, not mine - are some good people and Midget’s Lounge is their headquarters.  Owned by Aretha Brooks and manned – or more precisely womanned – by her sister, Penny.  her husband, Big Al, a veteran of the Vietnam War will take over for her tonight.  Depending on the date and time of your arrival you might meet Ebony or Donna, two beauties who woman the counter from time to time.

Okay- can you stand another trail angel story?  Or have you quit believing in angels?  Prepare to have your faith restored…again.

They offered me their electric power, several graciously declined beers –jeez, it’s only 9am! – and a delicious chicken and rice lunch - oh man…cooked up by Aretha herself.  Too dadgum good, ya’ll. 

And that’s where I am right now.  Sitting nearest the plug at the end of the bar, writing you a tale of America at its best.  These are hard working, hard partying people who are exactly what you see.  They fuss at each other, drink with each other and look after each other.  Midget’s has a couple of pool tables, Ray Charles on the jukebox and a pot-luck Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow - don’t forget that it’s Karaoke Night , ya’ll.

There’s Ron Padgett, the retired Air Force guy who just might buy a computer.  There’s Denise, a sweet woman who can dish it out with the best of ‘em.  There are at least three Mikes – all of them cool.  And then there’s John, a big, strapping, booming-voiced vet who was a body guard for Mick Jagger.  Believe it, it’s true. And then their Howard, a jovial sort and a descendant from one of the area’s first families to settle in these parts.

So, coming to you live from Midget’s Lounge, an oasis of hospitality located at the intersection of CR 167 and US 231 and home of the Fountaineers ….

Cheers, and yes, I mean cheers,  from the Florida Trail.

PS Hey Scout leader that I saw on the trail but you didn’t see me because you were too busy screaming at the kids.  Quit overloading your kids and quit yelling at them if you want them to enjoy backpacking.  They’re Boy Scouts, not grunts, you cement-headed wanna-be.  (Expletives deleted grudgingly by the author)

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