February 24, 2002

I walked across Loop Road and stepped onto the Florida Trail that is carved through the southernmost part of the Big Cypress Swamp. On the very edge of the road was real swamp. We stepped into six inches of water to start our hike. It took about three or four steps before the water totally soaked into our shoes and socks. The soaking was almost like it was in slow motion. I became aware of each second that it took to feel the cold water.

We walked about a hundred feet to higher ground-about three or four inches-high enough to be out of water and set our packs in tuffs of grass. Our Naked Swamp Stomp'n would commence as soon as our clothes were stuffed into the already full packs.

We started our Swamp Stomp'n again stepping back into six inches of water. I felt sprinkling rain as I sloshed along the trail, naked. The air was warm enough that the rain felt good at first. But bodies soon cooled and ponchos were needed to ward off the chill. I have to admit that the guy with the see through blue poncho was quite a hot sight. I want one like that for my next hike in the rain. I was able to hold off putting on a jacket for a half-hour or so. During that time it rained really hard. My pack and most of it contents were getting totally saturated. So much for stripping clothes off in the dry tuffs of grass. The pack on my back actually helped to conserve body heat. When I removed the pack to get my jacket, I could really tell the difference and felt more of a chill.

It rained so hard that I was afraid to get my camera out. I passed up several photo opportunities for fear of getting it wet. There were a group of Tillandsias that were growing low on a young cypress tree. It was made up of about five or six plants with each one of them blooming. Tillandsias are a type of bromeliad that flower on a long stem above the plant. These flowers were a pinkish red with lime green tips. There were a lot more of these beautiful Tillandsias blooming than last year. I believe this February was wetter and they were a lot happier. Along the trial also was a very young deformed cypress. It probably was only about three feet tall with the top broken off. Several of the branches were twisted into a beautiful form with new growth covering them. I can still see these swamp plants in my mind. Oh, how I want to download these images to share with you.

After hiking in water for about an hour we left that sparsely situated cypress grove to a wide-open prairie. It was probable a half mile across with views for a mile or two on either side. It felt wonderful to be exposed in more ways than one. Not only were we exposed by our nakedness; we were also exposed by the vastness of this prairie. Try to imagine what it would have looked like watching us hike from a mile away. The four of us in our colorful rain gear. We plodded along in single file covered in a blue poncho, a green jacket, a red poncho, and an orange poncho. Tiny dots of color marching across the brownish winter prairie. With only two more colors, yellow and purple, we would have made a complete rainbow. It continued to rain as we left the prairie behind.

We entered an area where there were slash pines growing. It was obvious that the pines liked to have dryer ground to live on. Our trail came out of the water although we could hardly detect an evaluation change. In the swamp a few inches makes all the difference. The pines did not grow where it was wet all the time. Before we could say slash pines three times our feet were emerged in the swamp again. The trail lead to where the cypress were happiest with their roots submerged. Tiny green shoots covered the cypress. Spring was coming to the swamp even though it was still February.

After about another hour of sloshed along, we came to a hammock. No we did not find a hammock strung between two trees, it was an island in the swamp. A hammock is an area that is higher and dry enough for hardwoods to grow. The trail here was dry. What a relief to walk on stable ground. Located in the hammock was a primitive campsite complete with a water pump. Actually it had a "sink" too where part of a limestone rock dissolved away and left round depressions. These depressions were filled with rainwater and made a convenient place to wash out our socks that collected various bits of mulch from the swamp. It was a nice campsite and it would be well worth doing a backpacking trip there. At this point we ate our lunch, rested, and visited. Unfortunately on this trip we would not be spending the night.

The slough that we dined beside last year was ahead. It was farther away than we expected. A moment of fear swept over us that we were on the wrong trail. It was such a unique area that we could not have passed it without notice. At last, the trail raised itself out of the swamp as we expected right before we got to the slough.

The slough was so different this year. There were several more feet of water collected there; the logs we sat on last year were floating. We were barely able to stand on them and soak up the beauty with our eyes. Our bellies were glad that we had already eaten lunch. We would not be savoring our delicacies at the slough this year. When our eyes were through soaking up the slough, we were back on the trail wading into two feet of water. Last year there was barely a trickle of water running across the trail from the slough.

As we left this area, we wondered out loud about this beautiful place. We speculated about how many people had seen this slough and its sopping beauty. We knew that it had to be a fraction of a percent. We were among the few hardy enough to put forth the effort to hike here and enjoy this beautiful place.

The trail was even farther below the water level as we continued our journey back to the Oasis Visitors Center. The four of us made quite a bit of noise as we splashed the water with each step. A foot of water made the hiking even harder and noisier. When we would all stop for a break the silence of the swamp enveloped us. The quiet was so spiritual we lowered our voices to give the swamp a break from our noise.

Before long we could hear the traffic zooming through the Big Cypress on route 41. Did these people experience the Big Cypress Swamp as the sped by at 60 miles an hour? Yes, but not as we did on our Naked Swamp Stomp'n at a couple of miles an hour. We stepped into the swamp and felt the cold water as it slowly soaked into our shoes. Removing our clothes we could feel the rain on all parts of our bodies. When the sun peeked from behind the clouds we could feel her warmth as ponchos were shed. Swamp breezes caressed our bodies as we hiked exposed across her vastness. Taste buds were tantalized as we lunched on common food at the primitive campground, fine dining in our eyes. A decomposing odor drifted into our nostrils as we stirred the mud with our stomping. The swamp whispered it silence to us when we stopped to listen. Our eyes were saturated with the beauty of this diverse area, from the vast prairie to the slash pine forest, from the stands of cypress to the island hammocks, and beside the slough where our eyes lingered the longest. Today we have felt the rain, sun, wind, and saw the beauty, ate our tasty snacks, heard the silence, and smelled nature decomposing organic materials into fertile soil. All those senses enhanced the mental health break we came here to experience. People who stop at the Oasis Visitors Center can say that they visited the Big Cypress Swamp. We on the other hand can say that it was a unique experience using all of our senses on our Big Cypress Swamp Stomp.

� Copyright 2002 Dustin P. Roeb�re All Rights Reserved