Florida Trail Ocala Section Pt. 1

A comedy of errors before the hike even begins

My ability to meticulously plan out a hike a month in advance and yet still leave an important piece of gear behind is unparalleled. But I outdid myself on this one.

The 9 hour drive to central Florida was uneventful, at least until I arrived at Rodman Campground, where they informed me that they didn’t allow primitive camping. I was told to drive several miles over to the St. John’s Loop Campground, which looked easy enough on my map. Unfortunately, I ended up on the wrong side of the canal and had to drive all the way back around to get to the actual campground. Along the way, a phone call to the ranger station had been required to ensure my successful navigation.

Mildly irritated, I still made it to the campground with plenty of daylight left to allow pitching my tent and preparing dinner. After I paid the iron ranger ($5.55, exact change only….why, Florida?) I picked out my site and got to work. A nearby camper showed me where the water pump was, and told me to pump it a few times before collecting water because her first effort had produced a salamander.

As I filled my water bladder, it started to rain. No biggie, I thought, I’ve set up a tent in the rain plenty of times. Except this time, it went poorly. I snapped my first two Easton stakes in half before I realized that the campground was apparently situated atop an old coral bed. My tent required 4 stakes; I’d brought 5 and was now down to 3. And the rain was picking up. Frustrated, I threw the tent into the back of my Expedition and resigned myself to sleeping in the car that night.

I set about cooking dinner, only to discover that I’d forgotten to include the freeze-dried chicken in the recipe bag. It was still a good meal, but at this point I was wet and beyond annoyed. I retreated to the car to charge up my phone one last time….and found that I’d somehow brought the wrong charger cord. This was a major problem. I put in a quick call to my shuttle driver and schmoozed him into picking me up some tent stakes and a proper cord for tomorrow.

It got dark, and I did my best to contort my 6′ 2″ frame into the back row seat of my vehicle. At 3AM I apparently rolled over and triggered the car alarm button (key was in my pocket). I could sense the wrath of my fellow campers. I slunk out of there at dawn so I wouldn’t have to face any of them, and drove back over to Rodman to meet my shuttle driver, Carl.

Carl showed up 5 minutes early and brought 6 heavy WalMart shepherd hook tent stakes and a charger cord that worked. I deserved those 1 oz. tent stakes and was thankful to have them. We set out in Carl’s Bronco for the Clearwater Lake trailhead, stopping along the way for a biscuit and coffee.

There was a very light drizzle as we hit the trailhead at 9:00. I tipped Carl handsomely and thanked him for salvaging my hike.

This section- and by that I mean the entire 70 miles- of the Florida Trail was extremely well-marked. Post signs and orange blazes were always where you needed them.

The first couple of miles passed through a young longleaf pine forest (more on this ecosystem in a later post). I kicked up a couple coveys of quail early on.

Eventually the forest became more mature, with a well-developed grassland understory typical for the ecosystem.

Mixed in among the grasses were occasional palmettos, shrubs, yucca, and one of my favorites, the prickly pear cactus. This particular species- Opuntia humifusa- resides in arid regions along the east coast from the Florida Keys as far north as Connecticut.

Eventually, the palmettos grew more densely as the forest became transitional.

The trail was very well-maintained, and the fairly level sandy tread was a comfortable way to ease into the first day of a trip. At 4 miles, I came to the first of the many ponds I would see during the week. These were typically shallow depressions with extensive grass growth around the periphery.

There are actually two sandhill cranes in the above photo. I have zoomed in on them below.

At 5.4 miles I crossed one of the very few clear streams I would see during my journey. And by clear I mean tannin-stained but otherwise perfectly clear.

At 6 miles I briefly entered a palm hammock.

A recurring theme of this hike was the rapid transitions between one ecosystem to the next, from longleaf pine forest to palm hammock to prairie to dry scrub.

As I was leaving the palm hammock I came across a thru-hiker who had stopped for lunch. This hiker turned out to be Poet, as in THE Poet of Appalachian Trail fame. Poet and his wife Hippie Chick operate the famous Shaw’s Hiker Hostel at the south end of the Hundred Mile Wilderness in Maine, and Poet’s gear shakedowns for southbounders are legendary. Poet was enjoying a Good2Go Thai Curry for his lunch, which as you know is the greatest commercial meal in existence IMHO.

Poet shared some tales from his thru-hike so far, of which Big Cypress Swamp sounded particularly exciting. I then continued on, although we would leapfrog each other over the next several days.

At around 9 miles I enountered the first of a series of boardwalks that had chicken wire surfaces for traction. Very nicely done by the trailbuilders. Except that the last boardwalk didn’t have chicken wire and was SLIMY. I felt like I ice-skated across that one.

The trail also featured numerous crossings of forest roads, jeep roads, and ATV trails like the one below.

None of these were very obtrusive, and they were a reminder that this forest served outdoorsmen besides hikers. I met a handful of ATV riders and folks in jeep buggies, all of whom were friendly. One even offered me a cold beer! It seemed that everyone stuck to their particular trails and were respectful of others.

At 10.1 miles I finally arrived at the spur trail to Alexander Springs, which took me to the Alexander Springs Campground.

My good looks and suave demeanor managed to cajole the primo campsite from the young lady at the entrance station, i.e. the campsite right next to the water supply and bathroom. A veteran of the trail knows these things. But before heading for my campsite (#2), I walked down to the campground store and grabbed a Gatorade and a cheeseburger. While there I ran into Poet, Hippie Chick and their 2 daughters. Poet was slackpacking by day and then getting picked up by his wife so they could drive nearby to stay with her family.

The campsite turned out to have all of the essentials- bear-proof food storage locker, picnic table, grill and fire ring.

Alexander Springs Recreation Area features one of the first magnitude springs with aquamarine 72 degree water and a beach/swimming area. I was too lazy to go looking for it this late in the day, choosing instead to prepare my dinner of Uruguayan lentil stew and drink a little wine. I was asleep not long after dark. The Tarptent Notch Li was a cozy abode for the evening, and I slept securely knowing that my food and pack were in the bear-proof storage bin nearby. Things were certainly going better than they had the day before. Day 1: 10.6 miles.

CLICK HERE TO READ PT. 2