FT2018 Day 25: Shelter Camp (mile 390.4) to Clearwater Recreation Area (mile 409.9)

19.4 FT miles

I got up and packed my things around first light. The mystery hiker who had gotten to the shelter late last night had already packed of his belongings and was having breakfast at a nearby picnic table. Woodchuck was still sleeping.

Because I was in a shelter and on a raised bed-like platform, I cowboy camped (sleep with just a mat/bag) last night. I have to admit, I was a little cold. It may have had to do with the fact that I did not close my quilt (bag), just leaving it draped over me. I had been getting away with that arrangement in the tent, but the tent adds some extra insulation.

I simply said “Good morning" to the mystery hiker and headed back on trail. I figured if he was headed northbound on the trail, I'd probably bump into him and we could do proper introductions then.

Morning on the trail. 

The trail headed through some pretty scrub/sand landscape. Then, I crossed Blackwater Creek with its gorgeous morning reflections. I walked through the woods the rest of the morning.

Blackwater Creek. 

Reflections in Blackwater Creek. 

There were two things about walking the woods today that were different. The first is that I actually had an uphill section. It wasn't very far or difficult, but it was surprising. I went over as couple small hills throughout the day.

The second was that I was able to filter water from a clear water spring. Every other water source I have used outside of Big Cypress has had tannins in it, coloring the water. I have been calling it “tea.” Sometimes it is a weak tea, other times it is a strong brew.

Shark Tooth Spring was crystal clear. It also got its name because supposedly you can find the occasional fossilized sharks tooth in the sands. I did a cursory sifting with my hands, but came up empty.

Sharks Tooth Spring.

Clear water!

Soon, I exited the state forest and did my obligatory road walk. There was about 2.5 miles of highway walking, then some streets of a small community, then finally back into a state forest.

Just inside the state forest was a clearing where I set down my bag for lunch. While I was taking my break, I saw the mystery hiker from last night. He introduced himself as Bobby  and it turns out that he was also part of the PCT Class of 2017. He had only  started 8 days before me. We compared notes on the various forest fires we had to navigate and how we tackled certain stream crossings in the Sierra.

Couscous. Much better than McDonalds, right?

After Bobby left, Woodchuck showed up. I was packing up as she had set her bag down,  but I stayed and chatted for a while.

The rest of the day involved making my way through wooded trails and deep sand 4x4 roads. Finally, at the end of the day, I made it to Ocala National Forest. I hiked a tiny bit before heading to the nearby campground.

Deep sand roads.

Sawgrassfill Lake.

Trail towards the end of the day.

Vlog

I felt a little foolish heading to the campground. The national forest allows dispersed camping, so I don't need to plan ahead for my campsite. Dispersed camping is also free, so it didn't really make any sense to me to pay for a campsite now that I was there.

However, I had drained my cell phone considerably the past two days. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to charge my phone anywhere in the national forest, and I figured a campground that offered hot showers surely had outlets. I also welcomed the opportunity to use a bear box instead of having to hang my bag (required in Ocala NF).

I walked up to the pay station, which in itself was a weird experience, and was greeted by one of the camp hosts. She took me on a tour of available sites and we selected one right near the bathroom. I set my tent up and then went to see about charging my electronics.

Originally, she had said I could use the outlet next to the ice machine. When I asked about charging overnight, she then offered me use of the outlet at the host’s site. She took me up to their RV and showed me the power strip where their TV was plugged into.

The hosts were just about to eat dinner and offered me to join in. They had ordered pizza. Pizza! There were also delicious sides like mozzarella sticks too. I partially felt bad for eating their food, but also grateful for the calories. They also offered me a can of Coke. Then, my campsite neighbor (a campground regular) offered me a beer, followed by my hosts offering me a Mike’s margarita. So many calories.

I ate and chatted with the hosts while we watched TV. They were such wonderful and generous people who have had quite a few hardships themselves in recent years. Eventually, I needed to take care of some of the chores I had planned to do, including take a shower. I had showered yesterday, but it was nice to get the last 2 days worth of grime off.

I took my shower, then worked on my journal, blog updates, vlog, and put a nice post about the campground and hosts on the Florida Trail 2018 Facebook page. Then, I took my battery back up to the host’s site to charge and went to bed.