(http://backpackingdeskjockey.blog)
A self-described desk jockey, Rob writes the Central Florida Backpacking Desk Jockey blog to share his experiences hiking, backpacking, and enjoying the outdoors near his Central Florida home. In his blog, he shares tips and insights from learning to backpack in middle age, and he also celebrates the special trails and state parks he has discovered through his adventures as a weekend warrior.
Thanks to Artist Robert Gorby for Making My Blog Beautiful
If you’ve checked back recently on my website (https://RobRogersWriter.com) or my blog (https://backpackingdeskjockey.blog), you may have noticed some changes to their home pages and menus, which I’m hoping will improve both sites. Tops on the list is the cover art for the blog, thanks to a good friend in Pennsylvania. My blog’s new cover art…
With Ancient Ruins, Historic Churches, and Seaside Vistas, Split and Trogir Should Not be Missed if You Visit Croatia
During my summer hiatus from backpacking in Central Florida, I’ve decided to spend the next several weeks posting about the towns and islands my family and I visited during our weeklong sailing trip in June on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. If you’re interested in learning more about what it’s like to charter a sailboat…
If You Are Sailing in Croatia Near Split, Check Out These Seaside Restaurants and Pretty Mooring Spots
During my summer hiatus from backpacking in Central Florida, I’ve decided to spend the next several weeks posting about the towns and islands my family and I visited during our weeklong sailing trip in June on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. If you’re interested in learning more about what it’s like to charter a sailboat…
Although Brač in Croatia is Known for its Beaches, Milna Has Its Own Charm and Beauty
During my summer hiatus from backpacking in Central Florida, I’ve decided to spend the next several weeks posting about the towns and islands my family and I visited during our weeklong sailing trip in June on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. If you’re interested in learning more about what it’s like to charter a sailboat…
My Love Letter to Nirvana, “The Poster in My Closet,” was Just Published in Under the Gum Tree
My third essay of the summer, “The Poster in My Closet,” was published earlier this week in the Summer 2026 issue of Under the Gum Tree, and it is a piece that is especially personal and dear to me. I also now have a special appreciation for Dorothy Rice and the other editors at Under…
If You Travel to Hvar in Croatia, Don’t Miss the More Tranquil Ambiance of Stari Grad
During my summer hiatus from backpacking in Central Florida, I’ve decided to spend the next several weeks posting about the towns and islands my family and I visited during our weeklong sailing trip in June on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. If you’re interested in learning more about what it’s like to charter a sailboat…
For Sailing in Croatia, Check Out My Latest Article on Go World Travel
Earlier this week, I posted my first in a series of travel logs from the vacation my family took in June to the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia in a chartered sailboat, which will describe the wonderful places we visited. But if you’d like to learn more about how to plan a trip like the one…
For Quiet Adriatic Charm in the Dalmatian Archipelago, Vis May be Your Island of Choice
As I mentioned in a recent post about Krka National Park, my family and I returned earlier this month from an exhilarating trip touring the Dalmatian Archipelago in Croatia on a chartered 46-foot sailboat. This came just as I began to appreciate how tricky it had become to write new posts about hiking here in…
“Mother Figure,” my latest essay, was just published in Empyrean
Earlier this week, my second essay of the summer, “Mother Figure,” was published in the Summer 2026 issue of Empyrean, and this one has special meaning for me. “Mother Figure” is a tribute to my sister, part confession and part celebration for all she’s done for me throughout my life, despite our ups and downs…
For Beautiful Waterfalls in Croatia Near Split, Don’t Miss Krka National Park
The Dalmatian Coast of Croatia is best known for its archipelago and the rocky hillside towns facing the pristine waters of the Adriatic Sea, and it has become a favorite destination for boaters and enthusiasts of the films and television series like Game of Thrones that have been filmed there. But just inland from the…
Check out my latest essay in Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder (“Road Trip to South Carolina”)
The first of several essays of mine that will be published this summer came out earlier this week in the latest issue of Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder. Of my soon-to-be-released essays, this one should be the most fun. “Road Trip to South Carolina” is a fictionalized account of a trip I…
For Family-Friendly Hiking Just East of Orlando, Check Out Long Branch
As the summer heat bears down and the evening mosquitoes return, weekend city slicker backpackers like me are finally putting away their tents for the season and using their boots only for early morning hikes before the temperatures get too high. Along with our region’s state and national forests, many counties in Central Florida offer…
With the Phosphate Mines Long Gone, Tenoroc Public Use Area and its Pretty Trails Showcase Land Reclamation at its Best
Not far from Lakeland lies a local favorite fishing and hiking spot that attempts, not altogether unsuccessfully, to hide its industrial past. Half a century ago, the Tenoroc Public Use Area was a collection of phosphate mines that, at the time, would not have attracted much interest from nature-loving hikers. Fast forward 50 years later,…
Come join me for a reading of my latest essay this Friday in Gainesville and at Independent Bookstore Day in Clermont on Saturday
I have the privilege of participating this Friday and Saturday in two events celebrating literature and the arts, and at one of them, I’ll be reading my latest essay titled “Trail to the Past,” which was published yesterday in Intervals. If you happen to be in Gainesville or the Clermont area, you should consider checking…
For Spectacular Backcountry Hiking Near Moab, the Needles District in Canyonlands National Park Should Not Be Missed
Last week I posted about our family’s awe-inspiring hike in the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park during our spring break trip to Utah. Although that hike may have been our favorite of the trip, a very close second would be our hike in the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. For being so close…
Come Join Me This Saturday at Lake Louisa State Park for Nature Fest, or Virtually, for a Live Reading of My Next Essay, “Campfire Beside the Prairie”
This Saturday, March 28th, I’ll be appearing at a live event at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont, Florida, and then later at a virtual event to read my next essay to be published in Thorn & Bloom magazine. Both will cater to nature lovers. First will be Nature Fest at Lake Louisa State Park,…
If You Visit Utah’s Arches National Park, You Must Hike in the Fiery Furnace
Arches National Park in southeastern Utah is most famous for its monumental sandstone arches, carved over millions of years from the high desert by rain, wind, and ice. Most of these arches are accessible by short hikes or nature walks from parking lots that often crowd to capacity. But if you love to hike in…
Check out my award-winning essay “Mardi Gras ’95” in San Luis Obispo The NightWriter Review
My long-awaited essay titled “Mardi Gras’ 95,” which won First Place for Nonfiction last fall in the 2025 SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest, has now been published in the 2025-26 issue of The NightWriter Review. The NightWriter Review is the annual publication of the San Luis Obispo NightWriters, a writing community in Central California that provides…
Orlando Wetlands Park and Seminole Ranch Conservation Area Unite Swampy Marshes with Tranquil Forests
Most of us take for granted what happens to the water we flush down our toilets, and few would suspect that its destination would be a fun place to spend a Sunday morning. But one of Orlando’s most popular outdoor spots for seeing birds and alligators is actually doing double-duty as a wastewater treatment facility.…
Seminole State Forest offers excellent backpacking and hiking just north of Orlando
The eastern corridor of the Florida National Scenic Trail has several excellent legs that are easy to reach from Orlando for short backpacking trips at charming backcountry campsites. Most are in flood plains for the St. John’s River and its tributaries. But as the Florida Trail bends northwest on its way to the Ocala National…
Check out my latest essay in Montana’s Big Sky Journal (“The First Run of the Season”)
I was honored earlier this month to have my essay titled “The First Run of the Season” published in the Fly Fishing 2026 issue of Big Sky Journal, an outdoors and cultural magazine published in Bozeman, Montana. This piece has special significance because of the magazine’s publication not far from the home of my wife’s…
The best of the Lake Wales Ridge can be found at the Arbuckle Tract of Lake Wales Ridge State Forest
I’ve raved in my book and on this blog about Tiger Creek Preserve, a special stretch of Central Florida’s Lake Wales Ridge near Frostproof maintained by the Nature Conservancy that remains one of my favorite places to hike. But Tiger Creek Preserve does not permit camping, and since the Florida Trail passes north of the…
If you love nature photography, check out Chris “Soda Pop” Littlefield’s work
I usually post here about places where I’ve backpacked alone, where I rarely camp with anyone. But this week, I’m thrilled to share about a backpacker I met at Green Swamp West during a one-nighter this past weekend, Chris “Soda Pop” Littlefield. Hopefully you’ll agree that his photos of nature on his Facebook page and…
Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area is the Florida Trail’s Gateway to Central Florida’s Woodlands
Tantalizingly close to Orlando and just south of Christmas sits a stretch of pine, live oak, and cypress forest that is treasured by northbound thru hikers taking the eastern corridor up the Florida National Scenic Trail. Just after they complete their 30-mile road walk north after Bull Creek WMA, Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area welcomes them…
For a Quiet Riverside Hike in Little Big Econ State Forest, Try the Culpepper Trail
About a year ago, I posted about the Little Big Econ State Forest by describing a one-night backpacking trip I did through Little Big Econ along the Florida Trail from its crossing of Brumley Road to West Camp near the Barr Street parking area, and I suggested that the north bank of the river and…
Here’s how to find me at the Sunshine State Book Festival, and check out “Anger Sister” in The Gardan Journal
The Writers Alliance of Gainesville has now posted the location of each author at the Meet the Author Showcase at the Sunshine State Book Festival at the Santa Fee College Fine Arts Hall at 3000 N.W. 83rd Street in Gainesville tomorrow, January 24th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. As you’ll see from the map…
The Prairie Lakes Loops at Three Lakes WMA are Perfect for Hiking and Backpacking
Just an hour south of Orlando off the Florida Turnpike, you can find one of those special places in Florida that offers virtually everything an outdoor lover might seek—hiking for both moderate and longer distances, backpacking, a section of the Florida National Scenic Trail, birding, and even fishing and hunting, all in a vast landscape…
If you’re in Gainesville on Saturday, Jan. 24th, come join me at the Sunshine State Book Festival
If any of you plan to be in Gainesville the weekend after the MLK holiday, I welcome you to join me at the Sunshine State Book Festival at the Santa Fee College Fine Arts Hall at 3000 N.W. 83rd Street. I’ll be joining 100 other authors at the Meet the Authors Showcase and Expo from…
Winter is the Best Time to Enjoy Ichetucknee Springs State Park Near Gainesville
Many University of Florida students are familiar with Ichetucknee Springs State Park and its well-known river that is a summer favorite for river tubing. Way back in my freshman year in the 1990s, the fraternity I pledged even went there in a rented bus and floated a keg down the river. But a far quieter,…
Although often crowded, Black Bear Wilderness Area is a spectacular place to see wildlife
Even though Black Bear Wilderness Area near Sanford is among the most popular places in Central Florida to hike, I’ve hesitated to post about it before now because of my reluctance to rain on those who love it. Truth be told, I was not particularly smitten with Black Bear when I first hiked there almost…
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