Outdoors & Nature Insider

Racers at the start of the Croom Crumber. Credit: Kevin Mims

Before I start with the real subject of this blog post, I've just got to say that having mobile Internet access is fantastic. Some of the posts you read here are written with me at a park or a trailhead. It's inspiring, and I guess you can say that the Florida outdoors are truly my "office."

A few weeks back, I had one heck of a busy Saturday.  During the cooler months, it's common for events to be scheduled on the same day or weekend, leaving me with a dilemma of which one to choose. 

Since I enjoy all sorts of outdoor recreation, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and trail running, I don't have a hard time finding an event to attend here in Florida. Here's the problem: I want to attend all of them!

This was the case on Sept. 27.  The Croom Crusher/Crumbler Adventure Race was scheduled in the Withlacoochee State Forest, and the Inaugural Expedition Everest Challenge 5k was taking place at Disney's Animal Kingdom. 

What to do? What to do? 

Since the Everest Challenge was an evening event, I hung out at Withlacoochee State Forest's starting line at the Nobleton Outpost. Although I did not participate, I had a great time and will sign up for next year's race.  WeCeFAR, an Adventure Racing club from the Tampa area, managed the race. 

Then I headed over to Disney's Animal Kingdom Expedition Everest Challenge with my wife.  A couple thousand other people also attended, and the course took the runners through Animal Kingdom. (Jamie Clark, an adventurer and author from Canada who has summited the real Mount Everest was there, too.)

This was a "challenge," after all, so after the 5K portion, runners were faced with an obstacle course and  a scavenger hunt that had everyone scrambling from spot to spot in the park. We had a terrific time, and placed in the top quarter of the co-ed teams. 

What a wild weekend. I have more planned in the coming months, so stay tuned. 

Until next time, get out and enjoy Florida's fantastic outdoors!