..they marched, explorers of all ages — from adventure-seeking seniors to the young mother with the 18-month-old strapped to her back — hiking across mud through towering cypress forests and lush green gullies of fern.

Occasionally, they swatted away giant grasshoppers, tripped over cypress knees, slipped in sugar sand, and cursed the heat.

Emily Mauri leads hikers through the Loxahatchee River Wild and Scenic Area on May 8, 2021

An hour later, the relative silence of the woods gave way to the unmistakable roar of rushing water.