Ocala Part 3

“Way TMI!!!”

“"I'm praying for serious cold temps because I'd rather not see certain, ah, "members" naked!"

"I guess you need a bath then."

bizarre!”

“What about certain "other" members?”

“I went where Rad couldn't tread? whodathunk?

If you make it down, cool. It would be good to see you again. If not then let's hike again sometime. Unless of course you are busy washing your hair or something important like that.”

“I'll also email you when I get home from work, but it's finally confirmed that I have that entire Friday off, so we're all set. :-)”

“Now what kind of Southern Hospitality would it be to shower the guests with cold weather and rain?”

“Rain = Florida
It's basic knowledge.”

“You've got mail. :-)”

“Got it cool! Thanks! You've got mail back. Do you need any fuel? (What kind?)”

“Rain = Florida??

Buh buh Whaaaaaaa?????
Isn't Florida the Sunshine State?
Isn't it always sunny and at least 75 degrees?
Do I have to rethink my plan of using a small fannypack for all my gear?


Yo Artex - I got your message today and I'll give you a buzz tomorrow. Btw - do you have an extra fuel canister I can bum off ya?”

“Thanks in advance Tango, can't see the mail until I get to work.
Don't need fuel, thanks again. I've got that covered by one of the drivers inners. :-)”

“I still am amazed by how many people are signed up.
Will there be enough water at the hand pumps?? ;-)”

“It's a freakin' convention, I tells ya!! lol!”

“there goes the water table”

“Pennsy, all my fuel canisters are at Kate's house up in Jersey. I was going to buy some more, so let me know what you need and I'll hook you up.”

“HPM,Coop--anyone??

Anyone familiar with this area. Is there a place I could park and meet up with you guys on Saturday morning?

Not positive I can get off on Friday, but if I could find you guys on Saturday morning I might just make the trip. It would be fun to hike with you guys again.

It was pretty easy to find the big white tarp of HPM on Ocala I.”

“Just drive out to Rodman dam and park. Hike south (actually west) to where the trail leaves the causeway. We will be in the woods not far from there.”

“there goes the water table"
~om

I can see the headline now:
"Sinkhole Swallows Ocala Cmmpground, 30 Missing"

Flatlander -
Get yer arse up there!”

“What Gojo said!”

“Oh well, being swallowed by a sinkhole in Florida would be better than biting the bullet by some other means, I suppose.”

“chili -
there's a tee shirt logo in there somewhere...”

“Yeah, I need to keep working with that one gojo. Gee, I would like to think of it as my retirement plan (20 years earlier than I expect to have one). LOL.”

“flatlander - I may end up doing the same thing as you. I'll keep you posted.

It depends a lot on what She Coop's doc says - if there are any signs that little Coop # 2 is on the way - then I will proabably be a no show this year. If everything looks ok then I will probably join the group on Saturday and hike through Sunday.”

“That's good news, Coop. I was hoping you could make it!”

“You should'a gone hiking!”

“Hope all goes well Coop! Hang in there She Coop.”

“NS - I was hiking - it just happended to be skirts and not trails.

Thanks for the well wishes.”

“badda bing!”

“LOL@ Coop!”

“Well, I think it's great. Hope everything goes fine.

However, I don't understand why this can cause you to skip Ocala NF-3. You are no longer needed.”

“yeah, it sounds like he's caused enough trouble on the homefront!”

“As much as I would love to go on this trip I don't think I'm going to make it [sigh]. My roommate isn't too enthusiastic about going and as I'm currently unemployed I can't spare the cash for a flight. Only way I'll make it is if someone coming through or near Columbus wants to carpool, I'll pay half for gas (provided you don't drive a suburban).”

“Maybe hitchhike?”

“I've hitchhiked before...granted it was only 10 miles instead of 1,000.”

“But I mean what's an extra couple of zeros?

What's the nearest city to the starting poing Buckman Lock so I can do a Mapquest?”

“Nearest decent sized town is Palatka. Buckman is south of it on SR19”

“actually off of SR19”

“Only 879 miles to Palatka...I'm gonna try to bug my roomie into going...if not, who else is coming from up north? Maybe even as far south as TN that would be willing to share a ride?”

“If I Mapquest to Ocala, FL it takes me down through KY, TN, and Atlanta and is 939 miles 15 hours 17 minutes.

If I mapquest to Patalka, FL it takes me down through WV, VA, NC, SC--the route I usually take when I'm in WV. Driving time is the same but the mileage is 879. I wonder which way is really faster?”

“Hope you can make it Dub! May be you can 'hitch' with someone who is driving down already.”

“Yeah, just hitch a ride with Crazy Mike!”

“Hey lady! How's the little one, still hell on wheels?”

“She was an angel early yesterday evening, Tango. And she is large for her age.”

“Angel, my a$$! She was just showing off for Nowslimmer! She's very inquisitive, and if she can't figure something out quickly she gets very frustrated and has a flailing temper tantrum. She's tall for her age, but thin, so she's taking after HPM which suits me fine!”

“It is Memphis, to Birmingham, to Montgomery, to Dothan, to Tallahasee, to Ocala, to trailhead for me.

Not sure how far, but I drove from Orlando home in about 12 hours last July.”

“LOL @ Treebait! I wondered what NS was talking about. I thought he was speaking of his own 'angel'. Wait till the "Why?" questions start; I was the worst...still am!”

“She's already got the "no" and "mine" figured out. 17 months and already posessive! Although she does like to share with people, which is a good sign.”

“Yes it is a good sign. My little brother was like that, very giving.”

“anybody going on this trip? :)

Is there any place to camp for late thurs night arrivals near the trail head?”

“Hey gforce! Nice to meet you this weekend!”