Orange Blaze: A Florida Trail Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

The podcast is taking a massive hiatus in 2024! I will be back. If you’d like to be a guest on the podcast, leave a comment or email me at orangeblazepodcast at gmail and we can go from where. Thanks for listening over the years! Burnout how gotten hold of me and I need to reinvigorate my interest in the podcast with a long break.

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/OB_PodcastPause_12212023.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

A post shared by Claire Jarvis (@cjarv)

As a nature lover, I am drawn to those who share the the wonders of Florida’s natural history as they document their hikes along the way. Claire’s Instagram account caught my eye well before their 2022 thru-hike and still captures my interest today even though they are no longer on a thru-hiking journey. The perspective Claire offered on both their Florida Trail and subsequent Appalachian Trail thru-hike was one I deeply appreciated. We talk about those hikes but also about their background prior to coming to the thru-hiking world, life after thru-hiking, and determining whether thru-hiking is in their future and how best to enjoy a hike for oneself. We also talk about Claire’s very excellent art, another perspective from their Instagram accounts I have appreciated.

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/OB_ClaireJarvis_12212023.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere
+@infinitenap
+@cjarv

A post shared by Florida Native Plant Society (@floridanativeplantsociety)

This is a bit of a different episode, one from my gardening podcast, The Garden Path Podcast. You are probably already familiar with Valerie Anderson as she has been on the Orange Blaze Podcast before to talk about the plight of Split Oak Forest near Orlando. I had Valerie on my garden podcast to talk about the Florida Native Plant Society and thought it would be relevant to many Florida Trail hikers and wanted to share the episode here. I’ve left the original introduction to the podcast so you’ll hear that episode straight through…now. Thanks for listening!

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OB_FNPS_04152023.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

A post shared by The Florida Madcaps (@the_florida_madcaps)

Today’s episode features the Florida Madcaps, a trio of Florida outdoor enthusiasts some of you may already know: Chris and Chelsey Stevens of the Sunshine State Seekers and Ryan Worthington the Florida Excursionist. Chris and Chelsey have already been on the Orange Blaze podcast before, in February 2019 and May 2020, but this is the first time I’ve gotten to speak with Ryan.

Chris, Chelsey, and Ryan recently launched the Florida Madcaps podcast, a recreation and conversation podcast about Florida’s outdoors. I for one am so glad they had the idea to do this podcast because it was a niche that needed to be filled! Florida is full of wonderful public green spaces for residents to explore but the trio offer a unique point of view on the subjects they cover, from conservation to education and even the environmental activism required to keep these lands open for public use.

We had a great conversation and I really hope it will lead you to add the Florida Madcaps to your podcast feed! Alright, onto my conversation with Chris, Chelsey, and Ryan.

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OB_FloridaMadCaps_04152023.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

+@The_Florida_Madcaps on Instagram
+Listen to The Florida Madcaps Podcast

Hello hikers! I have a fun and different episode than usual—this is the book club episode I mentioned in my last set of episodes released. I chose Life and Death on the Loxahatchee by James Snyder for the book club and several folks reached out to say they were interested in having a zoom book club discussion about it! My guests in the conversation are David Magness, Paul Arsenault, and Leslie McConachie. All bring interesting insight and viewpoints to the book discussion and I was delighted they were interested in chatting with me! Since this is the first time I’ve had so many people on the podcast I wasn’t quite as used to juggling different conversations and people talking over each other at the beginning so there are some areas that were too difficult to edit where one person started chatting while another also chimed in. I think there was also some lag with everyone’s internet connections in who could hear who when it came time to chime into the conversation. It’s a little messy in a few spots is what I’m trying to say! Hopefully I’ll get better at managing it in the future!

Now, if you didn’t get a chance to read the book, I suggest listening to the author interview first. But if you enjoy spoilers and wild speculation without having read the book, then go forth and listen to this episode!

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OB_LDOTL_04152023.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

Late last year I decided to start a book club for the podcast and chose Life and Death on the Loxahatchee, for a few reasons, one of them being that it had been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long and I knew I needed to read it. Another, because of the interesting folk history of the area along the Loxahatchee River, an area that the Ocean to Lake Trail traverses and an area that many Florida Trail hikers explore, particularly in the Jonathan Dickinson State Park area. But who was Trapper Nelson? I had read the book but I wanted to talk to the author himself, to find out why he was curious enough to devote the time to write about the mysterious man who lived for decades along the Loxahatchee River, and to hear his own thoughts about the man behind the legend. If you didn’t get a chance to read the book but wanted to listen go the book club discussion, I think this is an excellent episode to jump in and get an idea of who Trapper Nelson was and maybe it will entice you to pick up the book to read yourself, or any of the other many historical books Mr. Snyder has written as well.

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OB_JamesSnyder_04152023.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

Show Notes
+James D. Snyder’s website

A post shared by FTthruHike (@ftthruhike)

Eleni McDaniel was first on the podcast back in March of 2019 and a lot has changed in the four years since then. She’s changed trail names for one and expanded her career and hiking life beyond Florida, though as you’ll hear her ties to the Florida Trail still reel her back into the state every Florida Trail hiking season. I love chatting with Eleni, not just because we are friends but because she’s someone I can talk about the hard aspects of hiking with, the uncomfortable truths we all need to face on the trail. We talk about the growing pains the Florida Trail is experiencing as well as Eleni’s hiking adventures in North Carolina and New York in recent years and her hiking ambitions for the future.

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OB_EleniMcDaniel_04152023.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

Show Notes

Day hikers make up the bulk of hikers on the Florida Trail, just like on other National Scenic Trails. I think we all tend to focus heavily on thru-hikers for these trails because of their epic nature and the way long distance hiking intrigues a lot of us, but the day hikers are the ones getting to know certain localities of a trail in a more intimate manner. They are out there for quick weekend jaunts or short overnights, often becoming familiar with trail maintenance and feeling a sense of pride in their local trailheads. I would love to start showcasing more Florida Trail Day hikers on the podcast and David Magness was a great person to start propel that idea forward! We had a great conversation about his hiking adventures in Central Florida and I think you’ll enjoy our conversation. Also, stay on at the end of the podcast for a special bit of music that David created and mentions in our conversation.

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OB_DavidMagness_04152023.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

Show Notes
+David Magness on Facebook

New this season is the Orange Blaze Podcast Book Club! Our first book will be Life and Death on the Loxahatchee: The Story of Trapper Nelson. If you have spent any time around Jonathan Dickinson State Park or the Loxahatchee River you may already know the legend and lore of Trapper Nelson. I’ve had this book on my shelf for years and it is about time I read it! Read along and if you want to participate in a book club discussion email me at orangeblazepodcast at gmail dot com or leave a comment below. I’m looking for 4-6 folks to have a zoom chat with about the book and those who don’t want to participate in the zoom chat are welcome to read along on their own and listen to the episode airing in April! We’ll have another book club this fall! Book suggestions wanted!

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/OB_Ep79_OBPodBookClub.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

Show Notes
+Life and Death on the Loxahatchee—buy the book!
+Trapper Nelson via JDSP

A post shared by Misti Little (@orangeblazepodcast)

After our 2011 thru-hike I wrote a post on my blog detailing some of the more important notes needed for thru-hikers on the Florida Trail. There wasn’t a lot out there at the time on social media, though there were Trail Journals and the books produced by Sandra Friend—there just wasn’t the community in 2011 that there it today. That said, I think this episode is long overdue and should have been one of the first episodes I produced when I started the podcast. If you have questions about hiking the FT, I am always here to answer questions and point you in the right direction!

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/OB_78_FTHowTo_12252022.mp3

Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere

Show Notes
+How to thru-hike the Florida Trail – the original blog post that is the basis for this episode.
+Florida Trail Quick-Tips from LB Hikes
+Florida Trail Hikers Facebook Group
+FloridaHikes
+FTA.org thru-hiking information