Trip report
Riverbend Trail Hike
Hiking/Walk DATE: 12/13/2014 - 12/13/2014
Trip/Event Location: Jupiter, FL
US
Trip Leader(s): JPHiker
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Easy
We will be hiking the Riverbend Trail Loop, around a good portion of Riverbend Park. This is a fairly flat trail, easily graded with a combination of shell rock, grass, and asphalt. The
...We will meet at 11:00 a.m. at the picnic tables under the chickee canopy by the Park Office.
DIRECTIONS: From I-95 take exit 87 at Indiantown Road (706) and go west approximately 1.6 miles to the park entrance on the south side of the road. The entrance sign is sometimes difficult to see from the road, so be alert. Enter the park and head for the parking area by the Park Office and Kayak/Bicycle rental office. Walk on over to the chickee canopy. There is a concession trailer with very litte to offer in the way of food or refreshments, so bring all the water and food you will need with you from home.
Trip Report/Photos
Three GayOutdoor members (Jeff, Matthew, and Carlos) met at the start of the Riverbend Trail in Jupiter, FL, in what could only be described as perfect hiking weather: high 60's with not a cloud in the sky. After waiting for two other members who no-showed, the intrepid hikers went on through what at first seemed to be a pristine Florida pine forest. However, side trails to a recreated settler homestead, and later to a restored Seminole village showed us that this site has had a long history of human occupation. Occasionally, in the midst of the saw palmettos and scrub pines, one encountered the occasional citrus tree, leftover from the original farmsteads. Most impressively, we also encountered a sawmill that has been fully restored and made operational. Jeff found out from a Park staffer that originally the sawmill was operated by horsepower (the four-legged kind), but for modern convenience it is now powered by a diesel generator. The sawed wood is currently used by the park for restorations, which in this area included a couple of out-houses (not operational), chicken coops, and a wild boar pen...at least that's what Matt thought it was.
The Seminole village was restored to its original configuration, with no modern give-aways. Three chickee huts faced into a small bay with a narrow channel opening into a lake where we saw herons, egrets, and ibises. A huge trunk, partially hollowed out in the old burn-and-scrape method, lay near them, showing us how the Seminoles made their dugout canoes in a time honored way. The village was entirely surrounded by the forest, which obviously kept it hidden and protected. The need for this protection became obvious to us later in the hike, as on the final half-mile we walked by the site of a famous battle between the Seminoles and the U.S. Army in 1838. Known as the Loxahatchee River Battle, it took place on two separate days in January of 1838. The first of the two battles was won by the Seminoles, as they nearly wiped out the entire U.S. troop. A couple of days later 1,500 U.S. troops returned, and met stiff resistance from 300 Seminoles, who sensing defeat retreated into the safety of the Everglades, never to surrender.
After the hike the three of us drove a couple of miles into Jupiter, and civilization, to have a great lunch at Applebee's. Interestingly, all three of us had been members of Chiltern Mountain Club in New England, back in the 80's and 90's.
- The Trip Has No Photos -
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