Tibet-Butler Preserve

Yesterday I was out at Tibet-Butler Preserve to enjoy some outdoors and get used to my pack. I pulled up to the Visitor Center and was told by the first ranger that all of the trails were closed, but that I was welcome to walk the parking lot. I walked around for a while, and stopped to look at the map, at which point a younger guide told me that I could go on the trails -- I should just expect ankle-deep water. I think that with the pack and athletic clothing, I didn't look totally city-fied.

I took Palmetto Passage (right-hand path out of the back of the Visitor Center) back into the park. From the start, mosquitoes started to be a problem (after this trip, I caved and bought stronger repellent). About 1/4 mile in, I reached the water that he had warned about... except that, within a few steps, I was in knee-deep. On the whole, I hiked about 1/2 to 3/4 mile through knee-deep water. The water made the paths a little hard to navigate. The water tended to collect on the path, but it also collected in sloughs that looked like paths but weren't. I lost the Palmetto Passage somewhere along the line and ended up on a water-logged vehicle path that had flags on the trees here and there. At the end of the vehicle path, I ended up high-and-dry on a path leading to Tarflower Loop and Osprey Outlook. I didn't take Tarflower (though it looked dry and sandy), but headed out to Osprey Outlook. The outlook is a boardwalk out to a covered platform that overlooks a large lake that is partly residential property and has a good growth water weeds. From there, I hiked back along Fallen Log Crossing (which only had a few puddly spots) and the boardwalk to the Visitor Center. Besides the flocks of mosquito, I also saw a hawk in the woods, one gopher tortoise, and a five-lined skink.

Tibet-Butler would probably be a very pretty park for the dayhiker in Fall or Spring. It is hikable in Summer if the rangers let you go back in there, but the water can make it easy to loose the trail since you can't often see the next trail marker and the water at times makes its own path through the forest... so if you are so inclined to wade down the path, it may be wise to make sure you pick up a trail map at the trailhead and carry a compass just in case. For those who don't mind a little mud but don't want to wade too much, the Fallen Log Crossing to Tarflower Loop or Osprey Outlook can be a worthwhile diversion since the area is quite pretty and the paths are well-maintained.