OffBeat Pathfinder Basecamp

You haven’t really explored Florida until you’ve found yourself knee-deep in the Everglades after sunset. Here are my top five encounters that still haunt me: (1) The glowing eyes that watched me from the reeds—later confirmed to be gators, plural; (2) The inexplicable fog that rolled in out of nowhere and made my flashlight useless; (3) The distant wail that sounded like a ghostly airboat (but there were no other people for miles); (4) The night I woke up to my tent shaking and found a nosy raccoon inside; (5) The strange blue light that zipped across the water, which the locals swore was the “Swamp Spirit.” If you’ve had a weirder experience, let’s hear it—I’m collecting stories for a future post!