Orange Blaze Podcast

27/08/2024

Hello hikers! It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this account. I’m sure many of you have heard about the assault on Florida state parks by Governor DeSantis and FDEP in the last week. I had thought not saying anything here or with a pop-up episode was ok because there has been such a groundswell of support for just about all environmental orgs in Florida to rally against these atrocious proposals. Until today, when I saw the Loxahatchee Chapter of the FTA post this to their page, intended to dismiss valid concerns surrounding the proposed golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park that would disrupt the OTL trail but also rare scrub habitat and T&E wildlife in the area. The concerns are that while the purported group involved had said they are backing down Governor DeSantis nor FDEP have made official statements to back this up. This is still in play. Our recreational opportunities and conservation efforts are unfortunately political. We have to lobby our electeds to protect our lands, to protect trails and access to them. It’s political no matter how you cut it. The FT itself as a national scenic trail was authorized through Congress. This kind of messaging from an FTA related group is unacceptable. I hope the will join the other environmental, nature, and outdoor groups in continuing to advocate for protecting Florida state parks and access to our trails. Stopping its advocacy now or allowing this kind of messaging to persist will be detrimental to the OTL, FT, and other Florida outdoor spaces in the long term.

Continue to email and reach out to FDEP and Florida elected officials to express your opinions on the proposed golf courses, lodge, pickleball courts, and unsustainable proposals that are being considered with little regard to the conservation areas they will be built in.

27/08/2024

An incredibly bad take from the Loxahatchee Chapter of the FTA, and to have taken down very valid discussions going on pertaining to the still on going nature of the golf course in JDSP, which would affect the FT/OTL. Unfortunately conservation is political and our elected officials and their political appointees are the ones who have to answer for this, and thus outdoor recreation is political and FTA member’s opinions are still valid with regard to how our elected officials are managing this.

22/01/2024

The podcast is still on pause, but a topic that came to mind this weekend is potentially talking to people who either a: hiked before social media and hiking apps or b: talking to people who hiked in both eras, to discuss an era we seem to be in…extreme hand holding while hiking a long trail. I guess the real topic is: how much information is too much and at what point do FB groups and IG posts detract from a hiker’s experience?

22/12/2023

Hello hikers! It's the end of 2023 and last night I published the final two episodes I had recorded a while back. I have not been very great about being on this account this year. Truthfully, I'm very bored and burnt out with Instagram at the moment. I apologize for not giving some guests their due here but I've had great conversations this late summer and fall with Green Tunnel Podcast, Darby Calm, Royce Gibson, Sandra Friend, Jim Kern, Josh Widdowfield, Hattie Spring, Margaret Spontak of the Free the Ocklawaha Coalition, and Claire Jarvis. I hope you'll listen to all of their episodes if you've missed them. It's been a pleasure to chat with each and every one of them.

I also published a short episode highlighting that I am taking a long podcast hiatus in 2024. I *will* be back but I need to take at least half the year off or more. I may (or may not) record episodes along the way and store them for when the pod returns. I need a long break from the effort it takes to produce the podcast and I have some writing projects I need to get accomplished---hopefully more to come on that topic!

Until the podcast returns, I recommend the Florida Madcaps Podcast for your Florida hiking and outdoors needs! Produced by Sunshine State Seekers and The Florida Excursionist they will fill you in on need-to-know places to explore in the Sunshine State!

See y'all again sometime in late 2024!

(I am taking recs for interviews, so DM me. Particularly looking for people who hiked in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.)

05/11/2023

A new podcast episode is out! I'm sorry I'm delayed in sharing episodes these days. I'd planned to release weekly episodes for a few months but then I've been battling with some serious burnout on the podcasting front. I have a couple more recorded episodes to get out and then I need to re-group and think about how to approach the podcast in the coming year.

But until then, enjoy this great episode with Hattie Spring!

Earlier this year I put out a call for Ocean to Lake hikers to come on the podcast and share their stories so I could get their perspective on that segment of what isn’t really the Florida Trail but I think we’ve all come to think of it is as a special little piece of the FT. We’ve heard from ...

06/10/2023

A new episode is out this week with Josh Widdowfield! We talk about his Ocean to Lake Hike, his 2023 FT thru-hike, his LASH's of the AT and PCT, and about giving back to the trail community.

Hope y'all enjoy the episode!

Earlier this year I asked for folks who had hiked the Ocean to Lake Trail to reach out to me if they would like to share a bit about their experience on that trail for a short series wanted to do here on the podcast. Josh '301' Widdowfield was one of those hikers who offered to chat with me on the p...

18/09/2023

I'm brainstorming some future podcast recordings...I'm looking for either one person or a group of people who might want to discuss the realities of the "thru-hiking lifestyle"---what that means can be broad, but what I am thinking is a few things including by not limited to: bro culture in hiking, money and long term hiking/working on trail, realities of hiking for a living--what that means for your health, finances, relationships, future retirement etc., and portrayals of this hiking lifestyle on social media and how it influences hikers who aren't currently in that season or who might want to be in that season. As I said, it is broad.

I guess what I'm looking for is more transparency in this hiking culture, which I don't think is shared enough. If you are willing to discuss this with me solo or with a few other folks, let me know. I'm interested in recording in the next couple of weeks.

11/09/2023

A new podcast episode is out this morning: Episode 90. Completing Our National Scenic Trails | Jim Kern, Founder of the Florida Trail.

I've wanted to get Jim back on the podcast for a while now, especially to talk about his book Broken Promise: The Plight of our National Trails. Have a listen--I'm thinking about putting together a roundtable discussion episode to talk about his ideas as well as the other ways our trail organizations come together to protect trail corridors and how hikers can become more involved in the push to close the gaps and protect our trails!

http://orangeblaze.thegardenpathpodcast.com/2023/09/11/90-completing-our-national-scenic-trails-jim-kern-founder-of-the-florida-trail/

28/08/2023

New episode out today! Sandra Friend with Florida Hikes! is back to talk about the beginnings of the Ocean to Lake Trail, the updated Florida Trail guide, and fiction writing! Always good to chat with Sandra and I think y'all will enjoy this episode!

Today's podcast guest is Sandra Friend, someone you all should know well by now! If by some chance you are new to the podcast and new to Florida hiking, well this is your lucky day and you caught the right podcast to listen to! Sandra Friend and her partner John Keatley are the folks behind Florida....

09/08/2023

The Fall podcast book club has been decided: we are reading Cross Creek! Want to join in the podcast discussion like the one we had this spring? Send me a message for more details! Or just read along and enjoy the podcast episode in mid to late September!

08/08/2023

A new episode is out today with Royce Gibson, Executive Director of the Florida Trail Association . We talk about the new Close the Gaps program and the overall goals for eliminating road walks on the Florida Trail as well as his role as Executive Director at the FTA! It's a good one! I hope you listen! It should be hitting podcast feeds soon!

Episode 88's guest is Florida Trail Association Executive Director, Royce Gibson. It’s been a while since I’ve had a representative from the FTA on the podcast and when I saw the latest campaign from the FTA, the Close the Gaps campaign, I knew I needed to get someone on to speak directly to thi...

07/06/2023

Hello folks! I'm working on scheduling some recording sessions for the podcast with episodes coming out in July. I'm going to return to monthly episode releases for the time being after feeling like I've had a decent enough of a break that I can focus once again.

I'll be highlighting the OTL like I'd mentioned in a post a few months ago but I'm also brainstorming the idea of failed thru-hikes, focused on the FT/ECT of course (or maybe the OTL). Did you attempt a thru-hike and quit for whatever reason? I'd love to chat with you about it. I think it's a subject that doesn't get talked about enough, the attempts that don't always come to fruition. I'm also kinda interested to hear about people who maybe completed a thru-hike but overall really didn't like the FT. I'm not looking for you to come on and completely 💩on the trail and the community but maybe you just really didn't like "flat" trails and water hiking. Also, there may be some retrospective months or years post-hike that would allow for some reflection on your initial thoughts of disliking it vs maybe revising that a bit in the years since.

Anyway, those are some thoughts for upcoming episodes so if you think you might fit this profile, send me a message or email orangeblazepodcast at gmail dot com.

16/04/2023

Six new episodes are out this morning. Lots of great conversations!

A Podcast About the Florida Trail.

08/03/2023

Slowly wrapping up recording for podcasts to go out in April. I'm already thinking about the summer's episodes and I'm thinking I want to focus on the Ocean to Lake Trail as I haven't really done much with that yet! So, if you've hiked the Ocean to Lake as a thru-hike or you day hike it all the time, or you volunteer and do trail maintenance, I would love to interview you! Message me if you are interested in chatting!

06/03/2023

What’s going on in your corner of the world? Folks are wrapping up FT hikes, others are getting ready for the AT and other trails, some of us are just living life and working…let’s consider this a touching base post—let me know how y’all are doing and any spring hiking and camping plans!
Personally, we have spring break plans in the Davis Mountains of west Texas, one of my favorite places in the state!

03/03/2023

An addendum to my post a few days ago about the Board of Directors voting: There's another vote regarding three spots that were not voted in by membership last year when some spots were vacated by the previous Directors. It was brought up by others that there were some bylaw issues regarding that so there's a second vote asking if you approve of these Directors staying in their current seats or if you think they should be formally voted in the same way as the other 6 Directors currently up. Must be an FTA member to vote: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRNCOwn0jHtGSBdgVKvSThKNw-u2fHHf5l0OIBE8TE-jqfDA/viewform?pli=1&fbclid=IwAR1CYwATmG3ydSxRiPD4Pdk8oNX14cTwAmC8EcLe8HwFC6NdnBj_iCPVqKc
(I also have not received this email, I'm sharing the link others have provided.)

Please visit our Board of Directors web page to learn more about each Director.

02/03/2023

Loved this write-up in the Florida Hikes! newsletter today! The Sebastian River Preserve was one of our favorite places to visit when we lived in Melbourne in the early 2000s and we used some of their backpacking loops for training for the AT. A great, little known gem! https://madmimi.com/p/8f9ca51?pact=3341-171948126-5500720837-e4a1f58c41fd20ae619f1bd0cde6ac10c598fc3c

28/02/2023

For some reason I never get these emails any more, despite the FTA telling me they have my email address and even re-signing up for the E-Blaze email (it's not in my spam, I look!)---but if you are like me and didn't get the email or information and are an FTA member, there is a Board of Director election right now. You can read the candidate's bios here: https://floridatrail.org/candidates/?fbclid=IwAR1SUfz292dR66EtKYHr7Ol_aZw_yMUvUOo3e-nrtCa_nSXhSxY_LWw3K8k
There are 5 spots and 6 people running. You can vote here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4gvLAEMbVCaiUfMC3gQe4IGyVsPIXCUrZ5feQae9xLq5OLQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR0FAo7M9eisDxiG-vOLsxVhYejirgVfgWhLSW2D8eLNuEehOLwrjaDIK08

As a member of the Florida Trail Association, you have the privilege of casting your vote in the 2023 Board of Directors election. Email ballots have been sent to all members in good standing as of February 27th, 2023. Online voting will close 5:00 pm on March 30th, 2023. The new and returning Board...

29/01/2023

“So are you out here still hiking?” he asked.

“Yes sir, I’m a slow learner,” I replied.

And so began a conversation long overdue, that I’ve been looking forward to since first meeting Billy Goat 13 years ago.

“Do you remember when I asked if I could buy you a bikini on Big Pine Key? A momento of our chance meeting? I asked.

(Uncomfortable laughter), until I showed him the picture we took together years ago.

…followed up with raucous, yet respectful, laughs.

Thank you to my friend ‘Steps’ .edwin.parker for the picture. I’ll cherish it always.

Location: Billy Goat Day, 2023

11/01/2023

I don't know how this link to IG will work but I had fun making this reel---> excuse the grammar typo, I can't believe I didn't catch it until after I hit post! *doh*

Misti Little shared a post on Instagram: "Had some fun with this one! What about you? What’s your love/hate with Florida? . ...

09/01/2023

It was a gorgeous weekend for hiking here in SE Texas! Hope it was a good hiking weekend for you, too!

05/01/2023

If you listened to the new set of episodes this week you'll know that I'm starting a podcast book club! Our first book is going to be "Life and Death on the Loxahatchee: The Story of Trapper Nelson". People familiar with Jonathan Dickinson State Park and the Loxahatchee River are probably already familiar with Trapper Nelson. I think this will be an interesting book to start off with and it is relatively small---a good size to carry while hiking and brief enough that we can get through it rather quickly.
My goal is to have a zoom conversation with 4-5 folks who also read the book and then air that as an episode with April's set of podcasts. If you aren't part of the zoom conversation you are certainly welcome to still read and listen in on the conversation afterwards! If you think you'd like to be part of the group discussion on Zoom, DM me so I can get a list going. I'm hoping to do the recording in late February or early March so I can edit it for April. Get your book and start reading now! I'm also hoping to get the author on after I read the books, so we'll see how that goes!
I hope you join in and enjoy this new addition to the podcast!

05/01/2023

Sending some stickers out to someone---figured I'd repost this and see if anyone else is in need of a sticker. DM me or email me orangeblazepodcast at gmail dot com if you need one!

I also have buttons!

New podcast stickers are now available for free! Just email me at orangeblazepodcast (at) gmail (dot) com or respond to this post and include your email address and I'll get in touch with you...OR you can DM me over on Instagram at and I can get stickers out to you!

02/01/2023

Six new episodes are out on the podcast website---they should be hitting podcast feeds within the next few hours as everything syncs!

Welcome to a new season of the podcast! The podcast in 2022 floundered a bit and if you saw my social media posts you will know that I lost a lot of momentum to keep the podcast going in late summer. If you’ve listened to podcasts with any sort of high frequency over the last 8-10 years you will h...

01/01/2023

Happy New Year, hikers! I hope your 2023 hikes go great, or if you are already on trail they are going well! New episodes of the podcast will be out hopefully tomorrow, definitely by mid-week...so new audio to get you through some trail miles!

20/12/2022

Looking for something to listen to on trail? This website has some vintage and out of copyright audiobooks to listen to! This is their Florida Collection: https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/collections/4/the-florida-collection/

I have listened to most of Florida Trails by Winthrop Packard but I really should get back into listening to the others, too.

Jack Tier; or, The Florida Reef (1848) by James Fenimore Cooper Set during the time of the Mexican War, Jack Tier is a realistic sea story.

19/12/2022

Hello hikers…
This weekend I called out another hiker currently on trail for bad behavior towards the people who put the FT together and make it function. That person didn’t like what I had to say about that, deleted my comment and blocked me, and modified the original post. Oh well, I do not care. I am glad they deleted their mean comments and I can only hope they learned from what I said.
I DO care about hikers getting on the FT, finding out they don’t particularly care for the trail and then 💩on the trail community. You can realize a trail you are hiking isn’t your cup of tea without saying mean things about the people who are making it so you can complete your hike. If you have constructive criticism, the FTA has email addresses on their website that will allow you to send legitimate complaints to them. They cannot fix your road walk (unless you’ve got $$$ to donate to buy a trail corridor in the woods). They cannot fix the water on trail (did you even research the trail?) But a boardwalk is out? Something is actually unsafe? Let them know.
Every single trail you hike has millions of volunteer hours put into it. If you hike thousands of miles of trail, be sure to join the member organizations that support those particular trails. Stop and volunteer along your hike if you have a chance and definitely put in some volunteer hours post hike on your favorite trail or park back at home. Being a thru-hiker, triple crowner, or route creator does not give you entitlement.
I’m not going to tell you who this person is so don’t DM me. I’ve heard it isn’t just one person with a bad attitude this year either, and with a growing thru-hiker crowd on the FT, our quiet community will have more disruptive folks in the coming years. Call the bad behaviors out and encourage people to get off trail if they hate it so much or at the very least send legitimate complaints to the right people. The FT will never be the PCT or AT. The FT is its own experience and if you don’t go into that with clear eyes you are setting yourself up for a lot of discomfort.
Happy hiking!

18/12/2022

Love the trail, hate the trail, I don't care. The FT isn't for everyone. BUT---DO NOT crap on the people who are putting in the work to make the trail work for you the hiker. I'm not going to listen to that nonsense and neither should any other hiker.