I want to start by thanking Hammock Bliss.... later on that.
We all planned on doing a 4 day 3 night trip and then life got into the way for Debi and me. Planning was put off probably a few weeks late. The idea was to walk in Ocala at first and I knew the general area we wanted to walk so thought it would be pretty easy to plan. Well there was a big hick up in that plan, Hunting season. I am not complaining, about hunters at all due to me being a hunter ( or ex hunter depending on what you want to call it) . However i will say i dont understand why most of the spots we wanted to go were in areas that are closed for camping due to hunting, just makes me say HMMMM.
So after i realized i was over my head in this i called in reinforcements, .... My big brothers. The frustration got to me, Ken was there to help and James was there as a lifeline. We looked at going to the Green Swamp area, should have been easy just got there and walk right LOL .... yea right. We needed permits to camp, should have been easy right ... LOL ... yep you guessed it NOPE. Ken called the rangers to get the proper permits, no answer , he left a voice message , a return call LOL .... NOPE. Now theres a issue. im even more frustrated. I had left the maps with Ken at his house, so my hands are tied.
James and Ken met up and figured the one and only place to go was Barr street to Joshua Creek. James, Debi, and I have already done that stretch on our fist few hikes, but no worries we were just NEEDING to get out in the woods.
Great now we have a plan!! We wanted to do a water drop, cuz on the Florida Trail there is little to no water. That just makes no since, but it is what it is. We decide that it would be nice to have someone drop us off so our cars dont get broke into, ( these areas have a lot of foot traffic ). But who, who would be up to this task? Dad. Dad agreed to help us out, and it was a big help. we need drop off 9 gallons of water, thats a lot of weight we wont have to carry ( about 72 lbs. ).
I really tried hard to keep Debi and my bags as light as possible, i wanted to be at 40 lbs and Debi about 30. I knew i was pushing the limits but felt like it was doing good. Debis bag wasnt bad at all, mine was heave but not horrible. James and Ken were running late but who cares we were in no hurry. Dad was ready to go the the guys showed up. We loaded the truck and i quickly realized i did real good on my bag. Kens bag was HEAVY, James' bag was 54 lbs if im not mistaking ( hes the numbers guy so he knew LOL ). Mine was close to his but his was heavier. And were off!!
We make it to the water drop and then to Barr Street, after about 30 minutes of picture taking by dad ( thats another story LOL) we start our epic journey.
We have been in this area a good bit of times so nothing new to see until Flagler Rd. We see a handful of day hikers, one with about 5 dogs ones name was Sam ( i think ) . Sam wasnt on a leash and was running all over the place, all you heard was that lady calling that dogs name LOL. Me and Ken have pretty much that same pace, Debi and James were pretty much behind us all weekend. Both James and Debi were having foot issues of different kinds, We thought that we fixed Debis blister problems, but we changed he insoles and.... well lets just say not a great idea again. All im gonna say is i hate when we do things to correct issues and we create other issues.
So we are starting to get away from the people and getting closer to our camping area, i slow down and start walking with debi and mooing at some cows that didnt appreciate my humor as much as I did. Cows are strange animals and have that blank stare that just gives me the heeby jeebies .
Yay us we made it to our campsite!! Plenty of wood, plenty of trees to hang from, and plenty of laughs to laugh about. After setting up and drinking coffee, um coffee? After drinking Mississippi mud with a little bit of cream in it its time to eat and just relax!! We sat around laughing about movies and everything else. The hammock was calling my name, i have no bed time out there my body tells me its time to lay down and i answer the call. Yea 8 oclock maybe early but im tired. Well evidently when you drink extra strong coffee it may affect sleep. No i didnt sleep well , and come to find out neither did Debi. No problem theres always the next night.
We wake up and do out normal thing coffee stories yadda yadda. Then were off again. I really love being in the woods walking and really love camping so im looking forward to that night yea im tired who cares thats just part of it. While were walking and talking its hard to see everything but somethings you should always look out for is snakes on trail, not as bad as snakes on a plane but same idea. Yea you guessed it i was inches from stepping on a snake, im glad Ken said something to me. It was just a guarder snake, but had it been a rattler i could have been bit. I think ill let Ken take point from now on.
We came across some orange and tangerine trees that had some fruit on them, Ken wanted some and so did Debi so i walked back at a fast pace to get some, i trip and grab the first thing i can grab. Well these trees had thorns on them about 3 feet long and 8 inches around, 1 goes into my hand, OUCH! I check it out and its not too bad, it did however bruise me.
After passing a really nice campsite we stop so debi can work on her feet and we can take a break. Knowing it was supposed to rain we really needed to get our water and get set up before it hits. We have to get moving we had about 3 miles to go, 2 of them would be on a paved road ( Curryville Rd. ) . We make it to the water drop and decide to go in and find a area to get set up so we can beat the rain.
We find a decent spot, get some coffee and get set up. There were a few little sprinkles but nothing that would make us put our rain gear on, we already had our rain flies on our hammocks. The conversation turned from movies to BBQ, pizza, and deserts.
Funny how you have all this food in your bag but its not what you want at that time. I do love how we can all be so sore from walking and whatever but we can all laugh and cut up out there. Like Deb says its the little things out there that keeps us coming back. There is no way that we can say everything we talk about cuz its mostly small talk. Things like food, movies, kids, grandkids, dogs, rain, farting, and of course how much longer to walk, or til were gonna take a break. Its the true reason i Love being out there. Its a true relaxation.
So we lay down about 930 or so, my hammock is close to the fire area so i talk to Ken and James a little bit more then i fall asleep, i sleep hard til about 1 am, i hear a booger walking in camp, i fumble around looking for my light so i can save the day, and realize it just Debi walking around. I realize its raining a little bit, but no problem. I check on debi and go pee, then back asleep. I wake up to a heavier rain, and then i notice this feeling i havent felt in a very long time, i am very wet. I think to myself, " self did you get up and pee? or did you think you were up and pee? " . Nope its the rain, my rain fly was pouring in rain. This is why i wanted to thank Hammock Bliss for their wonderful design. I can not figure out why the fly is so narrow, and have so few grommets. The water would puddle up and pour into ( not onto ) into the hammock.
I check on Debi to be sure she is ok cuz she has the same set up and she is wet also, there is no way to get us dry and stop the leaking. We try to sleep but its not happening. I decide to drop my hammock in the ground and sit under fly. So me and Debi sit on the ground staying dry, drinking coffee, eating cheese, and talking about how to correct this for the next time. Remember this is our first rain and another learning experience for us both. A bigger fly is the best answer, but after about 2 hours of talking i lay on the ground Debi lays next to me and she falls right to sleep. I doz off but get woken by a cricket jumping on my leg. Then i think, She finally is asleep, maybe the best answer is a tent. I can sleep on my belly and she can sleep next to me, win win.
We also decided that night that we cant go another night, our sleeping bags are soaked and our hammocks are soaked, and there is more rain coming.
The guys woke up and i told them we are throwing in the towel, i didnt want to ruin their trip, so i let them decide if they wanted to stay. Deb and me can get a ride home then i could come back and pick them up. James got wet also, Kens stuff got soaked so they decided to call it also. I felt bad but after talking to James i think he was wore out and ready to go home also.
Dad to the rescue again, Debi called Dad, and without hesitation he said he would be there in a hour or so. That gave us time to finish breakfast and break camp.
This trip may have felt like a failure, but there is always a silver lining. If we had been in the green swamp or Ocala we dont know if it would have been so easy to get home. We were very close to our way out from camp. We found out that our rain flies suck and we need to change the way we think about our sleeping arrangements. We have learned how to deal with the cold and now we are learning how to deal with the rain.
Rain 1 us 0
Ill post pictures as soon as i can..............
http://wewanttoseeflorida2.blogspot.com/ ....... Kens Blog
http://jstmine225.blogspot.com/............. Debis Blog
