Story and photos by Christopher Boykin

I had forgotten it was deer hunting season as I stood at the head of the Fire Prairie Trail in Big Cypress National Preserve. A dozen trucks were parked near me, with their trailers emptied of off-road vehicles. Luckily I had my orange Columbia shirt to change into.

Needing some exercise and to reconnect with nature, I had left my home in North Miami and drove along the terrifically wild and dusty Turner River Road, which is a dirt corridor stretching from Tamiami Trail to I-75. I headed north from Tamiami and 20 minutes later reached this trailhead.

The trail, an old fire road, started between two ditches. I stepped forward.

Suddenly I was surrounded by ferns, palms and cypress trees, and walking through waist-high grass, hoping not to surprise any snakes.

A few minutes later the trail passed between several cypress domes and then gave way to a small shrubby hammock with more lovely ferns. After I passed through the hammock the trail completely opened up into prairie. Prairie to the left, prairie to the right, as far as I could see there was prairie, backed up against huge stands of ancient cypress in the distance. I felt like a tropical version of Laura Ingalls Wilder!

I’m not that fond of hiking fire roads or canal roads, but they both play a big role in South Florida hiking trails. I couldn’t complain, though: it was freakin’ gorgeous out here, with nothing but prairie and cypress and this nice dry road that afforded me dry feet and a fast pace.

Soon I saw a panther roaming across the prairie. Oh wait, that wasn’t a panther, it was a damn deer. Wait, three deer. They bounded and leaped across the prairie with their large fluffy white tails perfectly erect.

As I moved down the trail, jogging between photo breaks, I came across bobcat scat and passed wild flowers. I felt so free and was grateful for this fresh air, this 360-degree view of nature and this pathway to a quieter mind.

A mile later I startled two deer feeding between the trail and a cypress dome. They pranced into the cypress dome, white tails glaring, and I thought, How perfect! How wonderful!

The trail ended here so I turned around and jogged back.

Near the end of the trail, where the prairie gave way to the cypress, I saw two more deer. This duo didn’t run, but remained frozen with their huge ears tuned my way. I snapped a few images then jogged back to my car.

Just as I drove away from the trailhead, a bobcat darted into the bush. Or was it a panther kitten? It was darker than most bobcats I’ve seen and young panthers have those large dark spots on their coats. It was definitely a cat.

• • •

I drove along Turner River Road back to Tamiami Trail, which connects Tampa and Miami; in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, which is about an hour from here, it’s called Calle Ocho. Then I headed west 15 miles to Collier Seminole State Park. I had recently learned there was a 6.5-mile loop of the Florida Trail here, with a primitive campsite.

At the park a ranger gave me a map with directions to the trail. She also issued me the combination to the gate and advised me to lock it after I finished and to phone her when I was safely off the property. A brochure said that it’s not uncommon for hikers to see a bear or panther on this trail.

Within five minutes of starting my trek through the wilds of Collier Seminole State Park, I was literally stepping over huge piles of bear poop! It had to be bear due to the sheer volume, and it was full of berries, palm seeds and other bear food. Hooray for bear poop.

I quickly noticed how narrow and overgrown this trail was, meaning it was seldom visited. Then my fears kicked in. I remembered my friend who is a nurse at the ER in Naples and all the stories of victims bitten by pygmy rattlers, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes and the dreaded cottonmouth (aka water moccasin).

I worked myself into a frenetic fit and contemplated returning to the safety of my car. I thought, Why don’t I have snake guards?

But I trekked forward.

During the first hour, the fantastic beauty of this wilderness won me over. Fear was replaced with awe and I affirmed that all would be well. The woods were so deep and dense here. The pines and the saw palmetto thickets: it was breathtaking. I found more bear scat and walked in the shade of pine trees. A pileated woodpecker called not too far away. I was thoroughly in love with this trail through Collier Seminole.

About halfway through the trail I passed a side trail that, according to my map, led to the primitive campsite. I definitely plan to visit in the near future. Then my trail transitioned from pine flat woods to cypress, with ferns, ferns and more ferns. The trail was perfectly shrouded in ferns and backed by cypress in all directions.

The last half of the trail cut through cypress, with some brief stints in pine flat woods, and then it entered what I believe was a disturbed area of Brazilian pepper, that pesky exotic that has infiltrated every park in South Florida. Here I passed more bear poop and happened upon the fresh carcass of the most innocuous of all snakes in Florida: the southern ring-neck. These snakes are six to 10 inches long and have a black dorsal surface, an orange ring around the neck (hence the name) and a fiery orange belly.

It must have been trampled by a bear.

---

Note: Although Turner River Road stretches from Tamiami Trail to Alligator Alley, there is no access to the latter.