Danger, Fear, and Fame in Ocala National Forest

There are dangerous things in Ocala NF to consider. It’s Florida so there are alligators in some of the ponds, though I never saw one. There are coral and rattlesnakes, though again, I never saw any. There are black bears in the forest. There is even a requirement that you must use a bear canister or a bear hang to store your food at night (I used the bear hang method). I never saw a bear but I saw a LOT of bear scat.

The trails themselves can be dangerous. It’s easy to trip over roots or branches. With the hurricanes last year, there was more branches on the trail than normal. To me, vines are the most dangerous on most trails. You can get your feet caught in a vine then fall. But, on this hike, it was grass that was the most dangerous. One section of the trail was through knee-high grass. I stepped on the drooping grass then my other foot got caught in the loop. I fell to the ground. Then, the momentum from my backpack pushed my face and nose into the ground. Luckily, I didn’t have a bloody nose or black eyes but it did mark my nose which hurt for awhile. I had to go to my optometrist when I got home to adjust my bent glasses.

Forget the bears, worry about grass.

As far as fear, three times I was quietly hiking along when a flock of birds suddenly and loudly came out of the grass or bushes beside me. I may have screamed twice. I don’t have a picture of those flocks but here are some sandhill cranes. They are pretty big (especially compared to me) and I had to ask them to move off the trail. They were polite about it.

I also saw an eagle, woodpeckers, robins, herons (no pictures), and osprey in their nests.

For hikers on the FT, 88 Store is a famous place. After several days without a town or store, it’s a place to have some food and a beer, a shower, potable water, power to charge a phone, and a restroom! I enjoyed some snacks and an ice cream sandwich. Yes, it’s a dive bar for the locals but friendly service and appreciated.

Several hikers mentioned that “Jupiter Hikes” was on the FT. He’s a YouTuber who does videos on backpacking, especially ultra light. I’ve watched lots of his videos. Unfortunately, he was further north and west on the trail.

However, I met “Nimblewill Nomad”. He’s the oldest hiker to finish the Appalachian Trail at age 83. Now he’s 87. I met him as he hiked 4.2 miles from his home/campsite to the 88 Store to enjoy a beer. Then he has to hike back. Pretty amazing to be able to do that at 87.

My last part on the trail was crossing Buckman Lock. A fun trip!

Five Day Backpacking through Ocala National Forest

My last solo backpacking was on Florida Trail (FT) through Osceola National Forest and further west for 4 days and 60 miles of hiking. This time was Ocala NF for 5 days and 75 miles. The adventure started by taking the Amtrak to Deland, FL then uber’ing to the FT trail head on the south edge of the forest. When I finished up north, I uber’ed again to Palatka Amtrak to return home. More excitement!

Over the 5 days I saw 6 day hikers, 5 section hikers (like me, doing a section of the FT), and one thru-hiker (coming north from the Everglades going to Pensacola). Positively crowded. Perceptions of hiking greatly changed depending on who I was talking to. The old ladies hiking a couple of miles were surprised I would hike so long and camp overnight,. The 2 greatly overloaded first-time section hikers were surprised with my small backpack (20-23 lbs). One of the section hikers and the thru-hiker was advising me to cut back further on my weight and kind of surprised I only hiked 15 miles a day on my last hike. They talked about doing 20-25 miles per day. On the final full day, I challenged myself to hike 20 miles. Did it, but I’m still feeling the effects a few days later.

One section of the Florida Trail just recently reopened after last year’s hurricanes. There was so much work done to clear downed trees. I felt that whole area was just gorgeous and surreal.

I camped overnight among pine and oak trees, under palm trees, beside a wet prairie, and beside a grass prairie with pine trees.