Ocala National Forest Trip Report 4-16 t o 4-17

“While I'm waiting to hear back about job stuff, I decided to do a little trip up to the Ocala National Forest. I hiked from Farles Prairie well up into the Juniper Prairie Wilderness. I'm guessing that I covered about 23-24 miles total.

I got to the trailhead a little after noon. The sun was already beating down, so I put on some sunblock and bugspray and was off. The Farles Prairie offered some very cool scenery and open forests with little or no underbrush. Hadn't it been not so close to where I parked, it would have been perfect to camp here. I'll remember that for the future.

Didn't see a soul until 3 hours into the trip. I ran into what I presumed was a small troop of boy scouts. The kids looked miserable and tired, but the two adults with them were upbeat and friendly. Just said passing hello's and shortly afterwards. I'd see only a few other people the entire trip.

Onwards I went into the Juniper Prairie Wilderness. Clouds covered a lot of the sky and a nice breeze was blowing, which made hiking ideal. A sign warned that the area was very active with bears. I became excited, but didn't see any. I did find some ticks inbedded in my legs and yanked them out though. I did end up seeing plenty of other wildlife, but not until the next day.

Found a great spot to camp next to a pond. I noticed two huge birds (see photos) which I guess were sandhill cranes. Loud SOB's! But they sounded cool. I cooked up some red beans and rice, watched the cranes and the sunset, pulled out some more ticks, and it wasn't too much longer that I called it a night. It was hard to sleep at first. Insects chirping, bullfrogs croaking at eachother as if they were in some sort of heated argument, whipperwhill calls, and the occasional owl hoot were all going on, but once I was out, I was out, and slept very soundly for 10 hours.

Woke up to those silly sandhill cranes, or whatever they were, calling at eachother again. Ate breakfast, packed up, and was off.

Crossing back into Farles Prairie, my new boots were giving my feet some aches and pains. However, I soon saw two raccoons scurry up a tree, which was very cool! I took some pics, but there were too many branches. Shortly after that, I saw these HUGE birds, some sort of crane, that were about 5 feet tall. They had a prominent redhead, and from looking at enature.com, the only bird I saw that could have been them were Mississippi sandhill cranes, an endangered species. I don't know jack about birds though. A few minutes later, I saw some white-tailed deer. A few minutes after that, TWO MORE raccoons, and they provided a great photo op (see my pics link). Minutes later, even more deer. It got me energized, and I pressed on to the car.

All in all, a very cool trip! While the land is flat, there is a VERY diverse amount of wildlife and ecosystems, stuff that I find equally fascinating. Great trip!

Check out the pics!”

“Artex, welcome back. gee your trip sounds like just what the doctor has ordered for me!

very nice, sometimes just the wildlife alone can take your breath away. i envy you for your trip.

the coons can be so funny and cute and bad all at the same time.

hey baby nice self pic! ~wink~


Maple(password hell!)”

“Hey Artex, nive trip! Was that actually a trail with no hills? Wow that must have been weird.

The first big bird that you saw might have been a Wood Stork, they mate around there this time of year. Definately some different wildlife than what we are used to up here. Watch out for Jaguars.

I forget the name of the state or national park it is inland southeast of Naples. Supposed to be really nice.”

“Very cool pics Artex! Those ticks are he!!”

“Thanks guys! An interesting note, I hadn't been backpacking in two months, since the FYAO trip where the low reached minus 19. The high today was 87. That's a difference of 106 degrees.

Lthiker - I think the only jaquars I need to worry about are the ones on the road, LOL! Florida panthers are thought to exist only in the Everglades. You have about as much chance as seeing one in the wild as you do having a romantic evening with Salma Hayek. :-)”

“Man, a flat trail. Thanks for the report, Artex.

Well the second birds are definitely sandhill cranes, though what variety...the first is too hard to see the head markings. Was there a red patch?

The sandhills have come back to Wisconsin on their annual migration, though some obviously like to stay down south. Considering the wide swings in temps up here, the latter may be the smart ones so far. A few days ago, my wife and I were driving a backwoods county road (actually that describes most roads around here, lol) trying to find an out-of-the-way supper club/bar, when we passed a small wetlands with a pond that was still mostly iced over. Two sandhills were ankle deep in the open water, backlit by the setting sun coming in over the marsh. Pretty, but I wonder what the birds thought of our "spring."”

“Cool trip Artex! Hopefully a good welcome back to Florida hiking. Sounds like you got a good dose of what Ocala has to offer. I too look forward to cathing a glimpse of a bear up there sometime.

Those are great shots of the racoons. Maybe I need to do a solo trip to catch some more shots of wildlife.”

“Artex, the birds are NOT Mississippi Sandhill Cranes.
I live about 4 miles south of the few (about 120) there are.
They might be Florida Sandhill Cranes.”

“Great trip report ya flatlander, even if the only hill was a sandhill! ;o)

Nice pics, especially the ones with the 'coons starting down at ya.

btw - we're hitting the High Peaks in 2 weeks. nanananana”

“Those pictures rocked dude!!!

good to see that you are out backpacking!

Blaze trail dude!

8)”

“Yeah, wasn't sure if they were Mississipi's or not. I like to think I'm pretty knowledgable with wildlife in general, but not really with birds.

Glad you guys like those coon shots!

Pennsy, you suck! :-P”

“The little island in the pond you camped at is a yearly sandhill crane nest.

That neat view of Farles Prairie is actually Porn Island where the Ocala TT group camped in Feb.

We gotta get together soon bud.”

“There is a place by here where I live where 10,000 +++ of them come every year I can't remember the name of the place but it is always in the paper.

8)”

“Definitely HPM! I took a look at some of y'alls pics again from your last Ocala trip, I thought some of them looked familiar. Want to maybe do a trip next week, before it reeeeeally starts getting hot?

That's a lot of birds, Crazy Mike!”

“You thinking about another mid week trip? That's doable.

Next weekend I'll be doing a canoe training trip with the Scouts at Suwannee River State park.”

“Midweek would likely work for me. I'll leave it to you to name a place, since you know the area better than I.”

“Cool trip report. I am now feeling nostalgic! I have 2 of the sandhill cranes at my house every morning (yes Saturdays and Sundays too!) I wish I could have gone with you but sounds like you enjoyed your alone time! Good luck with the job thing!”

“"Hey baby wanna camp with me"?? LOL!! Artex, you're a goober.
:-D
those are some very pretty pictures. did you find me a monkey?”

“That's cool about the cranes, Tango! And thanks for the good wishes.

Lyra, LOL! No monkeys, but I wasn't all that far from the area where those wild rhesus monkeys are. I thought of you when I drove by the area where they were. :-)”

“aawww! :-)”

“Allrighty.
Lemme give it a little thought and I'll get back to you.”

“BTW- how far of a drive is too far?
Just considering options here.”

“I really do hope that tic picture was actually your calf, Artex, and not some other part!”

“Oh, about Florida Panthers. I have seen wild cat prints in the sand in Ocala but don't know what kind of cat it was. It most definately was not a domestic.”

“LOL! that was a special surprise for you, Aero!”

“Lyra all the monkeys I know about are in Silver Spring! It's cool you glide down the creek and all these monkeys are hanging all over the trees and sitting on the bank. You'd love it!”

“HPM - might they have been bobcat tracks? Funny you should mention that. My uncle owns property adjacent to federal property that he is the caretaker for (the McGregor Scout reservation) which is about 6000 acres total, which isn't too far from the Ocala NF. A few years ago, he found what he thought to be panther scat, and had it anaylzed. I'm not sure, but I think I remember hearing him say that it was indeed from a panther, but I dunno. I'd have to double check. He's not one to talk bullsh-- (or panther sh--) either. :-)

LOL @ aero. No, no, that's my calf alright. "My boys" were thankfully left alone.”

“HPM - I'd be willing to drive up to 3-4 hours. Keep in mind, because I'm waiting for "the thing" (job stuff this time), that I might have to bail. But I definitely want to do a trip.”

“I was afraid it was your a$$! Thanks for clearing that up!”

“It's ALWAYS 'the thing' for you Artex!!”

“that might just be too overwhelming for me, tango.
:-D”

“I dunno what it was but Bobcat is definately a possibility. It was a big print.

3 to 4 is cool and is about right anyway as most of the hiking is in the center of the state anyway.

I'm fine with the need to bail. I'm waiting on jobs too. The one that kept me from hiking with you was a dud but I got a call from someone else that afternoon. Hopefully that one will work out.”

“Speaking of jaguars...
Jags are making a comeback in the desert SW. They're coming out of Mexico - welcomed aliens, IMO.

They're the only cat in the Western Hemisphere that roars, BTW. They're spotted, too. Don't quote me, but I *think* they have the longest canines of any big cat on the planet. Perhaps MaryPhyl has some insight...

They are definitely on my "to see" list...


I would love to spy a panther, too - along with an American saltwater crocodile. Both are South Floridian.

One of our asst. principals claims he saw a panther in middle GA this past hunting season. I have my doubts...

There is no such animal as a "black panther". There are black jaguars in SA, tho. I saw a FL naturalist on TV that knows essentially ever FL panther, and she said none are black - never have been, never will. They may look darn dark when wet, tho, said she.

The only Florida bear I've seen was on the road near the St. Marks Preserve, on the panhandle.


Anyhoo -
sounds like you had some goooooood times, there, Artex!”

“Lyra, you would love the monkeys! I've seen them before, from stupid tourist cruise boats when I was a kid, but it was a very memorable experience. You would do back flips (and the monkeys would probably join in with you).

HPM - best of luck with that. I'm waiting also. My prospect just had me take another job-related test, which I feel I nailed. I should be hearing from them pretty soon, I hope.

That's cool, gojo. I want to see a saltwater croc also. I hear there's a good population of them in the Ten Thousand Islands area on the coastline of the Everglades. I've been eyeing to do a kayak excursion there once I get my yak.”

“Hey Artex - great trip report and pictures - makes me miss FL.

I think your bird might have been a heron

check it out: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i1940id.html”

“Crocs -
I've boated and canoed the creeks, canals, and mangroves of Long Key on several occasions, but have yet to see a croc. 10,000 Islands is on my to-do list, too.”

“Darn!
try again

”

“Nice birdie, Tango!”

“Ah ha! Yes, that bird looked exactly like the one I saw that I mistakingly thought might have been Mississippi. It appears that some sandhills have the red spot on their heads, and some don't.

Cool pic tango! How'd you get so close? Was it tame, or did you use a telephoto?”

“Tame, they get within 2ish feet of me. My Mom was fascinated with them when she was visiting.”

“as gregarious as i have become .......I still cherish the solo trips midweek , as they are the way to go to spot wild things.
Glad you got out there, weather was beautiful....ya, i was slaving away at work while you were out having a good hike.
~~~hey baby wanna camp with me???heh.... is that the way you look?.!!!!!..LOL.....so...any guestbook entries on that one? LOL.probably not huh? especially if they saw the tick shot...i was wondering what aero was too....is that some funky rash or is it dirt? LOL

hurry and get that yak ! summer is too hot to hike in this state.
btw, what sort of work are you looking for?”

“Hey what happened to my picture, it was working this afternoon!”