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 Download Pod Pause Music: “Breathing” by Lee Rosevere The post Time to Take a Zero (or 200) – A Pause for the Podcast appeared first on Orange Blaze: A Florida Trail P ..read more

View this post on Instagram 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-hiki ..read more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Free the Ocklawaha (@freetheocklawaha) For several years now I have been following the news about the push to Free the Ocklawaha River from the Rodman Dam, first via the Florida Native Plant Society, and later through other entities in Florida. The idea intrigued me because the Rodman Reservoir and the Kirkpatrick Dam as well as the Cross Florida Barge Canal are all intertwined with the Florida Trail. The reservoir was created when the dam was sealed off on the Ocklawaha River in the late 1960s, thus drowning multiple springs and severely alteri ..read more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hattie Spring (@searchingforspring) 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 Sandra Friend who helped put the Ocean to Lake Trail together as well as Josh Widdowfield on his Ocean to Lake hike and subsequent Florida Trail thru-hike. Hattie Spring answered my call for folks to share their perspecti ..read more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Josh Widdowfiled (@301hikes) 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 podcast and I’m glad he did. Josh thru-hiked the FT this year (2023) but has done several LASH (Long Ass Section) hikes on the AT and PCT, and likes to combine his hikes with giving back to the thru-hiking community through ..read more

I’ve been wanting to get Jim Kern, founder of the Florida Trail, back on this podcast since he was first on the podcast, the very first episode that launched the podcast in 2018. It took me a while but I finally made it happen. This episode is likely to stir up some thoughts and hopefully some positive conversations. I read Jim’s book Broken Promise: The Plight of our National Trails this summer with the express purpose of speaking to him about the book. If you aren’t familiar with the book or his organization Hiking Trails for America, Jim is very eager to get all of our remaining incomplete ..read more

Sandra Friend at Bronson State Forest, January 2020. 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 Hikes and much of the guidebooks related to Florida’s hiking trails out there in publication. John wasn’t able to be interviewed for this episode due to other life constraints but Sandra and I had a wonderful conversation. The primary purpose for ..read more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Florida Trail Association (@floridatrail) 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 this. Royce was the natural fit and it was great to sit down and hear what the current plans are for closing the approximate 300 miles of gaps in the Florida Trail. Road walks are the number one complaint about the F ..read more

Darby Calm is a hiker based in SE Florida and this interview with her is probably long overdue as I’ve long been a fan of her Instagram account and persistence as a hiker. Darby is a day hiker and by day hiker I mean, she is out on a trail most days of the week. And if she’s not out on a trail, she’s walking through her neighborhood or out on the water exploring Florida’s waterways. When Darby isn’t out exploring in Florida, she’s a Conflict Coach, and as you’ll hear in our conversation she often employs some of the techniques she uses in coaching on herself while out hiking. What I love most ..read more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Green Tunnel Podcast (@greentunnelpod) Earlier this year I interviewed Mills Kelly, historian and host of the Green Tunnel Podcast, which as the podcast website declares, “delves into topics including the quirky history of trail food, the shelters and structures built along the trail, and dangers you might encounter during a hike”. Mills and I have kept in touch over the last few months and we’ve decided to do a podcast episode swap today–an episode of the Green Tunnel Podcast will play on the Orange Blaze Podcast and an episode of the Orang ..read more