AN UNFORGETTABLE DARK SKY NIGHT AT THE BEARS DEN CAMP IN THE BIG CYPRESS SWAMP

It was the spring night of March 13, 1989, and Karl Greer and I were enjoying sitting by the campfire sipping some bourbon and listening to the Barred owls calling.

As the lightered pine fire died down, we decided to go in and cook our supper of venison backstrap, pole beans fresh from Homestead and corn shuffle.

It was a cool dark peaceful night and we were thankful to be out of town and in the wilderness woods of Big Cypress. After a delicious supper we continued to talk about the good old days and finished off with some homemade Key lime pie. I set up the coffee pot for the next morning and decided to stoke the campfire and relax a while before hitting the sack. A whippoorwill began to call nearby. I hoped to hear an Osceola gobble at first light.

Walking out into the hammock edge I looked to the north and suddenly it looked like the entire Big Cypress Preserve north of Alligator Alley was on fire. Karl and I were amazed at the height of the distant fire. (We both had seen many wild and prescribed fires over the years in the cypress country.)

As we watched intently the distant fire seemed to waver and move and reach into the heavens, not something we had seen before. I jokingly said, it’s probably just the Northern Lights, the Aurora borealis. It was an incredibly impressive display in that dark night sky.

When I returned home four days later, I mentioned our experience to my wife Kathy. She smiled and walked over to the newspapers that she had saved for me and held up the headline page. A rare sighting of the Aurora borealis seen in South Florida for the first time in many years.

Many nights in Big Cypress it almost seems that you could reach up and touch the Milky Way, it is so clear in that dark sky. Karl and I were so fortunate to have experienced this totally unexpected viewing of the Aurora. Most likely, a once in a lifetime opportunity for us in the wilds of Big Cypress.

Jim Kern hikes 171 miles from the Tamiami Trail to Highlands Hammock State Park to dramatize the idea of a footpath through Florida and establish an early trail route of the Florida Trail before National Scenic Trail designation. Florida Trail Association is formed to “promote the creation of a trail the length of the state.”

Congress passes the National Trails System Act, authorizing a national system of trails and establishing the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail.

The Florida Trail is admitted for study as a National Scenic Trail, ultimately gaining approval and FTA staff Bob Fiore writes the feasibility study.

1966 1968

FTA joins the Hike the Hill week of advocacy to showcase the work of the FTA and state their case for federal funding.

Eight FTA members form the Florida Trail Land Trust to close gaps in the Florida Trail and help FTA reach its goal of a continuous footpath.

1976–1979 1993 1997 2000 2003 Present Day

FTA President Dick Schuler announces a “Close the Gaps” initiative to focus on completing the Florida Trail.

U.S. Forest Service acquires funds for corridor acquisition from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and adds land acquisition staff.

FNST Coalition continues to identify parcels and apply for funding to purchase land, work with land developers and local authorities to carve our green corridors, and work with state partners to ensure the FNST remains a state priority trail.

“To date we, the Florida Trail Association, a group of private citizens, have constructed over 400 miles of footpath through the wilder regions of the state. If you have not already done so, we hope you will take an opportunity this winter to walk a few miles on the Florida Trail. We would also appreciate your giving some creative thought as to how this footpath might be set aside for posterity.”

~Jim Kern, from a letter sent to Florida legislators