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Mason Gravley

@alive_adventures

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Helping protect wild Florida at the @floridawildlifecorridor
🎤 Choppin it up on @floridauncutpodcast

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St Johns River you were a challenge and a treat.

310 miles, four days, one epic 29ft canoe*, seemingly endless hyacinth, daily storms, a steamboat race, hallucinations, unspeakable amounts of caffeine and electrolytes, many new friends (including the gators) and $251 raised for @reservaylt—not bad for a paddle trip.

*kindly borrowed from @stirringh2o 🩵

📷 1, 11: @reggarner taken in Florida, USA by @alive_adventures

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a month ago

A week ago today, 12 friends and I set out on an epic journey down the St. Johns River from source to sea.

We had 310 miles ahead of us, a single 29-foot canoe beneath us, and the solitary goal to paddle from Blue Cypress Lake near Yeehaw Junction all the way to the Atlantic, the entire length of Florida’s longest river.

We pushed off at sunrise last Friday and paddled through the day, into the night, and back into the day again. We stopped just once to sleep on the second night, squeezing in about five hours under a bridge. The rest of the time, we paddled nonstop.

I’ve done a lot of adventures over the years, but pound for pound, this was one of the most challenging, rewarding, unique, and unforgettable for so many reasons.

The St. Johns threw just about everything at us until the very last paddle! There were intense lightning storms, gators, miles of hyacinth-choked canals that required a dozen portages, brutal heat and wind, current shifting cargo ships, and unforgivingly strong tides. Somehow we came out the other side already talking about the next adventure. This story has so many chapters and layers, including racing a steamboat whose wedding party guests erupted in cheers when we beat them to the finish line at a channel marker.

We learned so much about the river and the landscape surrounding it. It’s a wild cross section of Florida, and I hope it can stay that way with the tremendous amount of growth pressure that area faces.

I want to give a special thanks to Bill Redmon and StirringWaters (@stirringh2o) for allowing us to borrow your one-of-a-kind 29-foot canoe for this adventure. It made the journey feel like a Florida-man/woman version of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Also, a huge thank you to @reggarner for the pictures and joining us. We historically do a terrible job documenting these adventures.

@aaronchimelis
@davidmanuel23
@dweber3333
@ellaholbrookk
@jwolfram
@maria.angelino
@bearnakedclimber
@offtrailrb
@zacwolfram
@zpfranco123 taken in Blue Cypress Lake by @alive_adventures

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a month ago

Attended the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation’s Conservation Panel tonight. One thing I took away: simply saying “we don’t want development” isn’t a solution.

Protecting Florida requires education, collaboration, and partnerships between conservation groups, elected officials, businesses, landowners, and residents. We have to understand the challenges and work together on real solutions.

What an amazing and insightful event. Can’t wait for the next one. 🌿🐾🇺🇸 @polkforever @floridawildlifecorridor taken in The Ritz by @alive_adventures

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5 months ago

We were very honored to welcome Mason Gravley, @floridawildlifecorridor, to our Life Explorers Speaker Series yesterday! 🌱🌿

Our community left inspired, learning how the Corridor is connecting, restoring, and protecting Florida’s amazing ecosystems - and how we can all get involved. 💚

A huge thank you to the @floridawildlifecorridor for their incredible work and dedication to connecting public and private land in Florida, in turn allowing species like the Florida panther and Florida black bear to travel safely across the state! Amazing work! 🌎🌿

Heads up! We’re taking a summer break from our Life Explorers Speaker Series, but stay tuned, we’ll be back in September with our next amazing speaker! 🎤

#FloridaWildlife #Conservation
#FloridaNature #MeadGarden taken in Azalea Lodge at Mead Botanical Garden by @alive_adventures

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5 months ago

🐎 New Episode!

Todd Wiseman Jr. & Christa Boarini: A Land Remembered Film Adaptation

Since its release in 1984, A Land Remembered has been described as a lightning bolt on Florida’s culture, becoming required reading in Florida classrooms for years, not just as historical fiction, but as an inheritance of a way of life that once was. The story of the MacIvey family’s rise from poverty to prominence spans 150 years of Florida history, tracing the tension between survival, ambition, stewardship, and loss.

It has captured the hearts and minds of those who identify with “old Florida”, and in no small part has inspired countless individuals, even a generation, to protect the land in which these stories take place. In fact, go look on the bookshelf of anyone remotely associated with old Florida and you’re guaranteed to find a copy of the iconic book.

In this episode, I sit down with Todd Wiseman Jr. and Christa Boarini, the director and producer spearheading the television adaptation of A Land Remembered. This isn’t just a conversation about the mechanics of filmmaking. It’s about why this story, right now, matters for how Floridians see their land, their heritage, and the wild places still worth protecting.

The conversation moves beyond filmmaking and storytelling to conservation itself. If policy protects land on paper, storytelling protects it in our hearts and identity. And storytelling, as we discuss, is one of our most powerful conservation tools.

Filming for this series is slated to start this spring. Follow along with all the updates at https://www.alandremembered.org

@christaboarini @a_land_remembered_

📸 #2 from wmnf.org taken in Kissimmee River by @alive_adventures

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8 months ago

With the news of the possible development of Rattlesnake Key to create a cruise ship port, I wanted to go check out the site. It’s a beautiful group of dotted mangrove islands, grass flats, and abundant wildlife.

I’m really hoping we can work together to keep this place pristine and protected. taken in Rattle Snake Key by @alive_adventures

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9 months ago

Celebrated World Rivers Day with an incredible Source-to-Sea paddle down the Suwanee River. Six men, two metal canoes, 242 miles, 62 hours of non-stop effort. We managed just 30 minutes of sleep in the canoe over three days and two nights of paddling. Sleep deprivation while navigating rapids at night with only 15 feet of visibility through thick fog was a bit more intense than anticipated... but we made it without tipping or mutiny.

This adventure definitely tested physical and mental limits but was so rewarding when we finally finished.

Catch y'all in the creek taken in Suwannee River by @alive_adventures

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a year ago

To celebrate #worldriversday me and five friends decided to paddle the Suwanee River from its source in the Okeefenokee Swamp to the sea. 242 miles in 2.5 days with no sleeping (we dozed off a few times while paddling), and stopping only when necessary.

We started at daybreak on Friday the 26th inside the heart of the Okeefenokee and finished last night in the dark at the mouth of the Gulf.

This river is so wild, so varied, and so unbelievably breathtaking. It’s clear to me why the entirety of the river is in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

The 60+ hours of sleep deprivation led to some very interesting challenges, including hallucinations. Fully fabricated scenes, people, and animals, all in our minds. Conversation with things that were not there.

However the most challenging aspects were things that were real. The intensity of the sun, navigating the many rapids and obstacles at night, the 200-pound jumping Sturgeon that would leap 7 feet into the air every few minutes, the exhaustion from an estimated 150,000 paddle strokes per person, the razor sharp limestone rapids that were on full display since the water was 15 feet lower than we had hoped, trying to eat and not lose momentum on the slower-than-planned river,

We did this adventure for many reasons and I can’t speak for the other five, but this experience was such an eye-opener that our beloved Florida and the landscapes we so passionately protect have no obvious change at the state line. This river has over 40 miles in Georgia, but there was no indication or sogn to let us know we had transitioned states.

Having talked of and seen the Suwanee many times in my life, and knowing the lyrics of our state song by heart, it was an honor to see her in her entirety, through every phase of day and night, three times over.

“All the world is sad and dreary everywhere I roam. Oh brothers, how my heart grows weary, far from the old folks at home.” taken in Suwannee, Florida by @alive_adventures

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a year ago

New LIVE Florida Uncut podcast episode is well...live!

In this special episode of Florida Uncut, we’re bringing you our first-ever live recording, captured this past weekend at the @wildspacestpete.

The conversation centers around the behind-the-scenes efforts that brought the @floridawildlifecorridor’s 2024 expedition and film to life. Every two years, the Foundation leads a week-long journey on foot, bike, and water, through a region of the Corridor that needs greater public awareness and protection.

This year’s expedition took place in Southwest Florida, tracing a route from the Western Everglades to the Caloosahatchee River, an infamously challenging crossing point for the endangered Florida Panther.

The panel guests features several team members (@floridamanphoto, @alexofthewild, and, Joe Whalen) who helped make the expedition and content possible. You’ll hear untold stories from the trail, hilarious moments of gear failure, and candid reflections on the logistics, challenges, and triumphs that didn’t make it into the final film.

I want to give an enormous thank you to Ethan, Alex, and Joe for the amazing conversation. I love working with them. I want to also especially thank Leslie Elsasser, Noel Smith, Katharine Duval, and Tony Palms for opening up the Wild Space Gallery to tell these stories and for the opportunity to host our first live podcast. I am so thankful and still buzzing from the experience!

You can listen to the episode anywhere you get podcasts.
Apple: https://lnkd.in/eA8ee6A8
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e_xiW6d6

If you’re near St. Pete, be sure to check out the companion gallery exhibit, “Blazing the Trail: From Strand to Slough,” on display at the Wild Space Gallery through August 30. Visit Wednesday through Saturday from 2–6 PM. Guided tours will be offered during Second Saturday Art Walk on August 9th at 6 PM and 7 PM. We’d love to see you there!⁠ taken in Wild Space St Pete by @alive_adventures

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a year ago

MISSION COMPLETE!

Canoeing 110 miles of the Peace River from source to sea in 32 hours.

Since kayaking and fossil hunting this river many times as a kid with my dad, the Peace River has always been a special place to me.

It has long been a dream to paddle the its entirety from source to sea.

Last week when I proposed canoeing the whole thing without sleep or stopping, Jordon didn’t hesitate to join and basically organize the logistics.

We threw together a quick plan, packed some sandwiches, a leaky canoe, a jug of water, and took off from Lake Hancock in Lakeland at 5:30 am Friday morning to paddle 110 miles to Charlotte Harbor yesterday around lunch.

We had the time of our lives and were able to watch the river come alive through the day and night. From seeing seemingly every species of bird in Florida to otters, bugs, fish, and trees galore, it was a wildlife watching feast. Also, we saw no less than 500 individual alligators…they were literally everywhere.

There were dozens of log crossings and obstacles, including hundreds of yards of nearly impassable water hyacinth at a time.

This river is incredibly beautiful and immensely important to the Florida Wildlife Corridor, the ambitious vision to connect and protect a network of 18-million acres of green space throughout the state. However, very little of the river’s watershed and surrounding land are currently protected in conservation. This is important not only for the river’s sheer beauty and recreational value, but the fact that the Peace River Valley supplies the drinking water to over a million Floridians and is also the primary freshwaters source to Charlotte Harbor- one of the most important recreational fisheries in the state.

Seeing every inch of this beautiful waterway firsthand is an urgent reminder that this watershed needs to be protected as development pressures in the area rise.

We can’t let this ancient and pristine slice of Old Florida be lost! taken in Peace River by @alive_adventures

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2 years ago

Swamp Drifters #13 in the books. Amazing folks. Amazing time. Amazing place. by @alive_adventures

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2 years ago

The places we don’t always think of as adventure destinations are precisely the places @alive_adventures likes to explore.

Mason Gravley grew up somewhere between the swamps, orange groves, and cattle ranches of central Florida. 🍊

After vagabonding throughout the western US, he’s come back to find a deep relationship with his home state.

On this new episode, hear Mason share about…

🚲 Biking from Alaska to Florida… on a shoestring budget, without knowing how to change a flat tire, and not having snow or mountain experiences!

💕 Fitting in adventure when you have multiple streams of work and a family

🌊 Paddling across alligator-filled Lake Okeechobee to raise awareness for conservation

🌍 Even if you can’t save the world, you can help your backyard

(PLUS: Adventure pies and 100 mile race crew roles.)

Stream the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you listen.

Find it here: fortheloveofpod.com/episodes/masongravley 🎧

Photo by @tpr.photography_27! 📸 taken in Florida Wildlife Corridor by @alive_adventures

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2 years ago