My sister and I met up with Paul Geyer this morning to hike Bradwell Bay with him. The trail was bone dry all the way through. We didn't get are feet wet once. The weather was very nice, starting out cool and not getting unbearably warm in the afternoon. We saw a bear cross the road in front of us while we were shuttling cars, headed into Bradwell. We didn't meet him on the trail though. We did see a snake and several little alligators. The latter dove into the creek near the Sopchoppy River trialhead as we came up on them--all except one who sat and smiled while we took his picture.



Complete TR is here, or just check out the pics here.

Yes, the weather has been perfect for hiking.

Lucky you! You saw a bear!! Great pictures and handsome gator you captured on film. Sounds like you had great company also. Awesome trip Report! Thanks for sharing =)

It was my first bear in the wild, so I felt extremely lucky. Gators are a dime a dozen around here, but it was fun seeing all those little ones like that. A little startling, but fun. I was grateful that the one guy stood his ground, and gave us the photo op. :)

Nice trip report & photos! Amazing that Bradwell Bay is dry AGAIN. Second time this year. F-Troop was just through there a couple of weeks ago so no wonder you found good going at one end of it.

Yeah, Paul was with them that Saturday, so he was able to show us which blazes he painted. :)

They removed the big pine trees that had been blocking the trail since last March. Must have been fun doing that with an axe.

This is my first post, so forgive me if I'm rehashing old topics. I'm an avid hiker, having done lots of it in the Appalachians and out west, but I love Florida hiking too.

Just did Bradwell Bay about a week ago. Bear scat all over the place. The trail is pretty clogged with brush, but that made it a nice challenge. Two puddles were all I saw, a big disappointment from previous hikes.

Did Torreya this past Saturday - is it just me or is that park A LOT more crowded than it used to be? I did it at least once a month when I was in college at FSU about four years ago and it was always deserted.