Weedon Island

Wanting to test out some of my gear, on February 9, I loaded up my day pack, and paid my first visit to Weedon Island (http://www.weedonislandpreserve.org/default.htm), located immediately south of the Pinellas side of Gandy Bridge.  This county park has a varied history, having been populated by the Weeden Indians, was the home of one of the earliest airports in Pinellas County, was used as a movie studio, and has been home of a power plant since 1955.

After driving the length of the island, I went back to the visitor center to pick up a map and check out their exhibits.  I then grabbed my pack, and hit the trail.  In the pack, I had lunch, rain gear (not needed), a compass (not tested), a headlight (also not needed), and the hydration pack, carrying 3L of ice water.  I also relocated my normal pocket contents to the pack.  Strapped to the outside of the pack, I also had my trekking poles.  I was also wearing some gear that I wanted to test - my light hiking shoes, my Tilley hat, and a permethrin treated (factory treated) long sleeve shirt.  This is the normal sort of gear I would take for a light day hike.  On this trip, I only had my Canon point and shoot, as my SLR had been loaned to a friend.

With all that gear strapped to my back, I was ready to set out...as soon as I took it off, so I could access my keys to lock the car!

On the south end of the preserve is the fishing pier and the Tower Trail, a loop of boardwalk leading to the 45 foot observation tower, where you can oversee the whole island and watch kayakers.

On the South West side of the preserve is a trail that seems rarely trod by visitors to the island.  Here, much of the trail is through scrub areas, and there appeared to be a few research projects.  It gave me a chance to test out my hiking poles, and see some of the other vegetation on the island.  The power plant can be observed from a few places across Riviera Bay.

I stopped for lunch at a picnic area on Riviera Bay.  Here, I watched a few pelicans dive for fish, found a few unfortunate horseshoe crabs, who had seen better days, and checked out the oysters around the kayak access points.

Much of the accessible trails on Weedon Island are well-packed paths, but some are sandy, and there are numerous boardwalks, which allow easy traversing through the mangrove tidal swamps.  The Boy Scout Trail loops around a lake in the northern area of the park.  It has a mix of loose and well packed trails and numerous foot bridges.

Making your way back south, you find Lookout Point Trail.  This long, straight trail feels like it is a narrow, dredged strip of land that cuts through the mangroves to a picnic area.  As overgrown as this area is, it doesn't seem to fit it's name.

At the south side of this picnic area is a very narrow, mucky path, leading into the heart of the mangrove swamp.  I decided to see where it led to, hoping it would give me a viewing of a lake or inlet.  It didn't, but I did find an old railroad tie, and someone's fishing spot, as well as a number of hermit crabs.  This path disappeared at a small clearing, so it was time to turn around and head back, surprising a couple that had been to the picnic area, and was headed back down Lookout Point Trail.

The last trail to explore was Bay Boardwalk, which is a loop that goes around a small lake, and includes the Bay Overlook Platform, which was the nicest of all the outlooks.  There were several water birds, including a flamingo.  Unfortunately, because of the distance it was away from me, and the camera I had with me, though I got a picture of it, it's not worth sharing.

In between the two heads of the Bay Boardwalk is the largest campsite of the park.  Here, there is also a nice opening for kayak launching.

Along the main path back to the visitor center, there is a line of scrub pines that stand where the old airport's runway once was.  Next to the parking area is what remains of the control tower/waiting area for the airport.

Just out of the gates to the park is the road to the Bartow Power Plant.  On February 28, 2012, Progress Energy demolished the 3 300ft tall smoke stacks and steam houses that had long served it's steam powered plant, after switching to natural gas in 2009.

I hope you've enjoyed Weedon Island!








The gear? All that got tested performed as well as I could ask for. The poles worked well, and the stashing loops on the pack made it easy to stow them when they weren't wanted. The hydration pack kept a nice, cold drink of water at very easy access, and held more water than I needed. It was still cool later that night, after I had gone home. The shoes held up to the walking, sand, and mud that covered them up to the ankle. They also cleaned up easily - since they're water proof, I waded into the kayak access at the campground, and most of the muck came off. Altogether, a very successful trip!