First hike into Area 3, Bayard Conservation Area

I did some car recon yesterday to try to nail down the hunting dates to see if areas 2, 3 and 4 of Bayard Conservation Area were hikable. I found a parking area that had the dates posted, and it's clear until March 17 (Turkey season, evidently.)

I was also able to drive quite far into the conservation land without a gate and with nicely graded dirt road. I followed Bayard Point Road (aka Bayard Road) into the CA until I came to the southbound trail out of area 1 into area 2. It turned out I was only 8/10 of a mile from the Legacy Part Deux geocache which is darn close to the bathroom and education center in Area 1 that I have been to 4 or 5 times. So, about 2 miles hike from the eastern gate on SR16 near the Shands Bridge to there.

Today (see track, above) I returned and was ready to put some boot on the ground. I entered Area 3 on CR 226 (just south of J.P. Hall Road.) It has a big parking area and just inside the gate is the check station for all hunting inside BCA. It's a screened shack with a locked shed attached and the shack was open. I saw a whiteboard within that noted there were only 5 deer taken during the fall hunting season. I would have guessed the number would be higher. I took a WMA pamphlet, which is different than the public access pamphlet, and hiked into the area.

I immediately had to jump over a stream. We had 4 inches of rain last Thursday so I wonder if the stream becomes a creek in wetter months or if I saw it at a pretty normal level. Walking further in, the roads were well kept and there was no sign of the equine. These roads will make a great place for my bike. I marked a waypoint as a Bike Trail on my GPSr.

I saw quite a few small trails leading into the woods and wondered the rest of the day if those were made by animals or men. I overheard someone say that deer make their own trails through the woods, and the other deer follow them. Seems to me that would create a predictable place for predators to look for venison, but I think deer are pretty high up on the food chain in those woods. I like to think so, anyway, since while it would be interesting to run into a bear, I'd much rather not.

I hiked out to another parking area, then back on a different trail than I came on. I saw some birds, none of which I knew the name of. I'll work on bringing my Audubon Guide to Florida more often. I was a little surprised to not see any snakes sunning themselves. I am guessing I haven't seen much in the form of animals since I am, as a human hiker, noisy. I don't know, though. Seems like I should have seen a deer or turkey. I do see a lot of armadillo holes.

I'll bring my bike out here next time.