Florida Trail Maintenance in West Richloam

We will mow, lop, clear and blaze the Florida Trail aka the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST) in the Richloam Tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest from the intersection of FL-50/Cortez Blvd and Riverland Rd to the junction with the blue spur trail. This will be a round trip of about 4 miles. This will be our last chance to do this before the extended general gun season begins.

Mowing crew will mow the trail while one or two people clear the trail of large limbs and obstacles ahead of the mower. We will paint over existing blazes that are a dollar-bill-sized marks or painted squares on trees or posts. We will lop with lopping shears, hedge shears and folding handsaws to trim/cut branches that hinder hikers from easily walking the trail or block hikers' view of blazes. Loppers and hardhats will be provided. Clearing includes moving the lopped or sawn branches to the side of the trail. Small rakes will be provided.

We'll meet the intersection of FL-50/Cortez Blvd & Riverland Rd (GPS 31.7420394,-84.7934978).

Bring a small backpack with at least two liters of water and/or electrolyte drink, snacks, lunch, sunscreen, hat, insect repellent, eye protection and sturdy work gloves. If you would like to mow, bring hearing protection (ear plugs or ear muffs). If you have a folding handsaw, hedge shears or loppers, feel free to bring them. Be sure to bring insect repellent. Mosquitoes are out during the day. Long pants and long-sleeved shirt are also recommended.

Everyone will sign the FTA Assumption of Risk form before we start. You can preview it at this link: https://floridatrail.org/aor/.

Please review the safety information for general maintenance at this link: https://floridatrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FTA-2018-JHA.pdf/. You will sign the acknowledgement on the second page after the safety briefing. If you would like to mow, please read the safety information for mower operation at https://floridatrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FTA-JHAsMower-and-BrushcutterREV-Feb.-2019.pdf.

If you would like credit for your volunteer hours, please set up a volunteer profile on the FTA Volunteer Hours Entry System/Volunteer portal at this link https://floridatrail.galaxydigital.com/. Click Sign Up at the top of the page.

Thank you for donating your time to help. You will make a big difference on the trail.