Florida Scenic Trail, Ocala NF, 1/17-21

[emcee]

This hike covered the section of Florida Scenic Trail in the Ocala National Forest from Clearwater Lake CG to Rodman Lake CG. We stayed overnight at Buck Lake amidst the preparations for FH4 on Thursday night. Temperatures were a crisp 22* on Friday morning as I made my coffee on the back of my frosted tailgate. chuck and I were joined by LifeScout, his son and nephew for our Friday hike. On our way to Clearwater Lake, we noticed some smoke near Alexander Springs, so we headed to the Ranger Station first to verify the locations of the controlled burns. We made it to Clearwater Lake about 9 am and hit the trail with the temps at 35*. The day warmed up nicely and soon we were all shedding our warm layers. There’s a nice section of boardwalks through a low area before you cross into the upland pine and palmettos. We made good time and were back in camp about 4 pm completing this 17 mile section. Congrats to Zachary and Shane for their efforts on completing this hike.

[emcee]

Saturday was an off day as chuck worked out shuttling my vehicle up to Rodman Lake CG. Thanks again to LifeScout for his assist. I had the pleasure of hanging out at FH4 and awaiting the big feast.

[emcee]

On Sunday, chuck and I headed off to Hidden Pond in the Juniper Prairie Wilderness. It was another chilly morning so we set a brisk pace on our way to Farles Lake. The route around the lake had changed recently, so we got to experience the new “trail”. It was pretty rough walking with lots of stumps and roots protruding from the rutted path. But Farles Lake and prairie were as beautiful as ever. We made it to the boardwalk just south of SR 40 around noon in a light rain. After lunch we crossed into the Juniper Prairie Wilderness. Soon after crossing the entrance to Juniper Springs we could smell smoke. As we continued, we came upon many burned areas that were still smoking. On each crest, we could look out over the prairie and see more burned areas. I was not too happy. We reached Hidden Pond in a haze of smoke. Being the popular location that it is, the area was well covered with campers. We found a depression that sheltered us from the others and made our camp. Another 17 mile day complete.

[emcee]

Monday morning brought heavy fog along with the smoke. Everything was wet, even the undersides of our tarps. We gathered up our wet gear and set off on the trail. By the time we arrived at Pat’s Landing, the smoke was starting to thin. We made it to Hopkins Prairie and bypassed the CG expecting to get water from ponds. As we went north, the ponds dried up. The map showed more water along the side trail to Salt Springs, so after lunch, we headed for the blue blazed trail. We walked about a mile towards Salt Springs and found a nice clear pond. I waded into the pond and got our fill of water (and cleaned my feet). We didn’t have any destination as this was all new trail for me, so we headed back to the FST and headed north. We wanted to stop early so we could dry our gear. We ended up about 1.5 miles south of CR 314 in a terrific spot of rolling hills with thin grass cover and many small oaks. With 14 miles completed, it was perfect place to set up.

[emcee]

We were packed and on the trail by 8 am on Tuesday headed for a BBQ lunch at Store 88, just south of CR 316. NOT! The store was there but no BBQ. We took a short break, watered up and headed back out. We arrived at Grassy Pond before noon and there wasn’t much to offer for hammocking. Water was available, but the campsite was an open field. We decided to press on to Lake Delancy. I ate lunch as I walked and we had some light rain along the way. We arrived a Lake Delancy and went towards the campground for water and more snacks. It was 2 pm so we decided to walk some and find a camping spot along the trail. As we walked, Weatherman….errr I mean chuck, was checking the weather. Reports were that we should expect rain and wind (20-25 mph) through midnight. With this in mind we began to look for some protection and low trees, not the stately pines we had been walking through all day. Nothing was to be found and before we knew it, we were at Penner Pond just south of Rodman Lake. Penner Pond campsite was a major bust and the blue blazed trail is no longer in service. In fact, they felled the trees the blazes were on and blocked the trail. No notice on the south end, but it was marked on the north side. We continued on without much luck as the oak scrub was dense all around. By 6 pm we were at Rodman Lake and crossing the spillway. We got to the truck about 6:30 completing a 22 mi day. We secured a campsite and headed to the showers, got some clean clothes and a hot meal. We hit our hammocks about 9:30 pm with some wind, but not dangerous. The expected wind never came and we woke to temps in the mid 30’s.

[emcee]

After breakfast on Wednesday, I drove chuck back to Astor to collect his bike and trailer from storage. Chuck was headed north and as of this morning was in Tifton, Ga.

[FLRider]

Looks like an awfully pretty trip, emcee. I'm glad to hear that Chuck and you made it through just fine.

Sorry to hear about the lack of water north of Juniper, along with the other tribulations you had to put up with concerning trail conditions. But, it looks like you persevered just fine and made it to the north end in good time.

Thanks for sharing your hike!

[emcee]

Looks like an awfully pretty trip, emcee. I'm glad to hear that Chuck and you made it through just fine.

Sorry to hear about the lack of water north of Juniper

The weather was cool, so we weren't consuming as much water as I usually would. Still, Hopkins Prairie was warm and dry and I was short on the north end after lunch. Worst case was hiking all the way into Salt Springs for water.

It was my first trip thru the area north of Pat's Island and I think with a little study I could work out some kind of loop using some of the OHV trails and the western corridor. That would make a nice hike 'n hang. Might have to cache some water though.

Thanks for looking!

[Refreshing]

Omg the bike picture has me so excited for summer! I like the openess of the trail through the old burn sections. It gives one a feeling of being in a forest without the dense forest blocking the views.

[emcee]

Omg the bike picture has me so excited for summer! I like the openess of the trail through the old burn sections. It gives one a feeling of being in a forest without the dense forest blocking the views.

Chuck's looking forward to summer also, as he froze his sore but off headed to Georgia.
It was humorous that everything was burnt except the trail.
Thanks