Customer Reviews

Hiking the Florida Trail: 1,100 Miles, 78 Days, Two Pairs of Boots, and One Heck of an Adventure (Wild Florida)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished this book about the author's adventure on the Florida Trail. It seems to me that he really captured the true spirit of the trail with this book. It's not always perfect weather, and it's not easy, but that's not why we like the trial. It's the ADVENTURE! Johnny seems to have a real passion for the outdoors and the history of where he travels. This book makes me want to take advantage of the Florida Trail. If it weren't for him putting this book out there, I never would believe it was possible for me to attempt such a daunting challenge. Thanks Mr. Molloy. I look forward to more of your adventures.

Having hiked 629 miles of the AT in Virginia and New England, I thought I might start hiking sections of the Florida Trail, now that I am retired in Florida. I had just read Ten Million Steps by M.J. Eberhart. The story of a ten month hike from Key West to Québec. I was hoping to read a more detailed account of the Florida Trail.

Johnny Molloy paints a wet 78 day slog through endless swamps and bogs on a poorly maintained and marked trail with little to poor resupply points along the trail. Eberhart painted a better picture. Is one a pessimist or is the other an optimist? There was little in the book that would encourage me to put my pack on and hit the trail in Florida.

I found the book fascinating. As I close in on retirement an adventure like this one tickles my intrest.

I have several of the authors books, "A paddlers guide to the everglades" is a must have for canoe/kayak travel there..... His guide books are second to none in information that you can use, very detailed.

This book is not meant to be a guidebook. It's meant to give you the flavor of the Florida Trail. It is a travel adventure book.
And it does give you the flavor very well. Yes, the Florida Trail is swampy, buggy and on roads much of the time. It ain't the A.T.
Molloy's job is to write about his adventure.

This is the question that, it seems to me, Molloy asks himself frequently, not only on the Florida Trail. There was no sign of joy for me in the book. At one point Molloy says that even the solitude didn't bother him at one campsite. Well, does he hike for companionship? Solitude is a big part of a long hike; many people hike because just that. Generally, this book gave me nothing; neither any helpful data, nor the excitement of reading about a trail that one knows and will hike again. Why does Molloy hike at all?

At first, I was pleased with the specifics, the pure amount of trail info regarding details of the conditions, weather and wildlife. Thankfully, unlike other hiking books, asides about colorful characters and favorite environmental causes are kept to a minimum. But it is all narrated in "East Tennessee" cadance, interspersed with 25¢ vocab words. That gets tiresome, sounding more like Deputy Dawg turned professor than Davy Crockett. And Molloy's constant fear of being mistaken as a hobo or tramp?- I can sympathize with hiking into town, dirty and smelly, embarrassed and being grateful for local hospitality, but I began to suspect Molloy's hometown must have the skulls of hobos propped up on spikes along the roads! And overromantic descriptions of Sugar cane fields as "verdant"??? made me suspect the Univ of Florida unduly influenced this part, or else Molloy has really gone off the deep end, without both oars in the water, so to speak. I wanted either more objective guide info with references, or just less subjective "down-home" editorializing. Ever hike with someone whose local and professional knowledge was outweighed by annoying habits and constant babble? Molloy has written a lot of hiking guides, but I'd think twice before using one of his books for anything except reference! Bless his Heart!