Justin Wright » Outdoors

Mount Mitchell State Park

Justin Wright — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:03:10 +0000

At the top of Mount Mitchell

After spending 5 days and 4 nights hanging out in Mount Mitchell State Park in North Carolina, I can honestly say it’s one of my favorites places in the country (so far). The mountains are unlike any of the mountains I’ve seen out west and have a mystic feel to them, especially when the clouds surround them.

The hiking was incredible, especially when the trails were surrounded by moss covered trees and rocks. There were even a few waterfalls we came across that were much larger than I would have expected to see.

The only downside of our stay here was the fact that it rained every single day. Plus there was constant thunder in the distance which kept us from going on any really long hikes (it’s not fun hiking in lightning storms).

Photos

Here’s some of my favorite pictures from Mount Mitchell State Park:

Clouds over Mount Mitchell

One of the campsites we stayed at

Creek near Black Mountain Campground

Our dog leading the way to Roaring Fork Falls

Roaring Fork Falls

My favorite view of the mountains

Another view of the mountains

A Compass at the summit of Mount Mitchell

Man lying on the tomb of Dr. Mitchell

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You can check out the rest of photos in the Mount Mitchell photo gallery.

Hiking The Appalachian Trail

Justin Wright — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:14:54 +0000

The Appalachian Trail

One of the things my girlfriend and I have wanted to do for a long time is take a hike along the Appalachian Trail. Luckily we were able to check it out on our recent trip up to North Carolina. The weather was a tad cloudy but it was still an awesome experience.

The section of the trail we hiked was right along the Tennessee and North Carolina border. The elevation was somewhere around 5,000 ft. so that explains all the clouds. The clouds actually made the hike more enjoyable because it felt like we were walking on an island in the sky. When they got really thick, we couldn’t see anything but the trail and it felt like nothing surrounded us.

After hiking this section of the trail, I now want to hike the entire 2,179 miles from Georgia to Maine. From what I hear it takes roughly 6 months to complete the thru-hike, which is a pretty long time to spend on the trail. However, I can’t imagine how good it feels when you reach the end.

Photos From the Hike

It was cloudy but I tried to take some pictures anyway. Here’s a few of the best ones:

Standing along the Appalachian Trail

Clouds everywhere

Another view of the clouds

Hiking through trees on the Appalachian Trail

Following the trail

View from the Appalachian Trail

Is that blue sky I see?

Heading back to the parking lot

I’m Off To Climb A Mountain

Justin Wright — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:22:11 +0000

Mount Mitchell Is The Tallest Mount in the Eastern United States

It’s true…Florida is completely flat. Matter of fact, it’s almost impossible to find a hill, let alone a mountain to climb. So that’s why my girlfriend and I are hitting the road and heading up to North Carolina in a few hours.

For the first time in awhile, I plan on spending 6 full days in the wilderness with no access to the internet or a computer. It’s going to be a challenge but I feel the need to take a break from anything technology related. The only thing I’m bringing with me is my Nikon so I can snap some awesome pictures.

We’re hoping to climb to the summit of Mount Mitchell, which happens to be the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi. It’s been awhile since I climbed to the top of a mountain but I still remember my journey to the tallest peak in Arizona. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had to date.

I’ll be posting the photos I take as soon as I get back, so tune in next week.

Photo: twbuckner

Hiking The Old Fort King Trail

Justin Wright — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:35:01 +0000

Entrance to the Old Fort King Trail

After driving by the entrance to the Old Fort King Trail on our way to the Hillsborough River State Park, my girlfriend and I decided to head back to check it out.

The Old Fort King Trail is approximately 6.7 miles long and runs just south of the Hillsborough River State Park. It also runs into the John B. Sargeant Sr. Park which is right along the 301. It’s great for hiking and also looks like it would be fun to ride a bike on.

Judging by the lack of people we saw, I would assume this is not that popular of a hike in the summer. I have a feeling it’s due to the large quantity of flying creatures including wasps, bees, mosquitos and who knows what else. And don’t forget the massive amount of spiders dangling from the trees.

We also learned from our experience that the trail can definitely be wet during the rainy season. We ended up turning around on the trail since we didn’t want to walk through all the water. Instead, we ended up following some roads and eventually found a different trail.

Here’s the path we ended up taking:

Our Makeshift Hike Path

It actually turned out to be an awesome hike. We walked along the Dead River Road for what seemed like forever and saw some of the largest wasps ever. We then ran into the Dead River Youth Camp and found a nice trail along the river. The total hike came in around 7 miles since we had to repeat our path back to the car.

Photos From the Hike

Below is a collection of the best pictures I took during the hike. Don’t forget to click on them to view the better quality version:

My Favorite Photo Of The Hike

Scary Looking Water

A Velvet Ant (Wasp)

An Old Tractor

Standing Under Some Spanish Moss

Following An Old Road

Our Dog Leading The Way

What Appears To Be An Alligator Track

Our Dog Had A Blast

A Huge Grasshopper

Great Shot Of The Sky

I must say, the Old Fort King Trail was a fun hike. I was disappointed at first because I thought we would be walking along the road the whole time but once we got further in it turned out to be really cool.

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You can check out the rest of my pictures in the Old Fort King Trail photo gallery.

Hiking In Hillsborough River State Park

Justin Wright — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:50:51 +0000

Crossing A Suspension Bridge in Hillsborough River State Park

One of the best adventures I’ve had here in Florida happens to be hiking through the Hillsborough River State Park. The park is one of the oldest parks in the state of Florida and features hiking, canoeing, camping, and kayaking. Best of all, it’s located less than an hour outside of Tampa.

When it comes to hiking, the park has four different trails that you can choose from with a total of around 7 miles of trails. We opted to hike each of the trails and managed to complete the trip in around 3 hours. There are a few primitive camping spots which would make for a great backpacking trip. They also have a regular campground for those who can’t do without electricity.

When hiking through the park, many of the trails follow the the Hillsborough River which is an awesome thing to see. There are a few rapids in the river as well as a couple suspension bridges that pass over it. We saw a few alligator signs along the way but didn’t happen to bump into any of them.

Instead, one of the only things we saw on the hike was an abundance of these:

A Florida Garden Spider Up Close

These spiders were literally everywhere and we constantly had to stop and duck below the webs that were crossing the trail. Some of the spiders were gigantic! Unfortunately, we had no idea if they were venomous or not until after we got home so we approached them with caution. Once we got home, we were able to find out they are harmless.

If you’re terrified of spiders, you might want to hold off on this hike.

Pictures From the Hike

Here’s a few of my best shots from the hike through Hillsborough River State Park:

A Black and White Shot of a Florida Spider

A Few Rapids in the Hillsborough River

Standing Next to A Huge Tree Covered in Moss

Take Nothing But Pictures, Leave Nothing But Footprints

A Look Downstream

A Cool Florida Butterfly

Hiking Through Palm Trees

A Sun Beam Shining Through the Trees

I highly recommend checking out the Hillsborough River State Park, especially if you live near the Tampa area. It’s a great place to go on a weekday since we were one of the only groups of hikers out there. For more information on the hike, you can check out the official website.

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See more photos in the Hillsborough River State Park photo gallery.

Hiking In Withlacoochee State Forest

Justin Wright — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:53:01 +0000

It’s no secret that Florida is a flat state. There are no mountains and barely any hills from what I’ve seen. I miss mountains a lot more than I thought I would after leaving Arizona but I have not given up on finding some cool hikes here in the sunshine state.

The good news is that Florida does have a handful of state forests and parks that have some great hiking trails. A perfect example is Withlacoochee State Forest located near Dade City. My girlfriend and I made the drive up there from St Petersburg to check it out and were not disappointed.

Quick Facts

Withlacoochee State Forest is the third largest state forest in Florida and is home to a variety of tree species. It still surprises me to see pine trees and palm trees growing right along side one another.

The forest also hosts a bunch of different creatures including bald eagles, snakes, black bears, deer, wild boar, bobcats, and alligators. Talk about a wide range of species all calling one place home. The only thing we came across were a few deer and what appeared to be a boar or an armadillo (couldn’t see through the brush).

The Hike

The forest has a variety of different trails including an all-purpose paved trail. We went with one of the dirt trails that didn’t appear to be on the actual map. It took us through a few miles of marshy land along with a few meadows where we saw the deer. My goal was to hunt down some gators but I didn’t have any luck.

Here are a few pictures from the hike:

One downside was the fact that mosquitos were EVERYWHERE. I don’t think I’ve ever seen mosquitos as thick as they were in the forest and we forget our bug spray (not a good idea). If you decide to check out the forest, make sure to pack some decent spray are you will regret it.

An Observation Tower

Once we looped back to the main trail we came across this observation tower:

After climbing up the tower I was pretty impressed with the view:

A Replica Village

Besides coming across the observation tower, we also found a replica village that had a few different buildings including a cabin, church, and a small general store. Here are a few pictures of the village:

Video From The Hike

Here is a quick video I put together of the hike through Withlacoochee Forest:

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I must say I was really impressed with this place. It is one of the coolest place I have come across here in Florida and I definitely plan on going back to check out the gators. If you’re ever in Florida, I highly recommend checking out Withlacoochee State Forest.

Want to see more photos? Check out the complete photo gallery here.

Honeymoon Island State Park

Justin Wright — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:04:00 +0000

Of all the places I have visited in Florida, Honeymoon Island State Park is currently my favorite. Not only is the beach amazing, but you can also hike through the tropical landscape and see all sorts of different things.

The two-mile hike takes you on a loop throughout the island where you can see all different types of wildlife. Osprey (a huge bird) seem to be everywhere and there are also a few Bald Eagles in the park. And who would have thought the park is also home to a ton of armadillos.

Besides hiking, you can also spend time on the beach swimming, snorkeling, and shelling. Not a bad place to spend a day out in the sun.

Honeymoon Island In Pictures

Below are my favorite photos I took while checking out Honeymoon Island Park:

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Want to see more of the park? Check out this quick video clip as well as the complete Honeymoon Island photo gallery.

Armadillos In Florida?

Justin Wright — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:30:39 +0000

While I was out hiking on Honeymoon Island, I stumbled across an armadillo along the trail. I was pretty surprised to see one here in Florida. For some reason, I never pictured armadillos hanging out under palm trees.

Weird thing is, I lived in Texas for six months without seeing one even though they are very common there. The first time out on a hike here in Florida I ran right into one. Weird.

As it turns out, the nine-banded armadillos are common here in Florida. They are not native to the state but were introduced here in the early 1900′s. They now live throughout the state and can be found wherever there is dense ground cover (read more facts here).

I’ve never seen an armadillo in person before and was pretty amazed by the creature. It sort of looks like the result we might see if the Easter Bunny (the ears and size) hooked up with a rhino (the armor).

Armadillo Photos

Ever wanted to see an armadillo up close and personal? Probably not but here are a few photos of the crazy creature anyways:

Short Video Clip

I also took a quick clip of the armadillo with my video camera. However, I didn’t notice until I got home that the macro setting was on so it turned out pretty blurry.

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Now the question is, what animal will I run into next?

The Perfect Morning

Justin Wright — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:41:27 +0000

I woke up this morning and had the idea of taking my camera along with me on my morning run. Turned out to be the perfect morning for some photography:

You can view the full size images on my Flickr page.

Pedernales Falls State Park

Justin Wright — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:55:38 +0000

This past weekend, I went and checked out Pedernales Falls State Park. It’s located about an hour outside of Austin here in Texas. It’s made up of more than 5,000 acres of land and has a bunch hiking trails and camping areas.

Although the waterfalls weren’t what I was expecting, they were still cool to look at. It was also nice to get outside and do some hiking, especially in November. The leaves are starting to change colors so the scenery is pretty amazing.

We’ve been getting a lot of rain lately so the water was flowing pretty rapidly. One of the hikes was actually closed since there was no way of crossing the water.

Here’s a few more pictures from the park:

For more information about Pedernales Falls, check out the official website.