FL>LWRSF>Arbuckle>The "I love you guys" hang :)

[samsara]

Olddog called me a couple of weeks ago to inquire about a farewell hang before I leave Florida (sometime this summer). We picked April 10-12 even though it would probably be hot (I consider anything abvoe 60* to be hot... hence my departure from FL ). Unfortunately some of the gang couldn't make it due to prior commitments but I know they were there in spirit. We had a nice small group (~10 I think) of old and new and it was a wonderful and much needed weekend for me. There was amazing food (j-e-m and JimJ are truly amazing people and I'm glad they've been added into our group), a beautiful site, a beautifully cool creek to swim and cool off in, and as usual lots of fun and laughter. We also had a first for our group... it rained 1.2 inches over about a 3 hour period after sunset Saturday. Rain had been forecast so I hauled in a small blue tarp that was enough to cover a half dozen of us for the evening visit and laugh-off. The rest went to their hammocks to enjoy the rain.

What a great, relaxing weekend... something that I desperately needed. It brought back memories of the very first hang that I hosted at Hidden Hammock with olddog, MAD777, Great White, Grinder, and emceee (it was a long time ago... did I forget anyone?). I never knew what an amazing bunch of friends I would make. I may never see them again (though I hope I do) but all of my hammock friends (including those that I made at later hangs) will always be my friends and I'll try to make sure that I always have a few pairs of trees available wherever I end up.

Thanks to olddog, grinder, Great White, o-boy, richtorfla, sandykayak, JimJ, j-e-m, tuck, wildergimp, and subwayjim. For those of you that couldn't make it I also want to thank you for gracing my life with your time... you're all a great group of people. Enough about me and my sentimentality... let's see some pics of people swimming with Hank Hill tanlines!!!

[olddog]

Great weekend with friends. Lotsa food, thank you jem and jimj, fun and laughter. Somewhat bittersweet with many that were missed at this hang and those that are moving away. samara and Tuck we will miss having you in the woods but look forward to those opportunities when you can make it back.

[Grinder]

(rather than be a "hangnail", I transfered my reply to the correct titl


Creekside hang, Lake Wales SF
I got Back a few minutes ago. I love creekside. We swam, ate and BS'd. There were 8 to maybe 12 people there, with some coming and some going regularly.
(Those I can recall: J E M, Old Dog, O Boy, Samsara, Sandy Kayak, Great White, SubwayJim, Turk, Rictofla, Michelle. If I forgot you, Sorry!!)

JEM (I just learned JEM is a duet) brought a huge sherpa filled with goodies and Emily (the "EM" of JEM) cooked nonstop for two days. We swam in the creek, The "stuntman Hot Dog" Old Dog jumped off a downed tree 7 or 8 feet down into barely deep enough water many times. NO one had a camera in the water..

My only problem was sleeping.
Friday night the head end of my Hennessy Clone ripped off, gently lowering me to the deck. I rigged it as a bug shield and slept on the ground. The next day I retied the ripped end successfully, using a sheet bend knot, but I had a terrible time actually sleeping in it. It seemed like I could get comfortable, but I couldn't fall asleep.It started raining at dark o'clock and rained much of the night. Skeeters were turrble. When getting up to pee, they would swarm in. Even after killing most of them inside, you can hear them outside. I going back to my double layer hammock and a fronkey style bugnet.

I saw a big softshell turtle on my hike in. I'd post a picture of it if I could figure out how, but I can't after 10 min. poking at it.

The others will be along shortly.

[MAD777]

I really hated to miss this hang! It looked like so much fun. From looking at the pictures, I realized that my hiking clothes are out of date; I need to get them from Florida tourist shops rather than outdoor stores! Lol


Dave (samsara) we will miss you greatly. That Forest has become "home base" for our Florida hangs and I will always see your spirit in those woods.

[sandykayak]

Mike, your directions were great (but I still think that from West Kendall/Miami the US 27/Avon Park route is quicker), but u neglected to tell me that I pay at the kiosk but it was not necessary to walk from there. There is another parking area right by the trailhead!

Fortunately, richtorfl drove me back while olddog sat in the back of the pickup holding onto the shopping cart/basket that they had both Sherpa'd back. The last (first on the return trip) portion had lots of angled sides and the cart kept twisting and nearly dumping the two chihuahuas. They carried it between them. MANY THANKS!

Ya, jem (Jim and Emmy) are amazing. They made pulled pork on Fri night and pork kebabs for late Sat lunch. Late cos we had pancakes and ham steak for breakfast! Following the luau theme, Richtorfl showed up with bananas, a fresh, whole pineapple, and leis for us to wear. With a floral lei around her head, Emmy looked like a Paul Gauguin Tahitian model.

I had taken an inflatable sink for dish washing and a Packbowl for rinsing. But when I saw Emmy lying on her tummy to reach the creek's water level, I knew that wasn't for me. I already had put skinny "rope" handles on the Packbowl so I attached a dog leash and it worked great as a water collection bucket. Left standing near the filters, most of the sediment settled.

4 for $6. Not sure how much the shipping is.
http://www.backpackerspantry.com/pro...wl-4-pack.html

I'm really proud of how I managed not to take too much stuff. When Dave said rain was expected, I added the silnylon poncho (I usually use as a windbreaker over my hammock in colder weather) to my kit. Someone whose name I don't know is very glad that I did. He had forgotten his tarp and with olddog's help was able to rig it just as the sky was turning black. It ended as an asym and with the heavy rain I thought it might not give quite enough coverage but next day he reported that he kept dry.

Soaking in the creek was wonderful. I was in for more than an hour - Chatting and floating downstream.

Thanks to all. Such a neat group - as usual. Good luck, Dave.

[old4hats]

So sorry I couldn't make this trip, it sounds like some good times were had. Dave, if time allows and you have the urge, come on up and I will do my best to show you some of the N.Ga. sights. And yes, do manage a couple extra trees wherever you land, you never know what will come down that trail.

[O-Boy]

It sure will be hard to return to Creekside or anywhere else at LWRSF without pausing to remember Samara and Snoopy! Thanks for all the great memories and my reintroduction to Backpacking. Good Luck in Washington, save travels and happy hiking!!!

I'll see some of you at Hidden Pond later this summer.

[j-e-m]

Our adventure began a day early, on Thursday, arriving at LWRSF after 5pm, hoping to get an extra day of camping. We packed the sherpa with 35 pounds of cast iron, 20 lbs of dry ice, 20 lbs of wet ice, 12 pounds of meat, 20 lbs of charcoal, and 25 pounds of gear.
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We began the hot and sandy single-track portion of the blue trail, thankful to have 2 people simultaneously pulling from the front and pushing from the back of the cart.
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There were a few tough spots where the wheels dug in, but with a helpful push from the back, the sherpa passed the sugar sand challenge.

At the intersection of the blue and orange trail, we burned 1/2 hour looking for creekside, thinking the campsite was at the end of the blue trail. Wrong. Burnt fire rings from previous campers indicated that others had camped there, but the location looked nothing like the photos. With the aid of Great White's fine map from several years ago, we were re-oriented. A right turn at the intersection of the blue and orange trail put us on the correct path to Creekside. This portion of the trail is shadier, and the thick tree roots across the trail provided the next challenge for the sherpa. The front man had to guide the path of the sherpa by avoiding sudden changes in elevation or the sherpa would tip from the 100+ pound load. We turned left at a signpost pointing to Creekside, which put us on a 2-track forest road for 1/4 mile. The picnic table and the beautiful oak canopy could only mean one thing: success!
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Destination reached!

We arrived after 7:15 pm, and with half an hour til dusk, jimj immediately set up the hydration station and our camp, while I began dinner preparations. We had lamb kabobs on the grill, pita bread and a salad.
Shortly after dusk, we were startled to hear the Avon Park Bombing Range in action from 7:45p until 10pm sharp. With headlamps on, we finished setting up our hammocks and turned in for the night.

Friday morning, we got up at 8 and enjoyed a lazy morning around the campfire.
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olddog showed up around noon, set up his hammock, and then the three of us headed creekside for a refreshing dip.
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jimj and olddog cleared some of the overgrown winter vegetation by floating it down stream, while I found shady parts along the creek to relax and stay cool. We also discovered voodoo dolls hanging in 2 locations on the water...hmmmm
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Throughout the afternoon, others trickled in:
o-boy,14_IMG_20150410_122637774.jpg, samsara 16_20150410_161857.jpg our guest of honor 17_20150410_161900.jpg, Grinder, 15_20150410_155848.jpg, and sandykayak.20_20150410_182636.jpg

At around 2:30pm, we reluctantly left the creek to throw the Boston Butt in the DO for the pulled pork roast. By 6pm, the pork was fork tender: perfect for making sandwiches and pulled pork nachos.
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O-boy tested out his meals all weekend in preparation for a section hike through SC. Grinder, also testing out food for a section hike (on the AT), chose to eat shepherd's pie but was bewildered by the overly complicated instructions of his dehydrated meal.
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Lotsa laughs, as we wasted no time picking on Grinder for his choice of dinner.

...Part 2 below....

[sandykayak]

Great TR and photos. Guess Part 2 is still pending.

I found the one-flat-side, 1 liter, water bottles at Winn Dixie. Instead if the regular $1.69 ea (ouch) they were $1.00. Tx olddog

[j-e-m]

.....continued from part 1....
Wildergimp put more smiles on our faces with her unexpected arrival.
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She presented an exquisite handmade bowl she made for samsara, and entertained us non-stop with her hilarious yarns. Wildergimp left at dusk, achieving her goal of hiking out at night. Thanks for stopping by, Melissa, it sure was nice meeting you- I hope we cross paths again!

We hung around the campfire trading stories until late, before turning in for the night.

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Inside the bugnet, I was safe from the mosquitoes, but they were quite actively buzzing around. The constant noise of mosquitoes about to attack finally convinced jimj that applying permethrin to his hammock should rate high on the to-do list. At 2am, I awakened to the sounds of an airboat doing rounds on Lake Arbuckle, but eventually fell back asleep.

Saturday morning, I finally made it to the fire ring and found sandykayak, olddog, o-boy, and Grinder already socializing. samsara, I learned, left at 6am, to return home briefly so he could feed and walk Scooby.

We started preparations for ham and pancakes on the griddle. A call from richtorfla announcing his arrival within the half hour signaled perfect timing for breakfast.
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Richtorfla arrived at camp in style with leis, a whole pineapple, a hand of bananas, and cold Rolling Rocks for everybody. Yay!

samsara returned to camp, graciously finished the rest of the ham steak, and gathered a small group around the fire ring to discuss house electrical troubleshooting.
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After richtorfla set up camp and sandykayak woke up from her 1st morning nap, we decided to take a dip in the creek. With its sandy bottom, the creek was beautiful and refreshing, and we enjoyed frolicking in it! What is it about swimming in a creek, natural spring, or wild river that brings out the kid in all of us? For me, it is a reminder of the simple joys in life, away from stress, strife and the complication often brought on by our technological advances. Long story short: we had a great time!

I finally got out of the creek when my fingers began wrinkling and started the faux hibachi grill inside my foil-lined DO. richtorfla peeled the super-sweet pineapple, while I thawed, skewered, and grilled the pork on the hibachi.
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The kabobs were accompanied by sweet potatoes and tropical macaroni salad.
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After lunch, we sat around the campfire some more,
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while sandykayak took her afternoon nap. Great White arrived mid-day, set up camp and chatted, then made a beeline for the creek to cool off!

richtorfla taught me, jimj, and Great White how to do a few lashings. I can't wait to use the technique to lash a whole chicken to a spit. Thanks, Richtorfla!
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After richtorfla's excellent tutorial, we had to packup, as I needed to be back on shift by 7am on Sunday. We packed up and said our goodbyes and left with subwayjim, whose visit was cut short due to car trouble. We were glad to hike back to the car with him, though, because the moral support was invaluable as we pushed through the hot and sandy blue trail. Thanks subwayjim, for sticking with us! We made it back to the car, just as the rainstorm began, and were thankful for the rain to cool us off.

It was a lovely weekend and we are grateful to all who were able to make it.

Best of luck to you Dave, our only regret is not meeting you sooner. Thank You for all you’ve done to open the forest to hammockers- we are enormously indebted to you for blazing the trail so it can be accessible to this wonderful community!