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The Florida Cracker Trail Ride includes experienced and not so experienced riders who want to travel the legendary 1800’s cattle trail that “cow hunters” used to herd thousands of head to market destined for shipment north out of Fort Pierce and Punta Rassa, south of Fort Myers which was the other coastal market where “cow hunters” loaded herds onto paddle boats for Cuba to replenish the beef supply after the Spanish American War in 1898.
The ride begins at a site just east of Bradenton, Florida and ends in Fort Pierce, Florida. The week-long ride is approximately 110 miles long, riding an average of 15 miles each day, sometimes more, sometimes less.
On November 20, 2000, the Florida Cracker Trail was selected as a Community Millennium Trail. Millennium Trails is a partnership between the White House Millennium Council, the Department of Transportation, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the National Endowment for the Arts and other public agencies and private organizations. The goal of Millennium trails is the creation of a nationwide network of trails that protect natural environment, interpret history and culture, and enhance alternative transportation, recreation and tourism.
We are inviting you to travel this historic trail that the early Florida pioneers traveled out of necessity. Along the trail you will learn about some of the pioneers and find some interesting caches along the way. If you’re up for the challenge come ride the cracker trail with us.
Cache placed with permission of property owner.
Quess you've never heard of a cowboy thief until now but today you get to meet one face to face!!!
THE OLD CRACKER COWBOY
Sit down a spell while I tell you a tale,
Of the old cracker cowboy, from Florida he’d hail;
It seems that cowboys weren’t born in the west,
If that raises an eyebrow, let me tell you the rest.
Their horses were cow ponies brought over from Spain
In the year 1500, on Florida’s flat plane;
And horses and cattle were Florida’s big stock,
Way before pilgrims got off Plymouth Rock;
And if rough-bearded vagabonds mean “cowboy” to you,
An old cracker scallywag would fit like a shoe;
His hat was of straw and broad-brimmed to boot,
His rifle his pride, though too quick to shoot.
If danger and daring are what you’d expect,
Their range wars and rustling might gain your respect;
Now the old cracker cowboy had plenty to do,
With hangings and lynchings and dueling there, too.
It’s true that a cowboy faced impossible strife,
And so did the cracker eeking out a cowboy’s life;
Through quicksand and palmetto scrub and oppressive heat,
He drove his herd onward and would never be beat.
And Florida was ideal for ranchin’, you see,
With its prairies and rivers abundant and free;
From sun-up til sundown he’d work all the day,
Meeting panthers and bears and wolves on the way.
He’d drive his wild livestock around the Big Lake,
to Punta Rassa for the gold he could make;
Where hoofs and hats and hot tempers soared,
When whiskey and wagers and wild stories poured.
A cowboy’s the kind who will stand by his word,
Who forges ahead in spite of the herd;
So next time you think of those cowboys out west,
Remember the cracker paved the way for the rest.
**The annual ride takes place the last full week of February, we ask that out of respect you refrain from caching along the trail that week. **
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vs qnatre naq qnevat ner jung lbh’q rkcrpg,
Gurve enatr jnef naq ehfgyvat zvtug tnva lbhe erfcrpg;
Abj gur byq penpxre pbjobl unq cyragl gb qb,
Jvgu unatvatf naq ylapuvatf naq qhryvat gurer, gbb.