Ghost Towns, Civil War Shipwrecks and abandoned cemeteries. It’s all just a day hike for Land O’ Lakes resident, Joe Dunn. By day, Joe works in graphic design and marketing, however his true passion is exploring the Florida wilderness. Born in Ohio but raised in Florida since 1995, Joe has always considered himself a native. His exploration adventures allow him to combine his two favorite things – Mother Nature and Florida history.
“Being outdoors is a huge stress reliever, so for many years I’ve tried to get out every weekend and go explore a new piece of wilderness. I had always videotaped my hikes and adventures and about 10 years ago I founded Florida Trailblazer, and started sharing all of my videos with the public. It’s so freeing to be outdoors in nature. This is really my passion in life. Going on an adventure exploring the woods feels just like being a child again. Enjoying wildlife, historical sites, hiking trails and preserves… it’s all a way to disconnect from modern life and reconnect with the great outdoors and your own true nature. It’s my mission to encourage people to get back outside – to unplug and reconnect with the natural world.”
Joe told us, “Nature tests you and brings out the best in you. You just never know what you’ll come across out there, so it actually forces you to stay in the present moment. A couple of months ago I was out hiking deep in the Florida Wilderness to a limestone cave in Citrus County when I heard whimpering and barking. I went to investigate and found the saddest thing. In the middle of nowhere, there was a desperate dog stranded at the bottom of a 30-foot cave. It was unbelievable. I didn’t have the equipment to pull the dog out myself, so I put the word out on social media and quickly got several volunteers to help with a rescue. Turns out ‘Sally’ had been lost for almost a month and was emaciated, but thankfully we were able to get her back safely to her owner because she was wearing a tagged collar. It was an amazing feeling to help her get back home.” Joe’s dog rescue story was picked up by multiple national media outlets, including the New York Post, Inside Edition and Good Morning America. You can watch Sally’s rescue video on Joe’s website, FloridaTrailblazer.com.
One thing that has Joe very excited is a recreational activity called Geocaching. It’s outdoor fun which is very similar to a scavenger or treasure hunt in the woods, and it’s rapidly growing in popularity with adults and families. Participants use a GPS receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called geocaches or caches, at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. It’s very easy to get started by simply downloading a geocaching app to your device and you’re ready to go. Tiny time capsules, or ‘trackables’ as they are often called, can be found at many historical sites and points of interest throughout Florida. Once you locate them, you have the ability to register that you were there and even add your own items to the cache for others to find. Joe stressed, “It’s great fun, but I always remind people to have appreciation and respect when they are out exploring historical geocache sites. There is occasional vandalism of these sites and that is really sad. These places are priceless and must be preserved for future generations to be able to explore.”
Recently Joe traveled to Troy Springs off the Suwannee River and explored the remains of a shipwreck at the bottom of the spring. The 1850 ship, the Madison, was originally used a transport vessel during the Civil War, but was deliberately sunk by its Captain to avoid seizure when Union forces invaded Florida. Over 150 years later, its skeleton rests silently at the bottom of crystal clear water. If you didn’t know to look, you’d never realize such a priceless piece of American history was beneath you. Joe said, “There are hidden treasures like this everywhere in Florida. You just need to look for them.” Some of Joe’s favorite areas that are within a tankful from Pasco County include the Green Swamp, Troy Springs, the Suwanee River, Indian Lake State Forest, Crystal River, Goethe State Forest, St. Johns River, and the Ocala National Forest, just to name a few.
Joe is also a registered Heritage Monitoring Scout for Florida. HMS is a public engagement program focused on tracking changes to archaeological sites at risk, particularly those impacted by climate change in the form of erosion and sea level rise. He visits and reports on many designated sites throughout the state by recording what he finds with documentation and photographs. In many cases, the only way that these sites can be routinely monitored is through these volunteer efforts. Joe encourages the members of the community to look into to volunteering as a scout. For more information on this program, please visit www.fpan.us.
Joe offers tours for folks who would like to go explore the wilderness with an experienced guide, so visit his website, www.floridatrailblazer.com to arrange a trip to see some of these incredible sights. If you’d like to enjoy some of Joe’s adventures from the comfort of your sofa, check out Florida Trailblazer’s YouTube channel for a vast collection of videos which document many of his Florida treks, including his rescue of Sally the dog. On social media, you can follow his adventures on Facebook or Instagram.
