Honore Loop

Last summer we hiked the first loop in Myakka River State Park, but there are three more on the list. Because it was the beginning of the wet season, and we got our feet wet on that first hike, we decided to wait for the dry season to try the next loop. That time arrived. 

We set up camp on site #24, which was fine, but we liked #23 better; it was a bit more private. 

There was time before dinner to explore the nature trail, which included a "canopy walkway" where we got a bird's-eye view of the next day's hike.

January's a bit chilly, so our after-dinner fire was quite welcome, but the next day was nice and sunny, and we started our adventure bright and early at the Powerline Road Gate, on the main park road.

About a mile in, we found our turn off and headed towards the Honore Campsite, crossing a couople of bridges along the way.

There's the campsite!

Next time we'll visit the Prairie Campsite, but this time we turned the other way to head back towards the trailhead.

Because this trail consists of a series of figure eights, part of the way we did a repeat section. we were going to eat lunch at the Bee Island Campsite, but someone was camping there, so we decided to keep our distance. It's still pandemic time, after all.

Although we would have preferred a shady spot, there really weren't any, so we enjoyed our lunch break on the repaired bridge, grateful that it was no longer graced with caution tape. June had more wildflowers, but even in the middle of winter we found a few. Hooray for Florida in January! We love our beautiful world.

We finished the loop! One more mile along the dirt road and we made it back to the car.

We had estimated 15-16 miles for the hike, so the fact that it was just over 14 was welcome news. 

This time we stayed two nights. It was a lot less stressful, and we quite enjoyed our relaxing morning before breaking camp and heading home. We'll be back again someday!