The final push to Rodman Reservoir

The three of us awoke to soaking wet tents. Who would’ve thought that camping on grass near a large body of water would lead to terrible condensation? As a result, we took our time breaking camp, doing what we could to dry out our tents and bags/quilts in the early morning sunshine.

Eventually, some time after 9:00 each of us departed separately to hike our own hike for a while, although Crazy Legs, Bear Spray and myself would leapfrog each other all day and occasionally stop at the same place for a snack or water break.

I was the first to leave, which conferred upon me the dubious honor of Spider Web Plow. You see, the first person to walk a trail in the morning is the poor sucker who walks into all the spider webs and clears them out of everyone else’s way. They’re always either mouth or eye level too.

After a mile or so I came to the only confusing part of the trail that I dealt with all week, a jumble of ATV and jeep trails. I finally discovered where the FT continued, and what I found posed a dilemma.

Well this sucked. The forest service had recently done a prescribed burn in the next section, very recently in fact. There were still spots in there that were smoldering. I debated walking around this section via jeep trails, but then I noticed Poet’s distinct shoeprints- he had walked right on through (probably yesterday) and therefore so would I.

It was kind of creepy though. Complete silence.

During one of these fires, the fast animals (birds, deer) flee to a safe area, whereas the slow ones (frogs, tortoises) simply burrow below it and wait it out. The pocket gophers are probably blissfully ignorant to the whole thing. In a couple of months, this section will have lush new grass growth.

I eventually crossed a forest service road that served as a firebreak for this particular fire and returned to unburnt forest. Another mile or so later I reached a jumble of ATV trails converging upon the Lake Delancy ATV corral.

This was an odd place that serves as a camping area and staging ground for ATV trips into the woods, tucked into the trees near the edge of Lake Delancy. It was a nice place to stop for an early lunch because it had bathrooms and trash cans. 5 minutes after I arrived I was joined by Crazy Legs and Bear Spray. An old guy setting up camp nearby kindly offered us water, but we were good.

Once again I was the first to return to the trail. The next several miles were through longleaf pine forests, and once again it was hot out there.

At 6.5 miles however I reached a veritable oasis in the desert.

Located just south of FR11, this was described in Guthook as a sinkhole that sometimes held water. It looked more like a spring-fed pond to me, and it was an active hub for wildlife. There were some large live oaks around the perimeter of the “pond.”

There was a ton of bird activity, and I also saw a bear print in the mud at the water’s edge.

But as soon as I crossed FR11 it was straight back into the pines again.

The next 3 miles alternated between pine forests and mature scrub. Being as it was early afternoon and uncomfortably sunny and hot, I took a couple of breaks in shady spots.

At 9.5 miles I reached the junction with a side trail that passed below Penner Pond. There is supposedly nice camping there, but my destination for the night wasn’t much further ahead, so I continued on. The trail eventually acquired that “worn” look that let’s you know you’re getting close to civilization….and then presto, I was at the shore of Rodman Reservoir.

Crazy Legs and Bear Spray showed up (perfect timing) and we set about looking for the great campsites touted by Guthook. One of them was at the water’s edge, where a mass of rotting aquatic vegetation made the air more foul than we liked. But further down the trail, we stumbled into a grand camping area ringed with tall oaks full of spanish moss. We got our tents set up quickly so that they could finish drying out, and then my partners were kind enough to make a water run while I started my dinner. Later while we ate, we reflected upon the completion of our section hikes, and then by 7:30 we were in our tents listening to the owls….and the local rowdies camped nearby at the road. Day 6: 11.0 miles.

In the morning when I went to retrieve my bear canister, I discovered that it had been knocked over, so quite possibly a stealthy bear had been within 50 yards of us during the night.

We all got up and packed early, but I was the last to leave after goodbyes were exchanged. In just a quarter of a mile I reached the trailhead at Kirkpatrick Dam Road.

I then turned left and began something that the FT is infamous for- a road walk.

As I approached the dam I noticed that there were roadside sentinels keeping an eye on weary hikers. Just in case they faltered.

As I crossed the dam you could see that its tailwaters were a popular fishing site, both for humans and birds. A number of cormorants were bobbing in the turbulent outflow.

I crossed and then took a side road towards what you can see at the upper left in the photo above. There was a really nice bathroom there, which allowed me to clean up a bit as well as toss some garbage before reaching my car.

Then it was back to the road to complete my walk to Rodman Campground, where my car awaited.

The folks at the Rodman Campground were very nice and gave me a friendly welcome, and I found my car in perfect condition save for the layer of pollen coating it. I tossed my pack into the back and set out for the nearest McDonald’s. Which I destroyed when I found it.

I’ll post more detailed reflections on this trip later, but suffice it to say that I somewhat unexpectedly determined that this was one of my all-time favorite section hikes. For what originally had been a Plan B, it had turned out to be an unqualified Grade A hike. Day 7: 2.2 miles. TOTAL: 69.7 miles.

Poets and beer and bears, oh my!

Per usual the resident crackhead sandhill cranes woke me at dawn. I wasn’t really feeling breakfast, so I settled for a Snickers, then fought my way through the palmettos to offload some cargo. I checked my water supply and confirmed that I had 3 liters to get me to the next good water source 8 miles up the trail. At this point, having eaten quite a bit of my food, my pack weighed less than 25 lbs. even with that 3 liters of water.

I packed up and hit the trail, quickly entering some quality scrub with a perfect sandy tread. I continued to be amazed at the condition of the trail. Kudos to all of the trail volunteers who keep it looking so nice.

About a mile into the morning I reached a creek that didn’t have an adequate log for crossing, so I just walked through it. My shoes were dried by the Florida heat within 15 minutes.

Right after this creek crossing was one of the prettiest patches of prairie yet.

Not long after this I re-entered the scrub and discovered that Florida had hills! Real hills that involved hiking UPHILL. After over 4 days of nearly level hiking, it was a strange sensation. Even weirder was that at the top of one of the hills there was an honest to gosh VIEW!

At 3 miles I reached the domain of BAD BEAR- Hidden Pond. This place was a gem of a spring-fed pond, with crystal clear water and abundant campsites shaded by live oaks, and I could see why people persisted in trying to camp there.

There was a short stretch of dry sandy prairie ringed by scrub right after Hidden Pond, where I found a patch of shade for 2nd breakfast.

I was immediately besieged by Florida Scrub Jays. There were enough of them in my immediate vicinity to warrant de-listing from the Threatened Species List. They did their best to yogi some treats from me, to no avail. I managed to snap a pic of one of the braver jays.

They are actually very attractive birds with a surprising amount of blue coloration.

The temperatures were rising rapidly, and there was nary a cloud in the sky, so I employed full sun hoodie mode when I departed.

The next few miles alternated between prairie and scrub, with the scrub sections feeling noticeably hotter. It became apparent that my 3 liters of water was only barely going to be enough to get me to Hopkins Prairie.

I passed several small prairie ponds during this stretch, and finally decided that I had best filter a liter to supplement my supply. So I filtered a liter with my BeFree, and then tossed in an AquaMira tablet for good measure. A short time later I sampled it. And it tasted like rotten cow butt. Well, I thought, this is why I brought some NUUN tablets. I tossed in a berry-flavored one and waited, then sampled it again. Nice- it now tasted like berry-flavored cow butt. I consigned it to emergency use only and continued on up the trail

As I approached Hopkins Prairie, the trail entered a more mature forest with live oak branches arching over the trail. A different form of “green tunnel” from the AT, but with welcome shade.

I passed the first spur to Hopkins Prairie Campground (I was aiming for the second one), crossed a small ATV road, and entered a thick woods. Suddenly, I heard heavy rustling to my right. Oh shizzle I thought, this just might be a bear. I stopped and peered intently into the forest a mere 30 yards or so away. Something big was moving back there, and finally I saw it’s head. Yup- a bear. Right at that moment it saw me too and made a strange grunting sound, kinda like it was pissed, so I slowly backed up the way I had come, yelling loudly and making myself big with the aid of my trekking poles. I had almost returned to the ATV road when the bear exploded. I couldn’t tell which way it was going, but my adrenaline certainly got activated. And right as I reached the ATV road, so did the bear.

I snapped this pic while turning and slowly backing up down the ATV trail. An old reggae song popped into my head- “Don’t Trouble Trouble.” It appeared that I had done so.

The bear stared at me for maybe 5 seconds, and then it bluff-charged me. I remained calm and continued to yell and back away slowly, but internally I was sharting all over myself. The bear came to a halt maybe 25 yards away, and then reared up on its hind legs (apparently to get a better look at me). This caused my adrenal glands to have a seizure. However, the bear then returned to all fours, gave me a dismissive grunt, and slowly walked off into the woods.

I backed up a little quicker, and soon found myself on the dirt round into Hopkins Prairie Campground. Apparently, this was a bear that lurks at the edge of the campground by day, then comes in at night looking for treats.

The campground itself had a few folks with pop-up campers already setting up. I quickly found the water pump, where I was pleased to once again run into Poet. He had stopped for a lunch break and very generously offered me a slice of pizza! Serious trail magic right there. He was amused by my bear encounter.

We were NOT amused by the orange water that the pump produced. Rust water! Well, aside from my liter of cow butt, I was dry, so I had no choice- I filled my 4L HydraPak with water that had more metal in it than Flint Michigan’s water had. And yes, both filter and tablets were employed.

Poet had miles to lay down and soon departed, but I wasn’t planning on going much further, so I hung out in the shade for at least another hour. Mosquitoes eventually started harassing me and got me motivated to get back to hiking. Almost immediately I was back out at the edge of Hopkins prairie, with the late afternoon sun absolutely baking me. I had hoped to stop after another mile and a half or so, but there just weren’t any campsites to stop at.

3 miles after leaving Hopkins Prairie campground, and with my energy levels flagging rapidly, the trail finally turned to the east and at least had me facing away from the sun. But still, no campsites.

Finally, after almost 4.5 miles I came to a now somewhat shaded portion of prairie that had a small campsite on the other side of the trail.

I quickly deployed my tent and rewarded myself for a difficult afternoon.

I decided that this wasn’t the night to cook, so I boiled a cup of water and made some Heather’s Choice Chicken Mole for dinner (review to follow later). I was exhausted, and fell asleep well before hiker midnight. Day 5: 12.8 miles.

I foiled the cranes the next morning by setting my alarm for 6:30. It was much more pleasant to wake up to soft music than to the cranes’ usual ululations.

I had some tasty Good2Go granola for breakfast, then leisurely packed and hit the trail by 8:00, an unusually swift morning performance by my standards.

The trail quickly returned to the scrub and crossed a pair of forest roads. Interestingly, there was a water cache at one of them, provided by somebody who referred to themselves as The Drone Angel. He had a system for telling how much water was left, and once a day would fly in his drone to check on things. He would come out in person to replace water jugs when the supply was low. I later ran into some hikers who met the Drone Angel; they said he even let them pilot the drone.

Also, I spooked another bear in the scrub. This one turned tail and fled the moment it knew I was there, for which I was thankful since we were a mere 16 yards apart when we became aware of each other.

I gave serious thought to replacing some of my orange iron water with Drone Angel water, but decided to leave it for more desperate hikers than I.

I passed another nice pond at a mile and a half. I was too lazy to check if it tasted like bovine butt.

At around 2 miles I reached the junction with the spur trail that led 3 miles to Salt Springs. This is a fairly popular town for resupply, but my eye was on a different prize later in the day.

The trail then went through a long stretch of various longleaf pine forests. Even though they offered some dappled shade, it was still plenty hot. I learned later that the high for the day was 91 degrees!

The charred appearance of the tree trunks attested to the periodic use of fire by the Forest Service.

After crossing paved County Rd. 314 at 5 miles, the trail continued to meander through pine forests, with frequent crossings of small jeep trails.

Eventually the trail turned north, and after another mile I found what I had been looking forward to.

A short walk up that hill behind the sign led me to something amazing.

Situated on a dirt road across from a small group of mobile homes in the middle of nowhere, the 88 Store is a legendary stop on the Florida Trail. Not only are hikers welcomed, the store offers a limited resupply (including fuel), showers, laundry, and A FREAKIN PUB!!!

I was somewhat dehydrated from hiking 10 miles in 5 hours in oppressive heat, so I did the smart thing- I ordered a beer.

This was not just any beer. That is a frosted mug, and yes that’s ice on the rim and ice cold Coors within. Words simply cannot describe how good this beer tasted. I tipped the bartender handsomely, and she let me know that there was some ham and beans and cornbread for free at the end of the bar.

I then purchased and chugged a quart of Gatorade. Now more properly hydrated, it was time for….another beer, this time with food.

I then had another quart of Gatorade…..and then the siren song of the bar called to me one more time.

I wandered around the store after this just to check out what it offered. Not an outstanding food selection, but adequate for a couple of days for a thru-hiker.

I grabbed yet another Gatorade and went outside to lounge on the large front porch. There was a convenient outlet for recharging phones that already had an octopus of cords emanating from it, belonging to a pair of section hikers- Crazy Legs and Bear Spray.

They were on their first-ever section hike, so we traded experiences, gear tips and more while we lounged for a good two hours at the corner table. The rest of the porch hosted a revolving cast of 8-10 Florida crackers. The conversations we overheard were hilarious.

Around 3:30 Crazy Legs took off for Grassy Pond, but Bear Spray and I hung behind until 4:00, at which time the tiny BBQ place next door opened. I schmoozed the proprietor into making me some sandwiches to go, which I delicately placed in the top of my pack. A quick visit to the bathroom allowed me to dump my orange iron water and replace it with overchlorinated but clear faucet water. I left Bear Spray still waiting for his burger.

The 2.1 miles to Grassy Pond went quickly, and the short side trail led to a large, well-mowed lawn of sorts near the water. Crazy Legs was already cooking his dinner, so I joined him.

Bear Spray soon arrived empty-handed. He had wolfed down his burger while hiking. We then set up our tents, and I watched Crazy Legs execute one of the highest bear hangs of all time.

Grassy Pond was mostly hidden behind shrubs and trees, but you could tell from the limited shoreline access that it was probably spring-fed. Crystal clear and great-tasting water. We chatted for a bit until dark. A great day it had been- beer, BBQ for dinner and a couple of new friends. Day 5: 11.8 miles.

CLICK HERE TO READ PT. 4

Prairies, foot pain and HEAT

By 8:30 I had made breakfast (Heather’s Choice), topped off my water at the campground spigot and packed up. I said goodbye to Alexander Springs and headed 0.5 miles back down the spur trail to rejoin the Florida Trail.

In another mile, I crossed County Rd. 445 and re-entered the longleaf pine forest.

I have always found the longleaf pine ecosystem to be fascinating. Longleaf pine forests used to cover much of the southeastern coastal plain, but less than 3% of it remains due to extensive human interference. Man suppressed the fire necessary for the forest to thrive, harvested the trees for lumber beginning in the early 1800’s and cleared yet more forests for agriculture after the Civil War. Timber harvesting peaked again around the time of the first World War. Today, fewer than 10,000 acres of old growth longleaf pine forest remain, along with an additional 3 million acres such as in the photo above.

Fire is key to maintaining this forest. The longleaf pine TREE is extremely pyrophyric (fire resistant). Periodic fires clear out brushy undergrowth and stimulate regeneration of the grassland understory. Fire is also required to trigger germination of the pine seeds. The pine saplings grow for up to 12 years in a form resembling a clump of grass that is itself fire-resistant, all the while sending down a deep taproot and building stores for a rapid growth spurt designed to get the sapling above the fire zone as quickly as possible.

This ecosystem is one of the most diverse in the US, hosting as many as 27 endangered species. Carolina and southern wiregrass are the main grass species. Occasional stands of scrub oak and bogs containing pitcher plants break up the otherwise monotonous forest. Keystone species associated with longleaf pine forests include gopher tortoises, red-cockaded woodpeckers and gopher frogs.

Occasionally interspersed among the grasses are prickly pear cacti and yucca plants.

A ubiquitous but virtually never seen denizen of the forest is the southeastern pocket gopher. Their numerous sand mounds give away their presence. Quite often their mounds are right in the middle of the trail.

The thready darker stems in the photo below belong to Chamaecrista fasciculata, the Partridge Pea. This is an important food source for many animals, particularly bobwhite quail. I frequently heard their calls, but only flushed coveys on the first day of the hike.

These forests were obviously being well-managed with fire by the local forest service. The fairly numerous forest roads, jeep roads and ATV trails apparently were used as firebreaks, because often you would cross one of these roads and immediately enter a pine forest in a different stage, or even a completely different ecosystem such as scrub oak, aka “the Big Scrub.” Several miles into the day, I crossed a road and entered “the scrub.”

Technically known as Florida peninsular inland scrub, this ecosystem is characterized by sand pines, various small oak species (sand live oak, myrtle oak, sandhill oak and Chapman oak) as well as Florida rosemary, scrub palmetto, scrub holly, fetterbush lyonia and devilwood. It’s a very dense “forest” and seemed both hotter and more sandy than the longleaf pine forests. Cup lichens (reindeer mosses) were a common trailside feature.

Near the crossing of Forest Rd. 57 I noticed a hammock hung WAY up in the trees, at least 20 feet high. It was unoccupied. I think.

At 5.6 miles I reached Dora’s Pond, supposedly an important water source. I had left Alexander Springs with 6 liters to avoid drinking marsh water, but I did walk down to check out the pond’s edge. Bad move. I returned to the trail covered in tiny ticks. I flicked off at least 50, and was thankful that my pants were treated with Insect Shield.

There was a memorial nailed to a tree to honor the lady that the pond was named for. I searched, but was unable to find any information about her on the internet.

At 6.1 miles I hit the junction for a side trail to Buck Lake, which is fairly large and has a camping area. It was hot, and I didn’t feel like adding another mile to the day’s tally, so I forged on ahead.

Even though the temperature was only in the 80’s, the scrub felt mercilessly hot, and I was glad that I had packed extra water. It didn’t take me long to deploy the sun hoodie and take a water break.

At around 8.5 miles I came to the lower end of Farles Prairie and Farles Lake.

The use of the term “prairie” here refers to the extensive grassy component that often rings these bodies of water. If shallow or transient enough, the grasses will extend all the way across. This ecosystem is properly known as Florida Highlands Freshwater Marsh. Typical grasses are maidencane (Panicum hemitomon) and southern cutgrass (Leersia hexandra).

I hiked a ways up along the eastern side of the prairie until I found the camping area marked on my Florida Trail Guthook app. It was situated in a stand of tall pines a short distance back from the edge of the prairie. There I ran into John, a young guy who was on a shakedown hike as he prepared to start the Pacific Crest Trail on March 13th. We talked gear and technique while he built a fire and I cooked dinner. He had been working hard on his PCT-method bear bag hanging technique, which I watched him execute flawlessly before we turned in for the night. We bonded over some of my sangria and Sri Lankan curry.

John and I hit it off pretty well, once again proving that you can always find a friend on the trail. Day 2: 11.6 miles.

I was jolted awake at daybreak by the excited calls of sandhill cranes. When I’ve been lucky enough to see them migrating overhead in Tennessee, they are waaaay up there in the sky, and their sound is a melodic trumpeting. Not so up close and personal, whereupon they sound like a drunk yodeling turkey screaming out OHSHITITSDAYOMGOMGITSFREAKINGDAY!!!!!

I should’ve been happy to be awake before 7 AM- I had initially planned to hike 13 miles today to Hidden Pond. However, recent reports had indicated that Hidden Pond was now the domain of a BAD BEAR that knew how to take down bear hangs, and had even gotten into backpackers’ tents. I had therefore decided to pull up 3 miles short and didn’t even need to hike 10 miles today and I surely didn’t need birds on meth to wake me up so early.

John had a similar plan, except hiking in the opposite direction, so we piddled around in camp for a while. The dawn view of the mist floating over the prairie was worth getting up early for though.

John and I took the obligatory selfie and then said our goodbyes at 9:15. Here’s hoping he has a great thru-hike on the PCT.

Being that it was Day 3, I was starting to get my trail legs, so despite the late start I made great time. Early in the morning a pair of SOBO ladies blew by me with barely a hello.

The temperature climbed quickly as I circled around the northern end of Farles Prairie.

I crossed several jeep roads during the first 4 miles. They were barely noticeable.

I eventually entered an oak hammock, which is what I think the scrub turns into eventually if it doesn’t face fire. Live oaks begin to arch over the trail and provide some welcome shade.

I had been on my guard for the dreaded eastern diamondback rattlesnake, known to Native Americans as the Real Snake….probably because one bite from it could make you real dead. I never did see or hear one, but today I came across his little cousin.

Despite the warm temperatures, this little guy was pretty torporous. I know this because I poked at him with my trekking pole. That’s what they’re for, to poke snakes with.

About 5 miles in the oaks started to include palm trees! It was reminiscent of an actual jungle.

The oak-palm hammocks seemed to favor soggy ground, and several times the trail gave way to nicely constructed boardwalks to keep us hikers from slogging through the muck.

Finally, I reached the short spur trail to Juniper Springs Recreation Area. I was stoked, because it had a campground store with frozen cheeseburgers and a microwave. Can you say lunch?

I got to the store at 12:15 (after hiking 7 miles in merely 3 hours) only to learn that the store closed at noon. But it wasn’t a total loss- at least there were vending machines with Gatorade and SunChips. I procured my goodies and retreated to the covered picnic area for a brief lunch.

I killed time by reading the interesting poster that discussed the history behind the book “The Yearling” and the origin of the term “Florida Cracker.”

I then wandered down to the spring itself, which was really pretty. I was suprised that almost nobody was there, but I guess mid-day on a Tuesday during school season wasn’t prime time for tourists.

Since I had less than 3 miles further to go, I decided to kill the hottest part of the day here, periodically drinking some more Gatorades. I also refilled my water bottles and HydraPak in the restroom, then returned for a classic bandana bath, which left me feeling refreshed and at least somewhat clean, to the great amusement of an old man who wandered in mid-bath while I was flossing my crack.

Around 3:30, I finally hauled my lazy but now sparkling clean butt back to the trail.

Almost immediately, a sign informed me that I was entering the Juniper Praire Wilderness. No more roads or motorized vehicles of any kind!

Ruh roh, a closer look at that white post on the bottom left indicated potential trouble ahead.

This made me feel better about carrying my bear canister at least. There was one more spot with impressive signage that discussed the flora and fauna of the wilderness.

After hiking through the scrub for a ways, parts of Juniper Prairie itself came into view.

Around 5:00 I found my intended campsite, a small site with room for only one tent- mine. It was fairly close to the water, and as dusk approached mosquitoes made their presence known, so I built a small smudge fire and applied some DEET, then got about to cooking up a fantastic meal of Pasta con Caruso Sauce. I. Ate. It. All. I fell asleep to the calls of an array of different frog species and owls. Eventually it all became white noise and I was out by 7:30. Day 3: 9.7 miles.

CLICK HERE TO READ PT. 3

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