FCT2 -Cracker Ammo Traditional Cache
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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.
Some people know how the term “Cracker” originated, and some don’t. It came from the cracking sound of the rawhide whips used by pioneer cattlemen. Thus the original Crackers were men who herded cows. The sound of the whips could be heard for miles, so the whips were also used for communication purposes. One crack meant come to dinner, two cracks something else, and so on. It was pioneer Florida’s first wireless telegraph system.
The whips were lethal, capable of popping the head off a rattlesnake at ten paces. During hard times, when gun powder and bullets were in short supply, men used the whips to kill small animals for food. [To be perfectly proper, the term is a “cow whip.”]
*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. *
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