Lake Okeechobee North

Five Gay Outdoor-ers ( John (me), Rene, Derek, Jeff and GOD newbie but Florida native Marcus) came out for an early October stroll on the dikes of Lake Okeechobee. Temps were in the 80’s but up on the dike were steady breezes. Sunny skies and no bugs. Yours truly made a miscalculation while setting up the shuttle cars & headed west instead of east as originally planned. But it all ended up for a more scenic and slightly longer hike. We even saw a colony of wasps busily preparing their nest on a post at one of the rest "huts". Turns out the original plan would have not had as many open vistas. Lake Okeechobee remains beautiful, functional as well as controversial. Beautiful as an “inland ocean”. Functional as a waterway when coupled with canals allows navigating small boats across the central part of the state between the Gulf of Mexico & the Atlantic ocean. Controversial in that water releases by the Army Corps of Engineers east & west to reduce water levels cause toxic blue-green algae blooms that decimate coastal recreation areas. This year those discharges are being exacerbated by the unrelated but just as toxic “red tide” algae. None of this toxicity affected us where we were. So while these beautiful areas exist we can enjoy for the afternoon & become aware of our fragile natural surroundings.

100 miles north of Ft. Lauderdale is the northern tip of Lake Okeechobee. This short 3 mile stroll will be from the town of Okeechobee to Taylor Creek. If we have enough people & cars we can setup a one way shuttle hike. See this ‘small ocean’ in the center of the State that is Lake Okeechobee – at most points less than 15 ft. deep. Built to manage water runoff, it is surrounded by an elevated dike with a hard packed gravel or paved road which doubles as the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST). This is one of the few areas of the dike that is not under construction or has the view of the lake blocked by small islands on the perimeter. Beautiful vistas. Easy stroll. Beginning of the cooler South Florida “in-season”. Bring water, snacks, hat, sunglasses, comfortable walking shoes & thick socks, sunscreen & insect repellent. SORRY! NO PETS! (They will chase or bark at the wildlife which defeats the purpose of getting away). We can agree to stop somewhere on the way back for lunch.