FT2018 Day 15: Rattlesnake Hammock Campground (mile 225.2) to River Ranch Resort (mile 233.1)

7.9 FT miles

It was another late morning getting up as I didn't have very far to walk. And, after last night I had no desire to walk this area in the dark.

I kept hearing shuffling around my campground last night. At first I thought other hikers had arrived or had walked in and out. Eventually I realized it was an animal. I put my headlamp on and stuck my head out of my tent to see what it was and if I could scare it away.

I saw two eyes shining back at me from the bushes. They were pretty low to the ground, which I thought was weird, as it had sounded like it was much bigger. I tried to think of what it could be. A racoon, maybe? It looked to the side a couple times and then a huge body emerged from the bushes.

Oh. My. God. I was scared. I've seen animals at night but I've never had such a large animal so close to my tent. My first thought was a very bold bear. Then maybe a mutant panther, the biggest panther the world has ever seen.

Eventually, I figured out it was a cow. I was almost embarrassed. Why was I so afraid of cattle? That was twice in a 12 hour period where I have had a fear response to cattle. Hell,  my bear encounters while hiking were more calm than this.

After some consideration, I figured the cow would not trample my tent or eat my food, so I could share the campground. Somehow, I was able to fall asleep after that.

When it was light out, I got up and headed down the trail, walking open grassland and thankfully having no more bad cattle encounters. I passed by the Kissimmee River and then into some oak trees, where I stopped for a snack.

Morning on the trail. 

The Kissimmee River. 

While I was sitting, a man came into the WMA on a bicycle.  He greeted me, biked on, and then came back. He said that they were rounding up cattle and he didn't want to disturb them. We talked for a little while and, without me disclosing my encounters from yesterday, said that he has been charged by a bull on those lands. Yikes! At least I felt less bad about my reaction to crossing a bull’s path.

The trail wove in and out of a wooded area, finally exiting at a gate. There were a couple people at the gate talking. I spoke to them and told them I was headed for River Ranch Resort. One of the men happened to be the head of security there.

A large oak.

The Florida Trail. 

The people at the gate described the property and the amenities to me. It sounded like exactly what I needed. Most importantly, it had a laundromat. My clothes were at an impressive level of stink and my socks were a muddy cardboard. It also had showers and food. It was an upscale resort, so I just hoped that getting a tent space wouldn't be too expensive.

I continued down the road towards teepee, which  vould be rented out for the night. Across the way was a petting “farm.” I saw miniature horses and donkeys. Further in the shade,  I saw some small cows. After my experiences yesterday and last night, I forced myself to approach the fence. As these were petting zoo animals, they came right up to the fence and let me pet their snouts.

I walked down the road onto the property itself and to the front desk at the main lodge. I peppered the poor front desk lady with questions. She gave me a key to the laundry room and, when I asked about tenting, she tried to find me the best rate. The lowest she could find was $42, even though it said $25 in the Florida Trail app. Eventually, they honored the app’s price, but took down information on the app so they could change the description.

I was given a ride to the tenting area by Steve, who I had previously met at the cattle gate,  set up my tent on the expansive lawn area, and then took my first rince in the bathhouse.

Sandhill cranes visiting my tentsite.

Meeting the locals 

Befriending the locals. 

I the gathered up my food bag and dirty laundry, heading to the other side of property to pick up my maildrops and do my laundry.

My food resupply was huge. I was definitely making up for my lack of food on the PCT. The resupply needed to be repackaged into ziplocks in order to fit into my food bag. I decided to take my resupply (and my new camera lens!) back to my tent to repackage later as laundry seemed more important.

No more bent lens!

As I dropped my food off, I bumped into Security Steve again, who gave me a ride to the General Store to pick up lunch, detergent, and shampoo. As I was getting out of the golf cart he gave me the best news I had heard all day. The resort had a hot tub that I could use. Oh, yeah!

"The Village" area where the laundromat and store were located.

Lunch at the General Store. 

I ate lunch, hit the laundromat, then went immediately to the pool. I spent way too much time soaking in the hot tub and kicking out my muscle soreness. By the time I was done it was almost the end of the day.

I went back to my tentsite, repackaged my food, showered, charged my electronics, and caught up on my internet uploads. It went back to the General Store for some pizza and wine for dinner, worked on my uploads again, and then went to bed.

Dinner.