Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: Wekiva Trail 2
The Florida summer heat at long last has faded, at least temporarily, and that meant I finally was able to explore Wekiva Trail 2. Like the last section of the trail I explored way back in May, this segment had zero tree cover and would have exposed me completely to the sun. I’m glad I waited till a near perfect overcast day to take this hike.
Starting just after Mile Marker 2.5, Wekiva Trail 2 follows Florida State Roads 46 and Toll Road 429 west towards Sorrento. As I traveled through Lake County, I was reminded that outside of the major cities, a lot of Florida is still swamp land protected and maintained as state parks. Two such parks stood on opposite sides of the path. The Seminole State Forest was to the north, and Wekiva Springs to the south.
The other major feature seen along this segment of the trail were signs of how the non toll road had been rebuilt to accommodate the other highway. Originally this area only had the one road, and since so much protected land exists in this place, the engineers and builders that expanded 429 had to be a bit creative. Honestly, while any impact to such parks is seen as a negative, I personally think they did a good job limiting the amount of land taken to build the Toll Road. They even managed to make the lower road look nice as opposed to boring and made sure the path is far enough away from the street to be safe.
Mile Marker 3.0
With fences being a different feature but still something I expected, the segment of Wekiva Trail 2 beyond Mile Marker 3.0 was exactly as I expected. This trail has little deviance each section because It follows a straight west path with little to no deviation. Bridges along the highway and rivers below break up the landscape, but otherwise, this region is flat. You can see quite a distance forward.
For that reason the pictures will be doing most of the talking on this post. There are only so many ways to repeat the same features without sounding tired or pretentious. And I refuse to go the route of telling personal stories to fill the word count.
Beyond Mile Marker 3.5 one will find much of the same that I mentioned above. The land is a little clearer here north of the trail. And while the State Forest is still nearby, there are also some homes here. Notably ranch houses and farms from what I saw. I wouldn’t want to live over here, far from the rest of the world, but I imagine others would love it. Different places for different people and all that.
I also noticed a lot of utility meters near the trail. Its strange to me that they would be placed here rather than closer to the properties that they measure, but I suppose the utility companies prefer it easier to reach them all quickly rather than having to go in and out of all the side streets where these homes and businesses are located.
Mile Marker 4.0
Mile Marker 4.0 and what was immediately beyond it was more of the same. Not much of a surprise. In a way I sort of ruined the suspense with that earlier paragraph didn’t I? Don’t take things the wrong way though. I don’t want anyone reading this to think I didn’t enjoy myself while hiking Wekiva Trail 2. Its just hard to write about it since the entire hike looks similar with repeating features.
Mile Marker 4.5
The section of Wekiva Trail 2 that was beyond Mile Marker 4.5 was perhaps the least different as far as differences in the land are concerned. A few trees dotted the right side while a small ditch separated the trail from the land north of it. Of course there was a fence beyond that. And of course to my left the two roads that dominate the land scape here marched ever onward.
Beyond Mile Marker 5.0 is when Wekiva Trail 2 finally took a change in scenery at least for a moment. The road and trail alongside it follow a bridge above a few other streets. And down below there was a change in the types of trees and other life that lived in the area.
Those wide open valleys below looked similar to the ones that had followed the trail. But seeing them march away and towards the State Forest was enough of a change that I took a moment to take it all in when I was here.
Mile Marker 5.5
Mile Marker 5.5 of the Wekiva Trail is where the entire pattern of this hike came to an end. The trail continued following State Road 46 which at this point splits off from Toll Road 429 as it continues west. The trail also traveled past different types of land forms as land around here was not cleared for the Tollway. This gave greater insight as I explored what this region looked like before the Toll Road expansion.
The fence remained close to the trail through it all. Can’t allow random people to explore what’s just on the other side now can we? I jest of course since that land is a combination of private property and State Forest with plenty of protected land for wild animals to not have to deal with all the stupid things humans tend to do.
End of the Trail
The final section of Wekiva Trail didn’t quite make it to Mile Marker 6. Instead I followed the trail towards a small park and trailhead for another trail. I’ll be exploring that one in the future, but at least for this post I want to keep the focus on the one I explored so I won’t be talking about the trailhead.
Instead I want to talk about how this final section finally had some features that made it stand out. This post was a little harder to write because the word count dropped a bit. Mostly because the pictures are doing the heavy lifting of course. Yet don’t let the smaller number of words trick you into thinking I didn’t enjoy myself.
It has been a long summer and I’m extremely excited to be back out exploring again, I waited almost 6 months to go on this adventure. Don’t worry, I won’t be waiting as long for the next part. If the weather doesn’t go back to extreme sun, I might even be back here in a week.
Pokemon Go
Wekiva Trail 2 was an exciting adventure in real life. But how about in Pokemon Go? Sadly the image above tells the full tale. While there were segments where several spawns appeared, rare ones in a few cases in fact, there were no gyms or pokestops the entire way.
In essence, use this trail to go for a walk and enjoy the unusual juxtaposition of man made roads next to State protected Forest. But if you want to explore somewhere for Pokemon Go specifically, this is not the place to check out.
Considering how far I walked down Wekiva Trail 2, I hatched plenty of eggs. A 7 mile walk when accounting for going to where I walked and back is a great way to get some distance in game. The hatches were not too impressive, but the stardust and experience points not to mention candy is always welcome. Especially for some of the rarer Pokemon that popped out.
Here I am all smiles. Its been too long since I went on a proper hike and it was a much needed form of therapy. Depression has been hitting me hard all summer as it was too hot to go on these walks. But I felt the effects instantly as I was motivated to do several other things that I had kept putting off.
May the heat subside so that I can continue exploring the world while playing Pokemon Go. The fact that I feel good on these hikes and after them is a wonderful bonus.