by Katrina Elsken
ST. CLOUD — Have you ever wanted to experience a real cattle drive? Plans are underway for the Great Florida Cattle Drive in 2021.
In December 2021, a group of Florida cow hunters will spend a week herding approximately 1,000 cattle from Deseret Ranch in St. Cloud, zigzagging on a trail for about 60 miles to Kenansville. The trek will take seven days and go through areas of the state that are still in their natural state, or as close as anything gets to it in Florida. Cattle drives do not move quickly; The herd will cover about 10 to 12 miles a day. It will take two to three days just to get off the Deseret Ranch, which covers more than 300,000 acres and spans three counties.
Anyone can go, so long as you have a horse to ride or a horse or mule drawn wagon to ride in. Those who plan to go are advised to start early on conditioning their horses and themselves for the physical demands of the trail. “We want to offer this adventure to as many people as possible,” said Doyle Conner Jr., of the Florida Cow Culture Preservation Committee. The camping will be primitive, just as it was for those on historic cattle drives. However, unlike the cracker cowboys who ate whatever game they could hunt along the way, or made do with beans and jerky, participants won’t have to worry about bringing, catching or cooking their own food. Three meals a day will be provided for the participants. Hay and grain will be transported to each night’s campsite for the horses. Water will also be provided for humans, equines and bovines.
For more information online, go to www.greatfloridacattledrive.org.
Read the entire article as it originally appeared on Lake Okeechobee News. This excerpt is published here with permission.
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