2009 Wilderness Trekker Annual Gathering |
The 2009 Annual Gathering was November 6th, 7th and 8th at Silver River State Park As usual we had a fun filled weekend with 3 paddle trips, 2 hikes and a mountain bike event. There were about 50 members that joined the weekend that included a paddle up the Silver River from Ray's Landing, a paddle down the Ocklawaha from Ray's Landing to Gore's Landing, a paddle up the Ocklawaha from Ray's Landing to the 314 bridge, a hike on the Cross Florida Greenway on the Marshall Swamp segment and a second hike on the Greenway from the Land Bridge parking to the land bridge itself, and finally, a thrilling 20-mile mountain bike ride that started at the Santos trail head to the Land Bridge parking and back. Friday evening was our typical pot luck Hors D'oeuvres which gives many members, both heritage and new, time to talk and get to know one another or catch up on the fun of the prior year. Lynn gave a Saturday morning training session on the development of camping/backpacking that she and Kurth have done over the years. We are sadden by the fact that Michael Shugg had a serious bike accident earlier in the week. He was to give a presentation on kayak packing and safety. We understand he still wanted to come regardless. Get well Buddy! Saturday night's Sonny's Bar BQ dinner was followed by a presentation by Don on kayaking dynamics and a short humorous video. His presentation was followed by Kurth's video slide show of his and Lynn's trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, which was followed by a considerably informative presentation by Erica on how she organized out of state trips. This was followed by Clark's whirlwind tour of Cascade Canyon hike at Grand Teton National Park that included a Teton Range fly-over animation using Google Earth. Unfortunately we ran out of quality time to devote to our Host Appreciation session. Our 2008-2009 event hosts receive a gift coupon for WT merchandise. Of course there were a number of great door prizes, with plenty of happy faces leaving the Pavilion at about 9:30. I want to recognize Mosquito Creek Outdoors for their very generous gifts. They are located in Apopka on 441 a few blocks north of the West Orange Trail cross over bridge. If you get a chance to visit their store, which is stocked full of camping and paddling equipment, mention you are a WT member and you appreciate their support. Also, Colonial Photo and Hobby on Mills in Orlando; Gil Hidalgo, Bill Smith, Lee Simmons and Clark Getz for their donations to the door prizes as well. The links below will take you to a slide show of the various events. Pictures load slow at first because the whole group loads at once, be patient. |
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