For me, the Go Gathering at Vitambi Springs was controlled by the moon.  I found myself getting up at ridiculous hours of the morning/night and starting my day many hours before sunrise. It was the result of the bright moon lighting up the skies and the loud generators running all night in the orange groves surrounding Vitambi. For me, it was like trying to sleep when someone is cutting the grass. Since sleep was off the table, I figured I would take the opportunity to do some Moonlight Hiking. My goal for the weekend was visiting Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest and Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Management Area (WMA) so an early start just meant I would be further back in the middle of nowhere when the sun ultimately showed its face.

Okaloacoochee Slough is this brilliant stretch of the western everglade system that filters water off to the south west of Florida towards the Gulf of Mexico. You don’t actually see the water moving but you know it is. The State Forest is directly connected to the Okaloacoochee Slough, Spirit of the Wild and Dinner Island Ranch WMAs. The combination of these natural areas creates a fantastic refuge for nature that is greater than the sum of its parts. In summer you can count on wet feet as the trails tend to flood pretty heavy and easy but this time of year, you can get pretty deep into the slough before you reach the crystal clear waters and marshes that will suck the sneakers right off your feet. It is the largest state forest in Florida and I never see anybody in it. You can spend the day traveling the dirt roads and hiking the trails and never (or at least barely ever) run across another human being.

I started my day at about 6 am about 4 or 5 miles down Wild Cow Grade at the trail head of the Rooney Island Trail. Letting the moon light my way, I was deep into the trail by the time the sun rose. Just saying but few things can equal a solo moonlight hike when the only thing you hear is the wind and the crickets and the proverbial early birds getting a jump on the day. I followed up with a few miles on the Keri-Patterson Crossover and finally the Sic Island Loop. All in all, it was pretty quiet on the wildlife this trip but I did get to watch several large flocks of Tree Swallows crossing over the marshes as they hunted for insects. These flocks had thousands of birds and moved like the northern lights and it took my breath away when one of the flocks passed through me. That alone made the trip worthwhile!

Sunday, I packed my gear to the quiet moonlight and the noisy generators at about 3 am. By 5 am I was in Dinner Island Ranch WMA where I enjoyed a breakfast next to my truck before heading deep into the WMA. Ahhhh…. Quiet at last…. Sharing the land with cattle ranchers, this WMA has about 25 miles of dirt roads with “unimproved” roads splintering off from the main circle. Each of these roads provides glimpses into different aspects of the Florida Savannah verging on the marsh lands. It is a curious mix of wet and dry areas that are a paradise to raptors and waders alike. DIR also has strong populations of Eastern Meadowlarks, Bob Whites and Killdeer. I was a few miles deep into Road 11 when sunrise disappointed me. Just too many clouds and not enough sun. They all can’t be spectacular or none of them would be spectacular. At one point I had to let the daylight catch up with me as I had lost the trail in the dark. Some of the “God’s Light” of the late morning made up for the bland sunrise. I followed up with the Road 6 Loop and the Road 5 hike to the southern border of Okaloacoochee. Saw lots of Red Shouldered Hawks, Northern Harriers and Caracara. I ran into flocks of Wood Stork s, Ibis and Swallows.  By about noon, I felt the lack of sleep start to have its effect and decided to call it a weekend as I headed back to civilization. I could have headed back to Vitambi for another night in the fields but this boy needs more and more beauty sleep.

Many thanks to Carlos for arranging this event and to the staff and propriators of Vitambi Springs for graciously hosting our group. I have attached a bunch of pictures from my travels this weekend. I hope you enjoy them.