On the Hunt

The wonderful people at VIE Magazine recently published my trip to Ireland. Not only is my story featured, but a few Irish tales from other visitors as well. It’s a pot-o-gold. Check it out!

VIE MAGAZINE SPRING 2010
http://www.viezine.com/magazine/

Kendall and I had found ourselves on the edge of the St. John River Water Management area, adjacent to the Ocala National Forest in central Florida. This part of Florida reminded me of Eden State Park on steroids. Massive live oak trees covered the grounds with twisting and curling branches, sometimes stretching down to the ground. It’s no wonder why they hung down so low; they were holding up tons Spanish moss and resurrection ferns. Those ferns are my favorite, just waiting for a fresh rain to awaken their slumber. We had signed up for a weekend Survival 101 course with the incomparable Byron Kerns of the Byron Kerns Survival School. We initially went into the weekend with the hope of learning a few new skills about surviving in the wilderness – we didn’t just learn a few skills, we learned a whole new insight on with world around us.

A little research goes along way and I’ll have to give internet savvy Kendall props for finding the class. However I’m not here to discuss what types of algorithm search engines works best, I’m hear to tell you about Byron, Francine, and our adventure of bodacious proportions.

Byron Kerns is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Survival Instructor School, and a former USAF Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) Instructor. He’s regarded one of the top civilian wilderness survival instructors in North America and with three decades of teaching experience, Erwin-like enthusiasm, and a calm, caring, gentle, no-worries character he provides students with one serious source of knowledge. Byron, with his lovely sweet wife Francine, were our hosts, teachers, catalysts, entertainers and most of all (and I hope to be able to consider them as) friends.

Our weekend started off on a hot Saturday morning. We had stayed the night prior at O’Leno State Park, right above Gainesville. In typical fashion we arrived there at night with nothing but a bad map and lighting bugs guiding us down the road. Due to time we parked, set-up camp and hit the sack knowing that morning was coming early. We decided to plan another trip to O’Leano in the future simply due to the fantastic camp sites – all natural, rocky, wooden and private. The area is dubbed “spring country” and it took at lot of determination not to stop at every spring and take a look around – or a dip for that matter.

After a quick drive past a flurry of wildflowers, and a few missed turns we finally made it to our designated meeting spot (late of course). There we greeted our five other fellow students, Bryon and Francine. Our camp was a few miles down the road and after a few quick introductions and housekeeping notes we were on the way. I hefted my pack over my shoulders and before we even took a step Byron gave us each a smile, a plastic bag, a rock and a sliver duct tape with the instructions to “procure a water source.” Byron has an interesting teaching method, and this was our introduction to his manner of education.

Throughout the weekend Byron would give us a handful of random materials, which we would need to complete a project or I should say lesson. I think I constantly had parachute cord (550 cord) and visqueen on my person – that is when I wasn’t on the ground searching for acorns to use a “buttons.” He wanted us to use our heads first and foremost. We needed to think about the situation at hand, figure out what we needed to do, why we needed to do it, and the best way how given our time restraints. After we attempted our version of the project, Byron would then show us how he would do it – and it was always so much simpler than we had originally thought. After a group “oh that’s how” realization, we’d walk around and discuss our sometimes crazy and off-the-wall ideas and how to better them. It wasn’t until I returned that I figured out what Byron was doing.

One bodacious shelter

There are two main tools that you need to survive any situation: your head and a positive mental attitude. By forcing us to figure out a project on our own, Byron was instilling both those tools – we had to think about it and forget our frustrations or fears. Along with thinking, doing and learning (there was some “classroom” time around the campfire), Byron gave us all the confidence we needed to survive any situation – from the wilderness to the workplace. There is absolutely no way I can tell you everything we learned that weekend and I would hope that you would sign-up for Byron’s class yourself, but here is the run down to get you excited and sign-up: wilderness first aid, shelter building (both natural and man-made), knots, firecraft, water procurement, cooking, the list goes on but I’ll say it again the most important lesson was confidence. I think that’s mainly what everyone needed and Byron and Francine definitely delivered.

So if you enjoy the outdoors, hike, hunt, kayak or just feel the need to add a little confidence in your life give Byron and Francine a call. And if you have a hiking trip coming up, let me and Kendall know – if anything happens we can keep you alive, warm and hydrated for up to three weeks thanks to Byron.

Oh and you may be wondering what we did with that wire and cord. We were instructed to make a snare. Unfortunately the only thing Kendall and I are good at catching is a buzz, but we gave it our best shot and it worked – sorta. Even though our snare might not have actually worked in a real-life situation, we caught enough knowledge to fill us both up for a while.

Our class - Byron is in the orange, next to Kendall and then me

I’m going to tie this up with a trucker’s hitch and a few websites to view:

http://www.byronkernssurvival.com/

http://www.floridastateparks.org/oleno/default.cfm

http://sjr.state.fl.us/

Until my next adventure …

If you leave your house during a torental rainstorm for a camping trip, chances are that you’ll have a pretty damn good time – at least I did.  As we made our way down the country back roads of Florida,  storm clouds streaked and flew across the night sky.  Ever once and a while lightning would eletrify the night with an ambient glow of fierce preportions.  It was like a photographer’s flash would go off in a dark room and you could see everything, but only for a split second. This I thought was both eerie and beautiful all at the same time. We arrived at Blackwater State Park late that night.  We actually arrived twice.  The first time we pulled into the campsite and immediately started the hunt for fire wood.  Florida State Parks usually have a firewood cabin of some sorts, however at Blackwater you have to find the camp host and buy the bundles from them.  Well we didn’t know this and really didn’t feel the need to knock down the camp host’s RV door for some wood – they are typically an older couple and if they are anything like my grandparents, they are asleep by 7:30.  So with a quick trip to Milton (the Tom Thumb sells wood by the bundles) we found ourselves back at camp with wood, hungry bellies, and tired bones.  It wasn’t long before our fire was going out and we turned in for the night.  I only woke up once that evening to the sound of wind blowing through the tent and the trees above.  You could feel the air becoming drier and cooler and I knew that when the sun came up the skys above would have that engaging blue color that only seems to come on crisp autumn days and provides a backdrop that compements the colors of fall.

Good Morning Moon

Blackwater has a multitude of hiking and canoeing trails.  Although the more popular way to view this area is by kakaying down the Blackwater River itself – we had decided to bypass this and strickly hike around the forest. 

So this is where I stopped for some reason.  Time managment has never been my forte.

I woke up not from the sun, but from a brisk chill running over my body.  I was unaware that the mountains of Costa Rica get cold at night – even in the summer. My bunkmate, Abbey, must have known this already because most of the blankets were tightly wrapped around her body, proverbially leaving me out in the cold.  No worries though, it was time to get up anyway.  We had to be packed, outside and ready to go by 6 am.  The only way to the Pacuare Jungle Lodge was to raft in, so we needed to pack a little bravery as well – that was my cheese line for the day in case you were looking for it.  A shuttle bus picked us up where we met a small group of folks that we would be spending the next few days with.  As we picked up the last group of people, we headed to the Adventure Costa Rica headquarters for supplies.  On our itinerary sheet, we were asked to only pack a max of 20 lbs, and all of us were a little nervous about going over the maximum, I had visions of my pack floating downstream and wearing wet clothing for three days.

Van to the river

After we loaded up, we set off to the Pacuare River.  In my half-awake half-asleep daze the countryside of Costa Rica passed us by.  Steep and curvy roads lead the way through mountains that were dotted with ramshackle towns and homes, native ferns, coffee farms, and sugar cane.  An occasional horse or cow blocked the road and gave us a moment’s pause to catch our breath, take a photo and gulp down copious amounts of Dramamine and Imodium – which in all reality probably saved my life.  As we reached the summit of the mountainside we saw our breakfast stop, a hillside restaurant overlooking a picture perfect landscape.  We downed a delicious meal of rice and beans, eggs and the best hot sauce I have ever had and took a moment for a photo shoot.  As a group, we tend to take a lot of pictures, and who doesn’t like a good photo shoot?

Costa Rica Mountain View

The Pacuare River is tough, for some reason I imagined the sparser and gentler rapids of the Ocoee River in TN, but I was wrong.  The Pacaure is wide and wild, it’s brown like the Mississippi and there are no breaks – just one rapid after another.  On the way to the lodge we traversed through Class III and Class IV rapids, our guide who ended up with us for the entire trip was Max.  I don’t think I would be alive today without Max, his knowledge and expertise made the trip enjoyable rather than the complete freak out I would have had – plus he was the captain for the Costa Rica National Rafting Team – so we were in good hands.  Max and the other guides safely led us down the river with a few pleasant stops along the way.  When you go, be sure to bring a waterproof camera, shoes that are waterproof and will stay on your feet, and good hearing – cause when the guide yells – HIGH SIDE RIGHT – you better get going.  We later found out that the trip is technically an overnight rafting trip, which explains the fantastic rapids you get to experience.  Overall this was the best rafting trip I have ever been on, and I don’t think you could get much better than the Pacuare River.  But we were there for the lodge – the Pacuare Jungle Lodge.

Water seemed to be ever flowing out of my shoes.  We exited the raft and were greeted with fresh squeezed guava cocktails along the shores of the Pacuare Jungle Lodge.  As my eyes gazed up to relish in the canopy of the rainforest, I noticed the main lodge area gently tucked away – in reality the lodge is a quite prominent feature of the resort and the main station for meals, meeting spots, or just a nap in a hammock.  It over looks the river and provides wonderful vistas of the surrounding rainforest, but at that moment in time the lodge seemed to just blend in so perfectly into its natural surroundings that it disappeared into the mystery of the woods.

As we sipped on our cocktails, the general manager of the resort went over the basics of how things worked.  The two most important rules were: one – we are on Costa Rica time, which means 15 to 30 minutes either way of the stated time, and rule two – please don’t wear your shoes inside the buildings.  What is this heaven? – cause it’s close enough.  The manager grabbed our bags and showed us to our bungalow, on the way we got a first hand few of the layout of the resort.  There is only a small strip of land between the river and the rainforest.  This cultivated area houses the bungalows and cottages, and is filled with guava trees, tropical palms, orchids and bromides, bananas, and a few shrubs that you might recognize, but in the states they small and typically secondary landscaping. The pathways were rocks from the river, smooth, grey and round and they fit perfectly into place and tended to meander though the resort much like the river from where they were pulled.  As we walked along the path we came to our home for the next few days, a riverside bungalow suite at the end of the resort. Exhausted I ripped off my wet clothes, grabbed an organic cotton robe and drifted off to sleep to the sounds of the raging river on a hammock gently swinging in the breeze.

Enjoying the Hammock

We couldn’t figure out what to do first.  The resort offers a multitude of activities and I would suggest doing them all.  Since we had spent an entire day rafting, and traveling the day before we opted for a quiet first night with some much needed lounge time.  Somehow I scored an in-room massage, which ended up being a highlight.  The masseuse, Elle, was a small girl with strong hands.  She incorporated Swiss, sports, and reflexology into her work and the tension of life in the states slowly melted away.  All I really remember is the sound of the water, Elle’s gentle voice, and the thunder of an up coming rainstorm.  I was sent into a dream right then and there and didn’t wake up until I heard a Delta airline spokesperson say we were in Atlanta.

All of your meals are served at the lodge, barefoot of course.  Breakfasts and lunches were light, healthy, organic and local.  I had some of the best banana pancakes there, of course Stephen will say that my banana pancakes are the best, but I’ll let the lodge have this one.  Costa Rica is known for their coffee, a fresh pot was brewed every morning and our little group of coffee lovers were in caffeine heaven.  I’m a tea drinker myself, so I was incredibly happy to see a bounty of organic teas available in the land of coffee.  Dinner impressed me the most, each evening we were given a selection of a starter/salad, main course, and dessert.  Below the main lodge was a cellar with the most wonderful collection of wines.  The food was amazing, near five-star quality and the atmosphere was divine.  Candlelight dinners will always have a special place in my heart from this experience.  We knew going here, that the Pacuare Lodge was an eco-retreat, with no electricity and only candles to light your way in the dark, but to actually experience it was another thing all together.  I would encourage everyone to have an evening in the dark and absorb the healing qualities of candlelight.  We absorbed not only candlelight but a good bit of wine and Costa Rican rum and since it was dark we ended up going to bed at 7 each night.  This early to bed bit wasn’t that bad, because we definitely needed it.

Candlelit dinner - oh so romantical

So I could go on and on about lounging and the wonderful amenities of the resort, I spent a large amount of time clad in only a robe lying around anything I could find that looked comfortable.  A few robe based photo shoots later we decided to get up and do something. 

Lounging in Robes

JUST LET GO GLEN! I was yelling at one of our tour partners.  There are only a few people allowed on the resort at any given time, and the folks we met on the bus were basically with us during all public events like meals and excursions. We were on the first of many zip lines, and Glen decided to brake a little early because his nerves got the best of him.  Poor guy, we finally got Glen were he needed to be (on the ground) and we went on with the zip line course.  If you have seen any TV commercials or Travel Channel shows about Costa Rica you know about a zip line through the rainforest.  It is THE thing to do; even the airport at San Jose has some manikin zipping through the rafters above the security check point.  They say it is the best way to view the rainforest; you can get right into the canopy and view all the wonderful birds and animals that call it home.  Although I completely agree, the main reason for any sane person to harness themselves to a cable wire high in the tree tops and fly through the air is simply because – it is so much fun!  We had a blast zipping from tree to tree and a light mist of rain came through near the end of our journey, at the end we repelled down an ancient tree to the ground where once again we were greeted with a tropical fruit cocktail. Yum. 

Go Leigh!

Since we were in the rainforest it only made sense to go on a hike.  Our expert guide Max took us along a rugged, but easy to walk, trail through the forest and pointed out a multitude of flora and fauna.  One of our friends is a landscape architect and a plant lover by nature.  She and all of us really were amazed at the variety and pure size of the plants in the jungle.  Walking up the trail we looked like a typical movie set.  A line of safari jackets and hiking sticks trotted through the trail and the tail end could always see the front of the line from the ravine over.  As we took the last corner we came upon a waterfall.  We had made it.  Everyone stripped down to their suits and dove right in.  The cool water refreshed every bone in my body, and the waterfall massaged our necks and back.  Max plopped down and proceeded to make facial masks from the local clay and we all got a native facial treatment, apparently you can make a spa anywhere in Costa Rica. Afterwards we meandered back, had a mild wardrobe malfunction, and called it a day. 

Natural Facials

I found myself back in the front of the raft – somehow I was designated the “front of the raft guy” by my peers and Max. Although fun, the front can be a little unnerving.  Today was the day we would finish our trip and go through Class IV and Class V rapids – if there was a day to go overboard – it was today.  I mentioned before how the Pacuare River was wild, and for our return trip it decided to show off – just a little.  It must have been a popular day to go rafting as the river was filled with groups of people huddled together in a rubber boat, screaming their heads off and praying for mercy.  It was great.  This part of the river was old and mysterious – the local Indian tribes feared and respected it and rightly so.  Huge walls of pure rock sheared up out of the water, vines drooped out of the treetops, and magnificent waterfalls cascaded down the sides.  It was breathtakingly beautiful, and ancient. I think we lost Ms. Sandra along he way.  I just remember Abbey pulling her back in, I nearly lost a shoe, my camera and wetsack but I gained so much more.  We all did.  When it was finally over we laid in the grass for a while, just happy to be on solid ground and to be dry.

Time for a beer - for real

If I could thank anyone, besides Kendall who actually booked the trip, it would be the folks at the Pacuare Jungle Lodge and Adventure Costa Rica for the fantastic lodging, support and information during the trip.  They certainly understand how to make a good trip a great one.

Costa Rica is a country of extremities.  A place of constant change and movement, and that’s what makes it so intriguing.  We began our trip were we usually do, at the office finishing up some project prior to our departure flight.  This trip somewhat snuck up on us – not that we forgot that we were going, just everything seems to be taken care of for us – so kudos to our trip planning partners Costa Rica Nature Adventures / Pacuare Lodge.  Actually kudos to the Pacuare Lodge for making this trip so incredibly wonderful.

We flew into San Jose during a rain storm and according to the locals and our cab driver it had been raining for days.  Everywhere we looked there was a flurry of activity from the pummeling rain, to the annoyed travelers stuck outside, but what struck me the most was the barrage of cabbies and visitors standing outside the airport trying to get first pick of the tourist coming off the plane.  So tip of the day – plan for your hotel to pick you up from the airport.  If you can speak Spanish with ease and enjoy haggling your way through about 100 soaking wet cabbies, then go for it – but I much preferred a little white sign with my name on it. 

Que?

As part of our trip we needed to spend one evening in San Jose, our journey to the Pacuare Lodge began at 6 am, so a comfy bed, a hot tub and a strong cocktail were our requirements for our evening lodging.  We found them all at the Hotel Grano de Oro (or the Grain of Gold in english - and that it is my friends). 

The hotel, an old tropical Victorian, breathed history.  Grainy black and white photos lined the halls and around every corner you found a courtyard or a tiny fountain filling the air with sounds of rushing water.  You could feel merchants from years past walk down the same halls, however I’m pretty sure they were not toting an Imperial beer in one hand, with the other hand desperately grasping for the waist-slipping towel on their way to the hot tub, but who knows. A juxtaposition in itself the exterior and lobby area was incredibly modern and slick, and fit into the old Victorian perfectly.  Actually they played off each other quite well and gave the surrounding neighborhood a glimpse of a cultural and architectural revolution.  As our exploration of the hotel came to a close and the night wore on, we lifted the windows and let the cool night breezes soothed us to sleep.  I’m not sure what I dreamed or if i dreamed at all, but the next few days began one of the great adventures in my life and because of this I now know that I am a traveler by passion and trade.

View from room

Part 2 the Lodge is next…

On the way to our drop off point, and our kayak rental, we needed to get a saltwater fishing license.  I had no idea that picking up shells from the bottom of the bay was “fishing” but these are needed regardless, and i didn’t quite feel like breaking the law just right yet.  Luckily there is an outdoor rigging store located in Port St. Joe, right next to the Piggly Wiggly where you can obtain a license – be sure to grab a net if you don’t have one.  For general supplies we needed: a net, snorkel, mask, water-shoes, bug spray, snacks that are cool to get wet, and a hell ton of water – we were a bit hungover and needed a lot of water (unfortunately we didn’t bring a lot).  Just on a side note, I love a Piggly Wiggly.  I love a Piggly Wiggly hot plate even more.

After a quick shopping spree, downing a bottle of smart water, and a bite of pasta salad from the Pig’s deli counter, we were off.  We launched and rented our boats from Happily Ours, rental company.  Basically a house with kayaks under it, a few chickens in the yard, and one donkey -so from the looks of it, a pretty cool place.  This my friends is where the bug spray comes into place.  I bet you thought that sounded weird to bring bug spray when you are doing nothing but swimming around in water, but please be sure to spay yourself down prior to exiting your vehicle cause you will get eaten alive.  In the 10 minutes we spent getting our rigging ready and renting the kayaks a swarm of mosquitoes attacked us.  They are ruthless and will suck every bit of soul and blood in your body.  Not having any bug spray on me, I could only hope that the copious amout of booze I drank the night before was killing a few of them off as they sucked.  So you get the drift – for the few minutes you are in and out of the water get some bug spray! After a quick enter / exit the boat lesson and an obsessive and slightly dumb safety orientation we were off.

on the way to the bay

So the best way to scallop is to float on top of the water and scan the area for our little bivalve friends, and when you see one scoop it up and put it in the net.  I did a lot of floating and not much scooping.  Although I did find a number of really cool things under the water I never found a scallop – or at least a live scallop.  Disappointed?  Not really, i really didn’t want to have to deal with transporting the scallops back in a safe manner for cooking, and i didn’t want to have to clean the things.  It was the last day in scallop season as well (runs from mid-summer to early September), so perhaps they were picked clean.  I blame the sea urchins.  I found tons of those guys and every time I did it had three or more scallop shells sucked clean on its back.

The bay is otherwise teeming with life.  I saw numerous sea urchins (damn things), red fish, mullet, jack fish, starfish, coral or a sponge (i couldn’t tell but have inserted a photo for documentation), a few mystery creatures that i would rather not know about, a sea turtle (just its head for a moment but cool regardless), and a giant clamaaaamm (doing that in a B52′s rock lobster voice is the best.

So even though I didn’t catch anything we had a great time regardless.  Much paddling was involved so be sure to do some stretches prior, and if you are slightly hungover take something to make your head stop swimming.  Floating on top of constantly moving water is not good for the nausea. Floating on top of water is also not good for your back and neck.  My sunburn is raging at this moment and even the tannest of friends fell host to the sun’s burning rays.

Until next time – I’m off to moisturize.

So I hope to post information about my travels and adventures on here.  Mostly these are nature based, being the good hippie I am, I quite enjoy the outdoors.  I’m also a good southerner, so most of my adventures take place in the southeast.  I say this knowing that my second blog is going to be about our recent trip to Costa Rica.  Oh well you all get the drift. 

So friends sit back, relax, grab a beer, smoke what you got, and enjoy the ride – cause the delay is over and this train is departing.