Coming off my high from the swamp walk I had the week before at Sweetwater Strand. I decided I would do a mix hike/swamp walk and tackle the infamous Gator Hook Trail out on Loop Road. This roughly five mile trek can be either adventurous or very adventurous depending on how “deep” you want to get. I was all geared up for the long haul, so extra deep it is.
Bald Cypress
After my tiny taste of swamp walking back in the Okaloacoochee Slough, I was itching to get some serious swamping in. Having passed by the location once before, I decided my first real swamp walk was to be held in the Sweetwater Strand off of Loop Road.
In the heart of the Everglades, off of State Road 29, there is an old dirt road called “Jane’s Memorial Scenic Drive”. Stretching 11 miles, this road runs through the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve, and ends at the edge of the the Picayune Strand State Forest, the site of the now infamous “Swampland in Florida” scam.
Woke up early one Saturday morning and decided to pick a place on the map I have never been, load up some camera gear and go for a drive. I ended up in the Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest, on the Mustang Loop trail in Hendry County, Florida.