First Annual Florida Hang (a monster event in the making....)

[islander]

I was hanging in the carport last night and it was almost chilly enough to make one want a covering of some sort. Not quite though. Islander--how was the gazebo hang?

Gazebo - Tikihut hang went well. Scarey at night, all those creepy things out there you know...

Actually very good getting familiar with the Blackbird. I like it , I like it!
I like it allot. Slept really sound. I got lucky and found My Sweet spot on the designed diagonal. Thought I would need something under my head, but shifted weight just a bit UP on the head end, and was very comfortable, no pillow needed.
Just an FYI, I can fall asleep just about standing up if needed. So...
truthfully had a great couple of nights sleep.

Looking forward to weather cooling off more.
Hiking trails tonight & Tuesday to find my 1st Woods hanging site soon.

-islander
[One Happy Warbonnet Blackbird camper!]

[Damifino]

...Tikihut hang went well. Scarey at night, all those creepy things out there you know...

I'm not sure what tiki-hut that you're "hanging" around but after a few capt. morgans they get better!

[skrewloose]

I hope you guys dont mind me posting my trip report of my ONF hike here? Its kind of long but I thought it may help some.

[skrewloose]

Trip report!
I just finished my FT backpacking trip from Buckman Lock to Clearwater Lake. It took me 8 days and 7 nights to complete.
Day 1 started out just as planned, hit the trail around 9:00AM just after work, with clear skies. The hike was going well up to about the 6 mile mark and then my pace slowed to about a crawl. There was dead scrub everywhere. It was all over the trail and surrounded an area of at least 100 acres. This was not a very promising site when you have just strolled for 5 miles down a pleasant and grassy 15 foot wide Cross Florida Greenway section, and now you are only 1 mile into the woods and you can't breathe without inhaling a dead branch.
That unpleasantness lasted about 1.5 to 2 miles. Thankfully that was only part of the trail in that condition. Once out it was smooth sailing to Lake Delancy, were I was spending my first night. Lake Delancy has been a hit or miss kind of place for me on previous trips. Either it’s busy with partiers at night or completely vacant. Luckily I hit a home run. All that bushwackin’ paid off. I was the only camper in this fairly large campground. It was 6 dollars for the night. There were tons of possible hanging sites. I opted for the one right in front of the pitcher pump, with a view of the lake. It was a very comfortable night with just a sleeping bag, no UQ needed. 13.5 miles complete.
Day 2, another beautiful day. My body is adjusting to hiking again after a year spent in paramedic school. This is my first real multi-night trip since I started back on the 9th of Sept. 09’. Man that’s a lot of nines. Not much to report on the hike, just typical ONF woods hiking. The sand spurs are definitely out. Got a love em. I don’t know how they will be in Jan or Feb, but for the guys heading out this weekend if you have gaiters, this will be the time to use em. Campsite for night 2 was the infamous Store 88, only about 6 miles from Lake Delancy. I got there early, and boy I’m glad I did. What a place! How good does an ice cold beer go down after a hike? Pretty **** good. Especially 4 ice cold beers. They have beer on tap and a small restaurant next to the store called the 88 Hungry Bear BARBQ. I believe they are open Wed-Sun 12:00-8:00. I had a delicious pulled pork sandwich. The store / bar stayed opened till 11 pm. The folks that run the store are very hiker friendly. They have created a hiker log book that probably dates back a decade. I looked at the last entry before I wrote and saw that only last week brought a couple hiking 100 miles on the FT through here, and they were enjoying the beers just as I was. I can’t say much for hanging options at this campsite. When it was just myself out here, there was always at least 2 trees that could be used. I stayed pretty much right behind the store in the woods and it would be difficult to find multiple spots close by to hang. It was another fine night with only the sleeping bag needed. Lots of bear scat kept me on nerve a little. The next morning after breakfast, I had my first shower of the trip. Oh yah, did I mention they have showers there? It was something like 5 bucks though. I would not recommend this shower to the faint of heart. I knew that this would be my only one until I get to Juniper Springs.
Day 3, I thanked store 88 for the hospitality and was on my way to the brutal hike
of Hopkins Prairie. Over 14 miles total and the last 7 miles of it was a very hot prairie hike. Water is very scarce on this section, really nothing until you’ve made it to the campground. I’ve done this hike once before and ran out of water 2 miles short of Hopkins Campground. This time I was well prepared, with extra water bottles from Store 88 weighting me down. For some reason I always have a harder time with this section compared to the Juniper Prairie section. This is still a very beautiful and different part of the hike. For some reason my mind kept wandering off and I couldn’t stop thinking I was in Australia straight out of a Crocodile Dundee movie. The backdrop seems to be so similar. All that wandering off definitely helped me get through these 14 miles. I arrived late afternoon. On my way up to the campground I picked up my first food cache of the trip. I was relieved to see that coons did not get to it. I’m using something called Opsaks. They look like oversized ziplock bags, but are supposed to be odor proof. It worked for me and I had really nothing prepackaged like Mountain House. I put together all of my meals at home in freezer bags and cooked them at camp so when I opened the Opsak there was a rush of all the spices I used in the various recipes. I didn’t know how famished I really was until I smelled all that food coming at me.
I found a very good campsite at the end almost like a peninsula part of the campground. I had a panoramic view of the prairie, with the most perfect oak hammock surrounding me. This place can probably accommodate at least 50 or more hammockers, options were limitless. This was such a nice campground. As far as actual campgrounds accessible by car, this one is by far my favorite. I hung my hammock under two perfect oaks over looking the prairie. It was a hard day, but it came with one hell of a sun set. Around 2:00AM I woke up pretty cold and finally deployed the JRB MW3 UQ. Fell right into a deep comfortable sleep.
Day 4, I packed up early and left this beautiful camp site at first light because my favorite place of all of the Ocala National Forests is coming up, Hidden Pond. This is a one of a kind place in Ocala. To get there you must hike 4 miles in, so that cuts out a lot of people and actually every time I’ve come here it has been complete solitude. It offers quite a few spots to hang, (some exploring required) and then there’s the pond it’s self, spring fed and very clear, that offers an abundance of aquatic life. I’ve been here quite a few times and if I’m only doing a night out, I’ll bring a mask and it’s amazing to see the bottom structure of this little pond. Also, the bass are quite surprisingly large and prevalent in the pond. It all makes for some great underwater viewing.
The Juniper Prairie was just about in the same condition it has been since the wild land fire a few years ago. A little bit more growth was noticed. I had a nice breeze in front of me, keeping me cool for the 6 mile hike from Hopkins. I arrived at Hidden Pond before noon and ditching my pack and jumping into that cool, clean water has been on my mind for miles. You know that was the first thing that I did. After I was thoroughly cooled off, I took the side trail up to the campsites. Campsite #1 is where the side trail around the lake ends. If you continue through the wooded campsite overlooking the pond, it opens up into the prairie. Campsites #2-#5 are located to the left as you walk out the back of the first campsite. These sites are still in the woods but overlook the prairie instead of the pond.
Once evening fell, I decided to make a fire for the first time this trip. Since there was an ample amount of wood available, I made a Dakota Pit for some cooking. It’s been awhile since I made one and I always like to practice my skills while I’m outdoors. That night lying in my hammock, looking up as the fire light contrasted against the oak canopy I was nesting under, was complete bliss for me, I could feel the stress from medic school just melt away, as life is so simple out here and you begin to forget all of the complications and responsibilities that you keep back at home.
Day 5, another clear day, I thought by now there would be some weather coming in but no, just a little bit of wind. This will be an easy day only hiking to Juniper Springs Campground, less than 5 miles away. I did want to get there in the early afternoon and attempt to get my $20 worth out of the day. I can’t believe how expensive it is to camp at this spring and the same goes for all of the spring campgrounds in ONF. I also think if you are backpacking to get there, then you should pay less than someone who has driven a vehicle there. The impact of me backpacking into this place is far less than if you drove here. With all the extra amenities that you take when your car camping, its no wonder why these parks have so many run en’s with wild life, the scent of food is everywhere.
Well, I think that will do it for my complaining, on the lighter side, the workers here do keep the grounds in tip top shape and of course the springs were delightful. Not many people enjoying the springs there on that day. I guess Oct. is a little to chilly outside for locals to be swimming. There were a few snow birds that didn’t mind the 72 degree water. I know my ankles and knees needed a little TLC. I also forgot about the whole campsite issue with hammocks here. Not all campsites have trees in the most ideal places for hanging. In fact, the site that I was given had only palmettos surrounding the open ground, just fine if you’re a ground dweller. There are a lot of sites here and about half of them are good for hammocks and the other half are less than desired. After scouting for an open site that was not marked with reserved, I went back to the ranger station and asked for a different site. The woman was very understanding and gave me the site I requested. Camping here opposed to the forest was a little odd to get used to; hearing cars go by instead of animals gave me hardly any sense of privacy. I deployed the rain fly to protect against prying eyes instead of rain drops. It seemed everyone there could not believe I actually hiked here, instead of driving my car like a normal person would do. As walked to the showers I had a group of campers there ask me about where I was hiking. I informed them about the FT that goes from Pensacola to Miami and I was hiking about a 70 mile section of this trail through the Ocala National Forest. They were not from Florida and did not know of the trail but were thrilled to here about my hike and where I was staying. After an awesome shower, I was walking back to the old hammock, and the group of folks who inquired of journey handed me a large plate of BBQ chicken with beans and garlic toast. My first bit of trail magic. I thanked them and went off to my picnic table to enjoy real food for a change. I absolutely inhaled it. All I can remember is that it was the best chicken, baked beans, and toast I have ever had. Camping in popular areas such as this one has its pros and cons. I got a nice meal from my neighbors but they kept me up until around 2:00am laughing and talking, with the sounds of kids running around the area.
Day 6, I woke up that morning around 5:00am, tired but nothing a couple of cups of instant coffee can’t cure. I had to get a move on, for today’s hike poses over a 10 mile stretch.
Farles Lake is my next stop. The trail picked up right past the ranger station. It left Juniper Prairie for a nice forested section of the trail that went on for around 6 miles. After that, it opened into Farles Prairie. For the remainder of the hike the trail went in and out of the forest. I really enjoyed all of the hiking south of Juniper Springs.
I arrived at Farles Lake early afternoon. Again, I was a little bit anxious getting there because this is where I left my second and last food cache. I walked right up to where I nestled it down, in a thick bunch of palmettos and sure enough it was completely intact. These Opsaks worked great. I did some scouting of the area when I dropped off the cache about a week ago and have an idea where I’ll be setting up camp. This place does not offer a lot of choices besides 3 or 4 large pine trees roughly 30 feet from the lake. It was a nice spot, tucked away from FR22. I don’t believe I heard one car go by the entire time I was there, but still my camp looked very cool and stealthy. Speaking of cool, the temp was dropping and with a steady wind blowing right off the lake I was in for a cold night. Before bedtime I set the rain fly close to hammock, hooked up the under quilt and tucked away into my sleeping bag. The next thing I knew it was morning and getting out of my warm cocoon was not fun.
Day 7, I had to find out how cold it got last night so I called my wife and she said the low was 47 in Keystone Heights. I can only imagine it was much cooler were I was next to the lake. Today starts my last big section of the trail, it will be 15 miles. I’m camping kind of off the grid. I stumbled by this place a while back. It’s located about 1/8 mile south of Glenn Branch Creek. I have not found any FT maps that call this a campsite or have read about anyone camping here. I had been walking by it one day on the FT and I thought it would make an ideal campsite. The creek is always flowing and it is perfect for cooling off and getting more water. There are plenty of oaks at this campsite that are spaced ideally for hanging. The trail was in good condition and by the time I came up to Alexander Springs I had to really convince myself not to crash here for the night. I was getting very worn down by the end of this hike and ran out of water with 1 mile to go. Oh, what a relief to be there! Nothing has changed over the past year since I’ve camped there. I walked up to the creek and buried my head into the crisp, flowing, water of Glenn Branch. I then filled my camel back, water purifier bladder, and water bottles up. Not going to run out of water tonight. It was pretty late when I arrived and I had only about 2 hrs of daylight left, but since this was my last night out, I wanted to have a nice sized fire for a farewell to the forest. It’s amazing how a fire can change the look of the woods at night. I was exhausted and didn’t last very long. I fell asleep with the images of night shadows dancing off the oak canopy above.
Day 8, I woke up pretty stiff but after warming up to a cup of coffee I was ready to face my last day in the ONF. I’ve missed my family very much and on this last day knowing that my wife and daughter will be waiting for me at the end of the trail gave me a little extra on each step closer to Clearwater. This trip was certainly needed for me it’s been a very long, challenging year, and bringing a child into the world right as medic school started put a little twist on the year. Yah, I definitely can’t wait to see my baby girl, who started walking of course just after I left for this trip. It was only 5 miles to Clearwater Lake and I fully enjoyed my last little jaunt though the woods.

[MAD777]

Fantastic trip report, Skrewloose! I really enjoyed the details. Sounds like your daughter is going to be a hiker like her dad!

[Damifino]

Great trip report - We just got back (Islander, edhess and myself) from the scouting trip. We ended up hanging at Hidden Pond. What a great place! I'm sure Islander will psot a trip report later (he was director of all things photographic and designated bear patrol officer).

[Caveman85]

After reading all these pages I am SOOOOO stoked!!!!!!!!!! I cant wait till January... you can count me in! This weekend (30-31)I'm taking a buddy on his first hammock backpacking trip to Cumberland Island and hopefully he'll be able to make the Jan hang. If anyone is interested in joining us this weekend pm me and I'll give you the particulars

[islander]

Very nice trip report screwloose.
I hear you with how nice The Hidden Pond site is for overnighting. We just finished an overnight there Sunday. Vice good overnighter.
The 3 of us, edhess, damifino & myself. Getting a night breaking in 3 fairly new hammocks.
Your trip report makes me want to cover the other sections you mentioned, except maybe the 14 mile stretch...

Hopefully see & meet you at the 1st Annual Florida Hang in January.

[edhess]

Nice trip report skrewloose. It brought back some great memories. The only section I have completed on the FT is Alexander Springs to Juniper Springs. That is until our scouting trip this past weekend to Hidden Pond from Juniper. I also really enjoyed the treed section south of Juniper to Farles Lake. Best part of the hike for me. You've got me thinking about Glenn Branch Creek. Not sure exactly where it lies, but I will find it one day. An oasis on the trail. I want to hike from Clearwater to Alex Springs during the next section hike.

Hope to meet you at our January hang. Sounds like you have some great experience/advice to share such as the ops bags.

Keep in touch with us.

edhess

[skrewloose]

Thanks everyone, I had a great time on my trip and I'll make sure I have that weekend off for the Florida Hang. A lot of hard work has been put into that trip and wouldn't miss it! Thanks again and I really I'm looking forward to meeting everyone!