# SuPrBuGmAn's Panhandle Bikepacking Chronical



## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

So I got a few hits and a few ideas from my Florida Bikepacking Thread.

This thread will just entail updates on my own endeavor into the panhandle bikepacking epic ride. Its a ride thats been in the back of my head for about a year now. Honestly, blogs from mikesee and some of the other more prolific posters here at mtbr didn't help curtail this idea. While my Florida adventure won't compare to trekking through Alaska or the Great Divide, or whatever, it'll be my own little slice of fun - and hopefully a bit unique(obviously not unheard of though).

First things first, I'm going to do a ride in mid-late October that'll be in the 60 mile range. This should make for a very easy two days ride and allow lots of time for learning the ins and outs of carrying around a hollistic camping kit around with me on a bike. I've started mapping the route out through St Marks Wildlife Refuge already, and have a basic idea on what I want to do. Basically, I'm going to ride from Ocklocknee/Sopchoppy River east to the Aucilla River, making a couple stops along the way at certain destinations like Shepherd Springs. Then I'll backtrack South-West to end my trip at the St Marks Lighthouse. Not all of the refuge trails are maintained, some are overgrown to the point of being unridable. Others, I've found, are completely covered in sandburs - which are a huge PITA. So I'm working out the route, visiting different sections I'm not familiar with to pick out viable passage.

After the Oct overnighter, I'll build on the ride and shoot for a 100-120 miler in the spring of 2012.

9-17-11

Did a 21 miler near the Lighthouse, taking the Tram Road(105) out over the Pinhook River and east for another mile-ish. Then headed back and took the Stoney Bayou loop(122), then crossing back over the bayou on refuge roads 128 and 106, back to 105. All the trails were in good condition, there were enough sand spurs to remind me to refresh the Stans in my tires, but it wasn't too bad honestly.


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

Some of the issues I'm facing are trying to find routes that will keep me off the pavement. I've pretty much resigned to the fact that if I do this ride over the Wildlife Refuge, I'll have to get on paved roads, and even Highway 98 to connect a few sections, or get over the Wakulla and St Marks Rivers.

The other problem is camping, the wildlife refuge has no concessions for through bikers. They have primitive campsites for through paddlers(florida circumnagivational paddle trail) and through hikers(florida trail). Nothing for the adventurous biker. So I'll have to utilize the commercial campsite on Hwy 98 in Newton, adjascent from Lighthouse Road, for my first bikepacking site(kinda lame to use a commercial site, but whatev).

9-25-11

I'm scouting out unfamiliar portions of the refuge in order to put together a viable route. Today I planned to do 20-25 miles of refuge trail. Well, that didn't happen. After 6-7 stops to pull sand spurs off my legs, ankles, shoes, and tires; I headed back to the car to regroup and figure out how to route around all that nonsense. In 3 hours I rode only 9 miles, spending just as much time picking spurs off me than pedalling. Insane.




























For those wondering, I was in the Panacea Tract, parked at Otter Lake and took 316 south. That road(also a loop trail - blue blazes), seemed decent - and I'll go back to check its viability in full. I spurred off onto 319, then made a loop out of 320, 321, 322, and 323. I suggest you *DON'T* do this whenever sand spurs are seeding(read as now). I had to read up on these little bastards, coastal sandspurs. Apparently they are seasonal, bloom in summer, and spur up in the Fall. Damn good time to plan a bikepacking trip, right?

It wasn't all gloom and doom, fortunately... Saw lots of turkey, animal tracks all over, and nearly had to bunnyhop a big turtle. Lots of coastal lakes in this area.














































Despite the sandspurs being exponentially worse here than they were in the St Marks tract last weekend, the tires did fine in no part due to a fresh helping of Stans earlier this week.

I'll probably revisit the Panacea Tract this weekend coming up, hopefully not for more self induced punishment.


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## Jim311 (Feb 7, 2006)

I've found that while sand spurs suck when they pierce your skin, they are not really tough enough to poke through an average tire carcass, at least not badly enough to cause you to flat anyway.


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## E19Talon29 (Jul 17, 2011)

Would you want to post this in the brand new "Florida section" lol

nice pics there dude.


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

Jim311 said:


> I've found that while sand spurs suck when they pierce your skin, they are not really tough enough to poke through an average tire carcass, at least not badly enough to cause you to flat anyway.


Weekend before last, the spurs ended up puncturing the tires enough to make both go low before the end of my ride. I hadn't put new Stans in either tire this season. When I got home, I threw some more sealant in and they held pressure fine this past weekend despite the spurs being much much worse.

The pastor who I rode with on the St Marks Wildlife Refuge originally, said he flatted alot out there - even with steel belted tires(lol). He uses tubes.

It can be a problem.

With good sealant, the problem's solved.


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

9-29-11

Verified my route through the Wakulla Tract of St Marks Wildlife Refuge. 218 & 221 are easily ridable with only a few areas of overgrowth, none that keep you from riding through. 223 is in great shape. I didn't ride 224, but it appears to be fine. 217 crossing from Shell Point to Live Oak roads is grown up to the point where pedalling through it is zero fun, but there's a tractor with a bushhog on the back of it near the trailhead, so I'd think it'd be clear soon. 

The great news is... no friggin sandburs in this tract.

Still figuring out the first half the day for getting across the Panacea Tract with as little grief from overgrown trail and sandburs as possible, but for the second half the day...

The plan will be to hop off Jack Crum(connecting Panacea to Wakulla tracts) onto Spring Creek Hwy, get off the pavement at 118 and either continue up 221 to Shell Point Rd; or veer south to Cutoff Road and hook into 224 south of Cutoff, then across to 223 and to 221 to Shell Point. From Shell Point Rd head north to 214, then 215, then hop on 200 heading east. Take a short diversion down 210 and take a little swim at Shepherd Spring if its not too cold(in two weeks, fat chance) and there aren't any big gators. Then back to 200 east to Wakulla Beach Road north to Hwy 98 to head east(I'm contemplating a trip south to Wakulla Beach itself - guess it'll depend on time/fatigue factors). Eat at the Subway at Hwy 98 and St Marks Road and resupply. Head east to the campsite at Hwy 98 and Lighthouse Road(on the St Marks River), maybe take a swim. Setup camp and crash for the night. 

Day two will be spent on the St Marks Tract. I've pretty much got that route down to breaking camp and heading down Lighthouse Road, left on 102, making a loop with 153 & 154, then back up 102 to 104, go up Lighthouse Road to 127, then north on 106. Head east on 105 all the way out across the Pinhook and to Aucilla River. Then backtrack on 105 to East Stoney Bayou(122) all the way south past the Picnic Pond, then follow Lighthouse Road to the Lighthouse to bask in the glory of my first Epic? Lulz.


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

10-2-11

Finally figured out my way through Panacea and Medart(Panacea Tract of St Marks Wildlife Refuge) yesterday. After an ego deflating first attempt on 9-25, I've got a route that will only bring me through about a half mile or really gnarly sandspurs, which beats the hell outta what I went through before. So after starting on Surf Road in Panacea, at the boatlaunch north of Crays Rise, we'll ride to the first St Marks Wildlife Refuge road(220) and ride the sandspurs up until 330, and head north around the helipad and Renfro Lake. We'll head west at 316 and follow the loop trail around north and back east until veering off to the east at 317. From there, we'll take 314 north, then back south after the peak until the refuge road back to Hwy 98. On Hwy 98 we'll head north for a half mile or so until we get to Skipper Bay Road(and hopefully score some cajun boiled peanuts and snow cones). We'll take Skipper Bay east, almost to the bay, but veering off north on refuge road 305. We'll take 305 north to Boykin Road to the right(northeast) then north on Purify Bay Road. Purify Bay turns into Jack Crum and we'll follow that to Hwy 98 and Hwy 319 to score lunch at a food truck or gas station. Once fat and happy, we'll drop back down Jack Crum and head east, then south, until it tucks back into Spring Creek Hwy heading south. We'll head east off the pavement again, onto 218, which brings us well into the Wakulla Tract, covered earlier. 




I made a quick route with Google Earth, if I do all the options, looks like 78 miles - easy two days.


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

Incase anyone was wondering


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

My rack came in today, a Topeak MTX BeamRack V-Type. Its not a large capacity rack(only 20 lbs) by any means, but should hold a pack tent and a sleeping bag just fine.










Gonna make this trip happen on 11-19 & 11-20-11 if the weather allows.


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## Megashnauzer (Nov 2, 2005)

have you checked out crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: A place for bicycle tourists and their journals? you might post your trip on there also.


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

Thanks for the link, I hadn't seen that site before.


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

Rigged out for an overnighter, leaving tomorrow morning.


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## tproc (Jul 16, 2006)

How did it go?


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

It was great, ended up at 83 miles for the entire trip - got pics onto the computer yesterday. Will do a write up to update this thread tonight hopefully.


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

A long distance(surely a relative term) bikepacking trip has been on my mind for about a year now. In no small part due to threads found here in the Passion forum, and various posts full of pictures and videos by mikesee and others like him. Doing it locally would keep this trip in my budget and timeframe. Unfortunately, we don't have mountains, but Florida still has a wide range of scenic views to enjoy. Large trails systems are hard to come by in this state as, finding single track over 20 miles long can be difficult, and only a handfull of places in the state can boast more; none of which are long enough for the adventure I was looking for... so I knew I'd be looking at double track, service roads, levee trails, and dirt roads for the distances I persued. Luckily, we have several parks in the state which can be used to work out these sorts of adventures including Apalachicola and Ocola National Forests. I chose the St Marks Wildlife Refuge for my first trip as it follows through alot of what makes Florida beautiful. Sandhills, pineforests, coastal lakes, sinkholes, springs, hardwood forests, marsh, beaches, rivers, and creeks run through this refuge which spans across the southside of Wakulla County, FL. The only downside to choosing the St Marks Wildlife Refuge is the fact that the three seperate tracts(Panacea, Wakulla, and St Marks) do not connect via trail, and you have to hop on pavement to connect them(and cross the major rivers - Wakulla and St Marks Rivers). The benefit would be I wouldn't have to pack food in, as there were places to eat on connecting roads.










I'm on a budget, but still managed to score a light packtent for $40 at Bass Pro Shop, and had a fairly light sleeping bag that I stuffed in a bag. My girlfriend sewed me up a frame bag that would handle a water bottle and a change of clothes. I carried a camelback with tools, a couple spare tubes(incase the tubeless sealant doesn't cut it), and some snacks. Strapped another water bottle to the pack on the back, mounted on a seatpost mounted rear rack(Topeac MTX). Temps were going to be between 55 and 75F throughout the trip, so exposure protection wasn't ranging much and tshirts and shorts were fine throughout the entire weekend.










I got alot of support from my girlfriend on this trip, including driving me out to the drop point for sunrise on Saturday morning. All the orange was no mistake, the Panacea and Wakulla Tracts get hunted, and while there weren't hunt dates during the weekend I was there, I didn't want to trust that the locals understood that.... My starting point was at a boat launch on the Ochlocknee River, more specifically on Roho Road. A half-mile of pavement brought me to my entry into the wildlife refuge.










Within a mile and a half of my ride, I had already spooked off a black bear. It was the only one I saw during the trip, but there were more around. The above were fresh tracks a few miles further into the trip.



















This is a fairly typical representation of the northside of the Panacea Tract, pineforest, sandhills, and sinkholes. Alot of these trails were covered in sandspurs a month ago, but I guess the seedlings had all finally dropped, because they weren't much of a problem at all on the trip.



















The southside of the Panacea Tract(south of Hwy 98), moves away from pineforests and lets loose into coastal marsh, and then beaches.



















Little more of the same.



















I made my way out of the Panacea Tract and headed to a food truck on the way to connecting back into the Wakulla Tract. It was suprisingly excellent.










The Wakulla Tract has is mostly composed of hardwood uplands and pineforests, but its crisscrossed with streams and creeks as well as a few springs and sinkholes. I also ran across an albino coyote, but it was far too skitish for me to snap a picture of...










Shepherd Spring, a second magnitude spring that feeds into Gander Bay.










Interesting little flower, berry thingy...










I jumped back on the highway, its the only crossing over the Wakulla and St Marks Rivers. Maybe one day I can look into a packraft and expand this type of adventure without pavement. This is the Wakulla River, which is springfed by several springs, including Wakulla Spring. Wakulla Spring is one of the largest springs in the world, the second largest 1st magnitude spring in Florida.










Another conveniently placed foodtruck for some BBQ dinner and off again. I also grabbed a few beers from a gas station and stuffed them in my camelback for later.










This is another springfed river, the St Marks River.










I camped at Newport Park, which is nestled along the St Marks River. I got there before sunset and setup the tent. The mosquito's were bad(FL state bird), but this weekend the real trouble came from the noseeums. They were friggin horrible and I retreated into the tent to enjoy my beer. 43 miles on Saturday, my longest single days ride to date. My legs were sore and my knees were killing me, but the beer cut the edge off nicely. I went to sleep around 7PM.










Sunrise on the St Marks happened around 6:30 and I slept right up to it(thats alot of sleep for me). The day promised to be far less overcast!










I hit the St Marks Tract of the St Marks Wildlife Refuge early and headed straight out to the former site of Port Leon, which is a historical port that was flooded over when a storm brought in an abnormally high tide. The community resettled on higher grounds and Newport was born.










Here's a shot of the river downstream of the Wakulla and St Marks confluence.



















The St Marks Tract is composed mostly of pineland forest, coastal wetlands, marsh, and levee trails.



















Saw hundreds of lizards out on Sunday, temps were closing in on 80F and they were enjoying a bit more of the warmer weather before "winter".










I saw bear, coyote, several deer, turkey, fox squirels, grey squirels, eagles, hawks, herons, egrets, snakes, and many other types of birds; but none as photogenic as this little buck. He walked within 10' of me while I was snapping a pic of a gator off to the side of the trail.



















I crossed over the Pinhook river and headed east a few more miles before my turnaround point. The FL trail continues east as a footpath, no bikes. I turned back and headed south to my pickup point(St Marks Lighthouse).










Typical coastal wetlands and levee trail.




























My camera battery died shortly after this... so I don't have a photo of the lighthouse from this particular trip. The PnS I was using was nice and compact, but I sure missed the flexibility and control I have with my dSLRs. I need to save up for one of the EVIL cameras.

Here's one of my past shots of the St Marks Lighthouse, a nice site to end an 83 mile trip.


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## Megashnauzer (Nov 2, 2005)

nice write up. where's the next trip to?


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

Megashnauzer said:


> nice write up. where's the next trip to?


Gonna start checking out my options in the Apalachicola National Forest  Should have something ready for Spring.


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## Bill in Houston (Nov 26, 2011)

That is epic. I am totally jealous of the awesomeness of this trip, and of that shrimp poboy and hushpuppies. I think it is great how you just went with the gear you had, and didn't sit around waiting until you could buy the most advanced stuff. Brains and resourcefulness are the best gear you can carry. Looking forward to your next trip.


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## SuPrBuGmAn (Jun 20, 2009)

My Bass Pro Shop 1man tent and Ozark Trail sleeping bag did just fine for this one  

They aren't light, nor do they pack small, but I don't know the difference as I've never had any of the high dollar ultralight stuff anyway 



Still figuring a route out for the Spring trip, but it should be good!


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## Bill in Houston (Nov 26, 2011)

I havent BIKEpacked, but I have BACKpacked, and I use a 35 year old backpack, walmart sleeping bag and pad, a hammock I made myself, and a walmart cookeset with homemade alky stove. I could spend 1000 bucks and be 8 lbs lighter, but I'd rather have the 1000 bucks. Also, on your end, big props to the girlfriend for making you that frame bag. You've got me thinking about a super-minimal kit to hit my old hiking haunts with, and ways to put together a cross country adventure like yours.


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