A Lodge Called Folkestone
The Dream, The Challenge, The People
by Bob Kranich(Excerpt 16)
“The Lodge Called Folkestone”. You may wonder why the first half of the book is about my many adventures throughout the USA. Well, this first part explains just why my interests changed from hot rodding cars to backpacking. How the idea of a lodge came about, and just how the lodge came to be in North Carolina and next to the Smoky Mountain National Park, Deep Campground to be exact.
This is a new book. It is about the Lodge I built in the Smoky Mountains, near Bryson City, and Deep Creek campground, North Carolina. Having been from Florida, I know that a lot of Floridians love to visit the Smoky Mountains National Park. Therefore hopefully you will enjoy my story of the building of “A Lodge Called Folkestone”.
“A Walk Across Florida”
Though I had only worked about three months, I had made enough money to keep me going. I fooled around in my dad’s welding shop, did some work on my Ranchero, and went shopping around at some backpacking stores. That is when I found out about Colin Fletcher. I picked up his book, The Thousand Mile Summer, from one of the backpacking stores. In it, he tells about his walk in 1958 through California along the east side of the High Sierra mountains from the Mexican border to Oregon. What a great book! In my opinion he was the professional of hiking. Some persons have tried to imitate him, but he is the man! I also got his book The Complete Hiker, and in it he describes camping equipment, what you need, and how to use it.
I guess I can blame Colin Fletcher for the idea that came to me. If he walked through his state, why shouldn’t I walk through mine? No one else had done it. I would go from the Florida-Georgia border to Key West, Florida. After all, I had an uncle and aunt living in Key West. It was decided. I would do it!
I started planning for my trip. I didn’t tell anyone at first because I wanted to get ready. I didn’t want anyone to talk me out of it. I did my research, and then went back to the backpack stores to buy the equipment I would need. I found a new nylon Camp Trails pack on exterior frame with hip belt. This was the only way to go. You want to be able to put the entire weight on your hips with the hip belt, and not on your back. I purchased a good light weight down sleeping bag. Then I got some good hiking boots. I wore them around to make sure that they were broken in, and would work for me. I bought another U S Army surplus canteen with metal cup and pouch, a Coleman one-burner white gas stove, and last, but not least, a first aid and snakebite kit.
I thought I had it all but then I realized, I needed good maps. I went to a local marine supplier, and I was in luck. They had the U. S. Geological Survey maps, at 1/4” equals one mile scale. I bought all I needed to hike from Georgia to Key West. I laid out maps from one side of our living room to the other. I planned a route, left about three inches on either
There was one thing I had to think long and hard about. In the Smoky Mountains, I had used a plastic tarp instead of a tent. But now I thought, what about the snakes and the gators? I didn’t want to sleep on the ground with them! I went back to the Army surplus store, and I found a lightweight canvas hammock. I would tie a nylon rope above it, and then just put a plastic tarp on it.
All I had left was the food. I couldn’t afford the expensive backpack food in the backpack stores. Besides, I could carry only enough food for one week. I would have to resupply every week at a small grocery store because I was going to stay away from the big cities. I went to a local grocery store and looked around. Up and down I went around all of the aisles to see what was a common food that I could use. I settled on powdered soups and milk, instant oatmeal, Pop Tarts, Kool-Aid, crackers, peanut butter, instant puddings, and M & M candies.
I was ready. I told my parents. My dad took it ok, but my mom looked at me like I had flipped. I had to get to the Georgia border. Greyhound was going that way. I got my dad to take me down late at night, and drop me off at the bus station. I thanked him, got my ticket, and was on my way. I had left at 12:00 AM, and arrived at Lake City, Florida, at 4:00 AM. I had to hitchhike the 32 miles north to the Georgia border. A logger picked me up early in the morning. He took me back in the woods where his crew was working. I thanked him, turned south, and started my hike to Key West.
I am only going to hit a couple of the highlights, because in 2015 I wrote and published the book, A Walk Across Florida. It tells in detail my 700 plus mile hike in five and one half weeks (see page 73).
I hiked sand roads amongst high pine forests, and then through the Osceola National Forest. At times, I hiked along on little used grass-covered railroad grades. Ocala National Forest had its many trails that were useful, and I was able to experience the beauty and solitude of God’s creation. I skirted the big city of Orlando, never getting close, except to go under a freeway once. Around Lake Okeechobee, I hiked on the levee. I traveled through the Seminole Indian Reservation, and made it across the Everglades by hiking on the coral paths left by the construction of the canals.
I left the mainland on a long causeway that went out to the first key, Key Largo. For the rest of my adventure, I had the beauty and splendor of the clear waters of the Atlantic and Gulf on either side of me. I experienced a different kind of hiking, the crossing of forty-four bridges of different lengths. I camped at night along the shore, and sometimes on beautiful sand beaches. These bridges were all built by the Flagler railroad that went from the mainland out the 115 miles to Key West. When I arrived in Key West, my relatives were excited to see me. I spent a month there, riding a bike around Key West and painting watercolors. See the book I wrote and published, Florida Keys’ Watercolor Kapers.
