Rob Rogers
Author, attorney, backpacker, and lover of the outdoors
Author: Rob Rogers
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Pretty scrub and ponds abound in the Juniper Prairie Wilderness
After a month of being prevented from backpacking by flooded trails, a pesky cold, and the national championship run of a certain basketball team, I will finally be able to return to the Ocala National Forest this weekend, possibly for my last one-nighter of the season as the heat of summer approaches. It will be… Read.
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Check out my flash essay in The Florida Writer
I was thrilled to have a contribution of mine published in The Florida Writer yesterday. Titled “Panic Attack,” this was a submission for the magazine’s Paragraphs and Stanzas section, in which writers are invited to submit poetry or creative fiction or nonfiction in response to a writing prompt. The prompt for this issue was, “Do… Read.
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The Bull Creek Loop is a Gem on the Florida Trail’s Eastern Corridor
The approaching end of Florida’s winter-spring backpacking season perhaps calls for reflection on where I’ve been this season. Having focused this season more on the eastern portions of the Florida Trail closer to Orlando (as well as the Ocala National Forest), my favorite trip of the year so far may have been the one-nighter I… Read.
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Families can enjoy fun (free) hiking and camping at Flat Island Preserve
In Leesburg, a short drive north of Orlando on the Florida Turnpike, lies a pretty sanctuary of dense woodland with easy trails for families at the Flat Island Preserve. With free access from 8 a.m. through sunset, well-maintained trails through beautiful forests, and easy-to-reach group and primitive campsites that can be reserved for free, Flat… Read.
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Thank you to Writer Advice for posting my article on its “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” blog
I was honored to have an article I wrote about the creation of my first book published yesterday on the “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” blog found on the Writer Advice website. My article, titled “What Happens When an Author Responds to a Fanboy Email,” describes how author Diana Helmuth inspired my book. Writer… Read.
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Lake Kissimmee State Park: Hiking, History, and Hog Heaven
n my first book, I describe my first nine backpacking trips, six of which were at Florida state parks. One of my favorites is Lake Kissimmee State Park near Lake Wales, which introduced me for the first time to hikers-only trails. With two hiking loops of more-than-minimal length and two gorgeous primitive campsites and tons… Read.
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Eating, Drinking, and Cooking on the Trail: Tips for Weekend Backpackers
Perhaps the most creative adaptations new backpackers learn to make are culinary. Regardless of what you like to eat or cook at home, your choices change when you have to carry your kitchen and pantry on your back. Although camping brings to mind visions of s’mores and roasting hot dogs over an open fire, the… Read.
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Concerned About Fire on Your Trail? Use This Link to Know Before You Go
Hopefully I’m not the first person to learn the hard way when I arrived at a trailhead that I’d have to find my way around a controlled burn. It’s happened twice, most recently when a controlled burn begun on a Wednesday was still smoldering in several trees on the side of the trail when I… Read.
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Chuluota Wilderness Area and the Bronson State Forest: Flatlands, Wetlands, and Much More
In my quest to get acquainted with more sections of the eastern corridor of the Florida Trail, I celebrated this past New Year’s Day backpacking on the Florida Trail in the Chuluota Wilderness Area and the Bronson State Forest. A week earlier (yes, on Christmas Eve), I had done the same in the busy Little… Read.
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About to Backpack for the First Time? How to Suffer Outside by Diana Helmuth is the Book for You
It is with great pleasure that I am finally writing my first book review on this blog, and it could only be for How to Suffer Outside: A Beginner’s Guide to Hiking and Backpacking. As its title suggests, this award-winning book is the handbook for all things backpacking. But even if you have no interest… Read.
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