Estero River Scrub Preserve is conveniently located west about a half mile off the corner of 41 and Broadway in Estero Village, FL. It took me about 12 minutes to get there from my house and was easy to find; parking is directly off the side of the road in a quiet residential area. I got there around 7:30PM thinking I would have plenty of time to walk about half of the looped trail and get back to the jeep. The park is open from 8AM until sundown, which on this particular evening was setting around 8:20PM. There is a portable bathroom on site, it’s $2 per vehicle to park, and there’s also a picnic table where you can rest, have a snack at, or adjust your gear.
Once I paid my fee I walked past the wooden fence line that separates the parking area from the entrance to the trail. I knew I was in a hurry to get around the loop before dark, so I skipped any equipment review and just headed out onto the sugar sand path to my right, making my way counter clockwise on the loop. I think if there had been other cars, or even earlier in the day, I may have gone clockwise, but I was kind of happy I chose this direction. Most of the trail leading away from the parking area was sugar sand or grass. Immediately to my right I could see evidence of a controlled burn which looked to be somewhat recent. With the sun quickly setting, the light left in the sky created quite a spectacular view. A lot of what you will see here as far as vegetation will be pine trees and low scrub pine. For the most part, up until I decided to cut through so I could skip half the trail, everything was fine, easy to walk and navigate.
The cut through definitely changed from easy trail to overgrown quickly. For the most part it was still pretty easy to navigate, and I was clearly not the only one who thought of doing this prior to myself. At that point, everything had been going well, except for the annoying more than occasional biting fly. Luckily, I literally had my bug spray at my hip, and had already used it several times, managing to keep the creepy crawlies at bay. That was about to change.
The sun was really getting low at that point, and I convinced myself if I turned back then I may not get back in time before the rangers would lock the jeep up behind the gate. I sort of asked for it though being inside the park after hours. I pressed on not realizing what I was about to get into. Water, lots and lots of bog and water. Not all that crazy or unheard of on the cusp of summer, but when you are in a hurry to get back to your vehicle and the sun is about to go down, it’s not a fun obstacle to encounter. Like a trooper, I pressed on. Where’s the wisdom of experience when you need it? I had no headlamp with me, and the deeper I got into the bush, and the water, the more I realized I may be in some trouble.
It’s about this time when I started texting my boyfriend with what the situation was. As I did so, I would take wrong turns, because I was too stubborn to stop, thinking I would be wasting precious sunlight. Unfortunately, after each text I’d cost myself more time having to backtrack and get myself re-oriented. At this point, I’m breathing sort of heavy trying to move quick, and the biting flies are loving every minute of it, because I’m easy to track. They were dive bombing my eyes, my ears, biting my bum, biting everywhere, while I tried to keep it moving. I was being swarmed. Not fun. I lathered up with bug spray every two minutes, and with each new layer, I thought I could hear tiny cries of laughter. The bug spray was doing nothing to protect me. That’s the last time I go out there around dusk. I should have known better.
I finally got through the worst of it, and returned to sugar sand trail. Sugar sand isn’t typically the type of trail I would describe as preferential, but in this case, I was super happy to see it. I turned on the flashlight on my cellphone and guided myself in. Did I mention I forgot to bring a headlamp??? Oh, and my cellphone was running out of juice. I did have a battery pack with me though, so for the most part, I was sure I would be ok with the light from that.
Well, what a fun time… Anyway, once I emerged back into the parking lot and jumped in the van with my muddy untied boots, I had to call off the rescue troops. My boyfriend is a hero. He was already on his way to retrieve me from what I was almost certain would be a locked in jeep. Thankfully, whatever ranger that may have been in charge that night, was either lenient as to when he was going to lock up the gate, or well aware some people don’t plan well and often find themselves taking just a bit longer to get back to their vehicle. Either way, I was free to go. Whew!
Well, next time I know what to expect. All and all, its a pretty cool area to go for a hike. I just was terrible at planning my execution. Sometimes I just wing it. You win some, you loose some. I’d say this was a win though. I didn’t have to be rescued so. LOL! Fun times.
