New trail yesterday. There's nothing like finding a new place to run and enjoying it. I ran on the Florida Scenic Trail, starting from the Santos Trailhead near Belleview. I found this stretch well-maintained and encountered only two other parties (excluding wildlife) during my 90 minute run. This stretch of the trail, running southwest from the trailhead, is flat and well-shaded. I brought my sunglasses but found them unnecessary thanks to the foliage. I drained my Ultimate Direction water bottle in about an hour and will need to explore other hydration systems for longer runs, especially as the weather heats up. It was "only" 61 degrees when I got going but was into the mid-70s when I got home.
On my way back I started thinking how relatively rare it was to see a snake while actually running. Whamo! Within seconds - I kid you not - I came right up behind a 3.5 - 4 foot long black racer on the trail. He/she was facing away from me and we both paused to size each other up. Then, before I could whip out my camera, he was gone, as black racers will do. I was grateful to see this critter.
To sum up this trail...
pros: shady (!), quiet, reasonably firm footing for the most part (for a FL trail)
cons: narrow, many spiderwebs, much poison ivy at this time of year (winter/early Spring may be ideal)
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