Hanging in FL State Parks

[NorseAmerican]

Someone on this site mentioned that hanging anything from trees in FL State parks is illegal. I have sent email to floridatrail.org to to question this because I am interested in hiking this trail. I have yet to hear back, but found on their site a mention of ways to camp, and one was hammocks. Much of FL Trail goes through the state parks. Does anyone have confirmation on weather or not it is ok to hang in FL state parks besides on the FL trail?
Scott

[Cannibal]

Here (http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2178&highlight=state+%2B+florida) is the thread I started about it a little over a year ago.
Click on the word doc on this site (https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleNo.asp?id=62D-2.013) for the full reg.

[NorseAmerican]

Oh, BTW- the pics in my gallery are of my hammock in Vermont- OK? Little flat I know, and don't mind the palm trees.

Here is text from Floridatrail.org. http://www.floridatrail.org/FAQs/Trail-FAQ/Shelters.html

Shelters
Q: Are shelters available along the Trail?

A: There are currently only seven hiker shelters along the Florida Trail. It is therefore necessary for you to provide your own tent for your hike. We recommend tents, bivys or hammocks with no-see-um netting.

Now of course much of trail is in state land and parks. I guess I am a criminal. Like they say here in Martin County "Come on vacation and leave on probation!"

[Cannibal]

I only ran into trouble once and I sectioned about 85% of the FT. Can't remember where I was, but it was a high use campground. Ranger came up and asked me to take the hammock down. He was polite, but serious. I obliged and moved along about a mile down the trail; end of problem. Had several parks people comment and try my hammock down in Florida. I think the high use areas just get stricter enforcement.

[Joe]

....... Much of FL Trail goes through the state parks..... Scott

Scott, I think that you have a misconception of the amount of the Fl Trail that is within state parks. According to the FTA website, the trail does indeed go through 9 state parks, but that extent of the total trail is very small. The majority of the trail (appx 800 miles) is in state or federal forests which do not have the same rules as state parks. Much of the remainder of the trail (appx 400 miles) is road walk. Most state parks are small in size and the prohibitions against attaching anything to trees is enforced within the established camp grounds in order to protect the trees from abuse from the large number of people using these campgrounds. Unless you plan to utilize these established campgrounds, you are not likely to encounter a problem with using a hammock.

[NorseAmerican]

Ok, That makes sence. I was assuming it meant all State land. I would not want to be in the populated parks anyway. Thanks for the info. How was the trail BTY? Was water much of a problem? I would think so much stagnant water that one would want a pump filter to help rid of chemical impurities as well as bugs.

[Cannibal]

I would think so much stagnant water that one would want a pump filter to help rid of chemical impurities as well as bugs.
YES; filter good! Some powdered lemonade mix helps A LOT! The water is terrible (mostly), but abundant in most areas. Does not taste good at all. I started leaving water caches ahead of hikes (I did sections on the weekends).

[Joe]

I have only hiked portions of the trail, so can't speak with any authority on all the trail. The availability of water will likely depend on the area you are hiking and the amount of rainfall. In my area of the state the lakes are still very low from the lack of rain over the last couple of years, but the areas of the FT found locally generally follow fairly close to creeks with water available or else are road walks. I use a water filter anyway (not a ultra lighter). Much of the water in this area contains high concentrations of tannin so, even after you filter, the water will look like weak tea. I haven't had a problem with the taste, but Cannibal's recommendation of using a powder is good. I use the powders carried by WalMart which come in individual serving tubes and in a large variety of flavors.

[NorseAmerican]

YES; filter good! Some powdered lemonade mix helps A LOT! The water is terrible (mostly), but abundant in most areas. Does not taste good at all. I started leaving water caches ahead of hikes (I did sections on the weekends).

On our most recient scout trek in DuPois, only water around was a small gater pond. Some kids boiled for kicks, but so near to farrm land around there makes that spooky. We had someone park a car with water at end of trail, so 4 of us just hikes the remaining 1.25mi from camp to auto to retrieve with empty packs. 40# of water sure feels like it is much more than that!!!! seemed like it was 5 mi up hill on way back.

[Kayakado]

You may run into some situations in the National Forest campgrounds with semi-homeess people who are living in the campgrounds. We camped at Fore lake about a year ago and the residents were rather iffy. One guy approached us trying to sell watches. I guess we were the only women who had camped there in awhile, we had to wait for the men to get out of the womens' bathrooms. I wouldn't camp there without a male escort or two.

[Cannibal]

You may run into some situations in the National Forest campgrounds with semi-homeess people who are living in the campgrounds. We camped at Fore lake about a year ago and the residents were rather iffy. One guy approached us trying to sell watches. I guess we were the only women who had camped there in awhile, we had to wait for the men to get out of the womens' bathrooms. I wouldn't camp there without a male escort or two.
...and Meth-Heads! I never saw any, but was constantly being warned about them by local LEOs. I think there is a thread over on Whiteblaze about this very topic right now.

[Cannibal]

Wasn't a thread, but a post (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=798928&postcount=51). Probably a bit over-zealous since it was about 3 years ago, but hey, it is WB. :rolleyes:

[NorseAmerican]

You may run into some situations in the National Forest campgrounds with semi-homeess people who are living in the campgrounds. We camped at Fore lake about a year ago and the residents were rather iffy. One guy approached us trying to sell watches. I guess we were the only women who had camped there in awhile, we had to wait for the men to get out of the womens' bathrooms. I wouldn't camp there without a male escort or two.

From trail journals I have read, Gators, Bears, Pigs, Cotton mouth and Rattlers are not any issue, but watch out for young white guys in pick ups and Pit Bulls. One End to ender was attacked 3 seperate times by pits, though no injuries. Make me wonder if one shoould carry one of these http://www.ula-equipment.com/helix.htm (potty trowls):D or bear spray and gun.

[Ramblinrev]

wicked expensive trowel just to take a dump.... I'll stick with my orange one.

[NorseAmerican]

Would serve as self defense well against bad dogs though. :D

[groundless]

YES; filter good! Some powdered lemonade mix helps A LOT! The water is terrible (mostly), but abundant in most areas. Does not taste good at all. I started leaving water caches ahead of hikes (I did sections on the weekends).

Yep filter and then filter and then once again if really bad. Florida water is filled with all kinds of bad stuff.

[Cannibal]

Yep filter and then filter and then once again if really bad. Florida water is filled with all kinds of bad stuff.
Did you know?

Some of that useless trivia floating around in my head for you guys. While the water in Florida tastes terrible (really it's bad) it is in fact not unhealthy. The Spaniards used to sail their ships as far up river as they could to collect water both for drinking and ballast. The reason was they were searching for the water heavily laced with Tannin, which is what gives the water that lovely brownish color and repulsive flavor. It acted as a preservative for the water during their trek back across the sea. Tannin has antiviral, antibacterial, and anti parasitic properties and the water from Florida was considered one of the best sources. Some even claim that the legends of the Fountain of Youth originated because of sailors extolling the virtues of the fresh water found in Florida.

It still has many, many bad things in it due to all the agriculture and livestock in modern Florida, but that nasty taste after filtering, boiling, and treating is really a good thing. Cancer researchers are even doing some clinical trials with Tannin derivatives. Still tastes like crud and I don't miss it, but thought I'd share this with the group in hopes that it leaves my brain and goes to yours; like getting a song out of your head. :D

I can tell you where the term "cracker" comes from too. Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with race or color. ;)

[groundless]

yep it's not the tannin to worry about, it's all the chemicals from runoff. Which is why we don't eat freshwater fish. I was in the nursery business for a long time and I can't tell you what actually made into the water, but it is bad. Filters work well.