{"id":128985,"date":"2026-01-23T10:45:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T10:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/128985\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T10:45:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T10:45:24","slug":"following-in-a-hikers-footsteps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/128985\/","title":{"rendered":"Following in a hiker’s footsteps"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wish I had the luxury of taking two months off to embark on a major thru-hiking adventure like the Florida Trail<\/a>. For now, in lieu of that, I can live vicariously through others, like my friend Greg Pflug.<\/p>\n

If that name sounds familiar, it\u2019s because he and I kayaked the entire St. Johns River together<\/a> a few years ago. After running kayak outfitter Adventures in Florida<\/a> for more than three decades, Greg sold his company to a new owner, moved to Virginia and then came back to Florida to spend nearly two months hiking the entire Florida Trail as a long farewell to the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

Each year, a little more than 100 thru-hikers attempt the 1,100-mile hike from Big Cypress Preserve<\/a> in the Everglades to Fort Pickens<\/a> near Pensacola Beach, right by where Florida and Alabama meet. Hiking purists must endure around 300 miles of road walks, but Greg chose to chart his own course.<\/p>\n

\"GregGreg Pflug makes his way through Little Big Econ State Forest while hiking the entire Florida Trail. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

While most people start in South Florida and head north, Greg began in the panhandle to walk east and then south through Florida. He skipped road walks and hopped on a bike to ride a nearly 30-mile section following the Cross Seminole Trail<\/a> in Central Florida.<\/p>\n

On a day in early January, he ended his bike ride at The Town House Restaurant<\/a> in Oviedo, where I met him for lunch to catch up about his adventures.<\/p>\n

Since I had last seen Greg, he had lost 20 pounds \u2014 even after eating an estimated 6,000-7,000 calories per day and waking up in the middle of the night to eat a second or third dinner frequently. When you\u2019re walking for eight hours or more per day, it\u2019s hard to replenish the calories you\u2019re burning.<\/p>\n

\"GregGreg Pflug enjoys lunch at the Town House Restaurant in Oviedo during a thru-hike of the Florida Trail. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

He made it clear from the beginning that he wasn\u2019t out to break any records or even have it count as a technical thru hike. Greg was just out to enjoy it.<\/p>\n

The day before, he had a surprise encounter with a young bear on the trail near Seminole State Forest<\/a>, which ran scared up a tree. Greg said he talked to it for about five minutes and luckily didn\u2019t see Mama Bear anywhere around.<\/p>\n

Although there\u2019s a common saying in the trail community to \u201chike your own hike,\u201d which basically means to let others make their own decisions, even if you don\u2019t agree with them, Greg lamented the other thru hikers walking with earbuds in or watching Netflix in their tent at night, which could seem like questionable choices if your goal is to soak in the outdoors with all of your senses.<\/p>\n

\"GregGreg Pflug meets Grits, another thru-hiker, in Little Big Econ State Forest while walking the entire Florida Trail. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

We both got to soak up a beautiful January afternoon after lunch as I joined Greg for around 8 miles of scenic trail through Little Big Econ State Forest<\/a>, a place that Greg hiked often when living in Geneva.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent thousands of my days hiking in the Econ forest, inhaling the fresh oxygen from all the palmettos and plants and exhaling my carbon dioxide for the plants to feast on,\u201d he wrote on Facebook. \u201cTo me and so many others this is hallowed ground. This is sacred ground. And the more I think about it the more I\u2019m convinced that I was never really born, but hatched in the Florida swamp I call home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days later, I picked Greg up on the side of the road just outside Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area<\/a> near State Road 528 to help him skip a 30-mile section of road walk on Nova Road. We found ourselves in the heart of Deseret Ranch, a 300,000-acre swath of land owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<\/p>\n

\"GregGreg Pflug stops on the Flagler Trail Bridge in Little Big Econ State Forest while hiking the Florida Trail. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

We were saddened at the prospect of all that land being developed someday, taking away another patch of wild Florida.<\/p>\n

Twelve days later, Greg texted to say he had finished the trail. While it would make sense to have a feeling of accomplishment, what Greg actually felt in ending his hike was more complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found myself wanting to spend more time in the wild of Florida,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was a lot of grief in finishing because I feel as if Florida is past the point where it can be fixed, or natural habitats have been decimated and surrounded by roads.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GregGreg Pflug sets up camp in Little Big Econ State Forest while hiking the Florida Trail. (Patrick Connolly\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Maybe if more people spent time in nature and fell in love with wild Florida, we\u2019d all have more will to save it.<\/p>\n

To learn more about taking your own hike on the Florida Trail, visit floridatrail.org<\/a> or floridahikes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Find me\u00a0@PConnPie on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0or send me an email:\u00a0pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>. Stay up to date with our latest travel, arts and events coverage by subscribing to our newsletters at\u00a0orlandosentinel.com\/newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t