Last Sunday we ventured out to check out the Se7en Wetlands area in Mulberry, FL. This Lakeland city park offers two major loops with a connector to the Lakeland Highlands Scrub hike I shared a couple weeks back. There are also a few side trails that add on to the loops for the bikers and all-day hikers.
Mother Nature tricked us.. it should have been a cooler day. Our hike started with blue skies dotted with clouds and a light breeze. However, as we progressed on our trek, the sun streamed down stronger than expected and the breeze was blocked.
We discovered no shade on our three and a half mile journey. This was a rather grassy and dull walk for the first two miles; we were essentially in a grassy gully and the woods were set back a bit.
Some birds gathered in the drain fields as we walked by…mostly ibis and killdeer. We finally arrived at a large lake and the breezes picked up bring us relief.
As we started the final segment we encounter one of the largest alligators I have ever seen in the wild. We paused and contemplated heading back, but he was far enough off the trail that we skirted as far as possible and passed, all the time keeping an eye on him.
We will do this hike again to cover the rest of the trails, and it was great to see another trail in the area. The lake loop and boardwalk should be fun next time we go.
3.51 miles
13.5 miles done / 352 to go
#thehikers365 & #myadventurechallenge
BewilderedBrownEyes 