Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Shell Mound

February 2024                                                   Most Recent Posts:
Cedar Key RV Park                                           Hiking In and Near Cedar Key
Sumner, Florida                                                 Cedar Key – the Island Town


The Lower Suwanee National Wildlife Refuge (all the green on the map below) is a big land area around Cedar Key.  Shell Mound is one part of it.  When David and I visited on one of our early winters in Florida, we stayed in the tiny county campground with perhaps a dozen sites and were awakened early in the morning by the deafening sound of air boats going out just at dawn from the boat launch there.

You can see the Shell Mound area in the lower section of the NWR map below.  Both that time and this time I visited and hiked Shell Mound several times. 

The town of Cedar Key is on the far island at the bottom of the map.  The darker red road line on the far right is the only road leading to it.


PXL_20240206_173744131.MP




PXL_20240206_175542772.MPYou can see here that the Shell Mound is a semi circular ridge of shell and earth that was originally constructed on the arm of an ancient U shaped sand dune.  It lies at the end of a peninsula  a short distance above Cedar Key.  The road you drive in on is part of that ancient dune.  





PXL_20240206_173636369.MPThe county park and campground are in yellow at the top of the map and in easy walking distance of the mound trail and the mound park and kayak launch which were both sadly closed for this visit due to hurricane damage.

But the two trails luckily were open.  I talked about the Dennis Creek trail in my previous post.




The Laboratory of Southeastern Archeology has been doing site work at Shell Mound since 2012 and with sophisticated equipment provided this 3 D image of what they feel the area looked like between 400 and 650 CE

The site features mounds of marine shell (predominately oyster) measuring about 23 feet high surrounding a large central plaza. Excavations by archaeologists from the University of Florida have discovered the remains of large feasts that took place in the summer–likely celebrating the Summer Solstice–the longest day of the year.



This map below shows the walking trail and the numbered information signs which are extremely well done.  In all the maps, you can see that Shell Mound resembles an amphitheater.


PXL_20240206_175534101.MP


Mother Nature has taken the mound area back, with her tree cover and it isn’t really possible to “see” the mound from ground level.  When you hike you do  know you are going up.  There has been some desiccation of the mound by fill removal.  At this point it is 23 feet high.  But imagine building even 23’ of earth and shell.


The information signs tell that the mound is composed of about 1.2 billion oyster shells.   From them I also learned that pits were dug into the dune to cook large quantities of food presumably for ceremonial feasts.  The pits then became refuse bins containing oyster shells and bones from  fish, especially mullet, birds and sea turtles.  Apparently fragments of 15 gallon cooking pots were found.


PXL_20240206_175816175.MP




This is the bulldozer trench dug into the south ridge of the mound in the 1970’s by a private landowner not long before the mound became public land and was protected.  So sad that it appears someone wanted to get in just under the wire and make money.  The shell of many mounds in Florida was taken for road aggregate, fertilizer and building material.


PXL_20240206_180310213.MP



You can see shell  on the trails up the mound and on its sides.

PXL_20240206_180326259.MP



PXL_20240206_180351565.MP



PXL_20240206_180420995.MP



The original view from the top enabled you to look down into the amphitheater and opposite out to the gulf.  There are only  only small views to the gulf available today.

PXL_20240206_180825919.MP


The closest island off the coast of Shell Mound is Hog Island where there was a burial mound named Palmetto Mound by archeologists.  It has been completely destroyed.  I have no idea what happened to the bodies of the ancestors.

The signs say that perhaps before Shell Mound was constructed rising seas had separated Hog Island from the dune arm.  Or perhaps the water divide between the living and the dead was symbolic.  So much has been destroyed that a lot is guess work.    Look closely at the time line.  It is very interesting that Shell Mound was abandoned long before burials ceased at Palmetto Mound.

It is so sad that none of this was protected in the early part of the 20th century.


PXL_20240206_181137314.MP



In this photograph you can see the relative placement of the two mounds.

PXL_20240206_180813736A.MP



A view out to Hog Island.

PXL_20240206_181205177.MP


History prior to Shell Mound.


PXL_20240206_181105438.MP



The current trail near the top of Shell Mound looks very different from when the Native Peoples were creating the mound.


PXL_20240206_180059520.MP


Archaeologists refer to places such as this as “civic-ceremonial centers,” locations of both residence and ritual activity.

It is an easy trail and a wonderful place to visit and reflect.

Friday, March 22, 2024

Hiking In and Near Cedar Key

February 2024                                                          Most Recent Posts:
Cedar Key RV Resort                                            Cedar Key – the Island Town
Sumner Florida                                                       A New Plan in Florida


In addition to hiking around the sweet town of Cedar Key which I did multiple times, I found a few other trails reasonably nearby.

One of the first trails I hiked, though I’m not sure I can call it a hike given how short it was, is the Railroad Trestle Trail.  Still it’s interesting.  It’s located just on the edge of town right off the main incoming road from the mainland, Route 24


PXL_20240203_162544436.MP

Cedar Key was once a railroad town.  The first train arrived on March 1, 1861.  You can see from the map (which suffers from the light and being a phone picture) that it was a cross Florida railroad from Fernandina Beach on the east coast to Cedar Key on the West.  It was largely the project of State Senator David Yulee. This article tells the very interesting history including the destruction caused by the Civil War from which it really never recovered.  Daily passenger and freight service continued until the 1880’s when Henry Plant’s railroad by passed Cedar Key for the larger port of Tampa.  The Plant vendetta is also covered in the article.   The last train left from Cedar Key in 1932.  

At that point the line was abandoned and nature reclaimed the land.  But when development mushroomed in the late 1990’s there were those who wanted to preserve some of the pristine habitat areas.  The trail project was undertaken to both preserve habitat and history.


PXL_20240203_163336875.MP



The trail is at best half a mile beneath towering pines and cedars.  Along its sandy path there are a variety of plants many marked with identification signs.   Looking closely I saw at least one railroad tie along the edge of the raised trail. 







The Spanish Bayonette’s serrated margins and pointed tips of its stiff linear leaves are responsible for its name.  I kept my distance.  You can see the water in the background.  The trestle is built pretty much on an arm sticking out into the marsh.  It is a raised roadbed.

PXL_20240203_163758975.MP


At the end you can look across the marsh to where the line once connected with the main shipping dock.  Some old trestle posts are still visible at the water’s edge.

PXL_20240203_164215063.MP


PXL_20240203_164347448.MP



At this point you can see the small mangroves dotting the water.  I saw one boat of folks who seemed to have the whole place to themselves which was very appealing. Look closely at the picture below.  Now to figure out where is a put in to get there and to not get lost.


PXL_20240203_164129376.MP



This was a very nice little hike which I took more than once as hiking was somewhat limited nearby.

PXL_20240203_164239894.MP



Another “in town hike” was what they call the Cemetery Boardwalk.  Not as interesting as the trestle hike but popular with families and fishermen as it leads to Cemetery Point Park.  The boardwalk starts just to the left of the entrance to the cemetery.

PXL_20240203_171112066.MP



Everything in Cedar Key seems to be on the edge of the water and the boardwalk takes you through the mangroves along the water’s edge.  The mangroves help  protect the cemetery from flooding.

PXL_20240203_171126967.MP



When you reach the end of the boardwalk, you have arrived at the park.

PXL_20240203_171209609.MP



The Red star shows the end of the boardwalk.  The walking trails are the light brown lines.  There is a “fitness” trail with work out stations on the far right top of the map in dark brown.  The blue lines are the Disc Golf course.  There are picnic tables and what the map calls a kayak landing rather than a launch.  It would be a long haul to bring your kayak to it.   Disc Golf and fishing seem to be the two most popular uses for the park.


PXL_20240203_171652167.MP



One of the work out stations

PXL_20240203_172440686.MP




One of the disc golf baskets

PXL_20240203_172503406.MP 




Not sure if this is a fishing spot, kayak landing  or both. 

PXL_20240203_172643487.MP



As you can see from the map above, the park is surrounded by water on 3 sides. It’s a very nice public space.  Nicer than many in much larger towns I’ve visited.


PXL_20240203_172004844.MP




PXL_20240319_160459248.MP

I could not get this nice map of Cedar Key to lie flat for its picture so I hope you can see the detail.  If you are on a phone, I doubt it but try clicking the map to see if that helps.   Those who can see it will notice that Cedar Key is on multiple connected islands and is surrounded by islands.  All part of the Lower Suwanee National Wildlife Refuge. 

The yellow section near the bottom of the map is the “downtown” area.  The mainland connects to Cedar Key at the top of the map at No 4 Bridge.  And the very bottom right is the island of Atsena Otie Key to which I kayaked one day.  Post to come.


All of the hikes from here on are part of the Lower Suwanee National Wildlife Refuge established in 1979 to protect the water quality of the Suwanee River Estuary.  The Refuge is one of the largest undeveloped delta-estuarine systems in the United States.  It completely surrounds Cedar Key.

One of the very interesting parts of the refuge is Shell Mound.  It’s on one of the many finger peninsulas that jut out into the gulf,

There are two trails at Shell Mound.  I’m going to do a separate post on the Shell Mound Trail but the other trail was a nice more than a mile loop called the Dennis Creek Trail obviously because it crosses Dennis Creek and travels across one of the tiny coastal islands that dot the waters everywhere around Cedar Key.


The trail goes through a coastal hammock between saw palmetto stands and under wind swept oaks.

PXL_20240206_183534925.MP



The ecosystem changes as I cross the boardwalk over the salt flats to the island. 

PXL_20240206_183905313.MP


There are interesting interpretive signs along the trail through the salt marsh immediately adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico..


PXL_20240206_183923094.MP



The boardwalk goes over the island  and leads to a scenic observation deck.


PXL_20240206_184212969.MP



The large lake here is at the center of the island.

PXL_20240206_184237701.MP



It appears this may be damage from the fall hurricane of 2023.

PXL_20240206_184355884.MP



Oyster beds are visible along the edges of the creek but I am surprised when I walk down this short side trail to find a big  pile of Whelk shells on the side.


PXL_20240206_185320703.MP



PXL_20240206_185516993.MP



It is illegal to harvest live whelks.  How did such a pile get here?   Could it be a midden?   I thought those were nearly always oyster shells.

PXL_20240206_185537527.MP



Many of the whelk shells are good size.

PXL_20240206_185619698.MP



Dennis Creek as seen from the last boardwalk.

PXL_20240206_191136558.MP



Other hikes I took or tried to take in the Lower Suwanee National Wildlife Refuge that surrounds Cedar Key were somewhat less successful


PXL_20240206_193653809.MP


Like Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve which protects some of the lastsremaining scrub habitat in Northern Florida.  This is not a favorite habitat of mine but many threatened and protected species depend on this habitat notably the Threatened Florida Scrub Jay.






I’m a fan of the Florida Scrub Jay and hoped I might see some here.  They are fun birds attracted to shiny things like sparkles on hats as David and I found out at the  Lyonia Scrub Jay preserve  near Deland Florida and Blue Springs State Park.

I was hoping perhaps to see some here.

PXL_20240206_193747375.MP



There are two sections to the park.  Perhaps I was on the wrong side.

PXL_20240206_193633675.MP



The entry trail started off seeming possible.

PXL_20240207_184202370.MP


But it very quickly became clear to me that there wouldn’t be any jays near these roads.   I walked quite a way along this one looking for trails into the scrub but no luck.


PXL_20240207_190545859.MP



The information kiosk says pets must be on a 6’ leash,  still this looks like a great and safe place to let a canine burn off some energy chasing a ball or a frisby up and down this road.

PXL_20240207_190550551.MP


I had better luck with one of two trails near the Refuge Headquarters.



200 Tram Ridge Loop map


As you can see from the map, there are many different ecosystems in this section of the Wild Life Refuge. 

I wasn’t able to hike in  the in the floodplain swamp or the bottomland hardwoods.  The River Trail  had been destroyed by the recent hurricane. I was really sorry as I wanted to walk along the Suwannee.  Apparently funding for repairs/replacement is the issue.  Does that always seem to be a problem for the National Parks and Wild Life Refugest?


I was definitely bummed when I encountered this sign.

20240209_124851



But I did walk the Tram Ridge Trail named I assume since it was once a logging railroad bed.  This land was also used for turpentine extraction in earlier days.    There were information signs along the way.


20240209_125823



There were several cypress ponds which I know the frogs must love.

20240209_130928



Among the habitats were hardwood and pine and scrub oaks as below.

20240209_131930



The trail becomes wet and muddy and I am so glad that some instinct told me to put on hiking boots for this trail.  I usually just hike in my walking shoes in Florida.

20240209_133646



Whoever drove over made the mud worse.

20240209_133928



Trying to hike around the mud but not get cut by the palmettos was a challenge.

20240209_134009



The boardwalk was very welcome though it did not take me to the end of the trail.


20240209_134147


Not sure what these pretty little things were there in the scrubby flatwoods but they brought a smile to my face and were the last photographs I took on the trail.


20240209_134846



20240209_135100


In my efforts to get some exercise other than walking around the campground or town I investigated most of the hiking possibilities within reasonable driving distance.  None of the trails were quite long enough.