Ocala Part 3 Trip Reports

“LMAO. I had to warn Sarabelle to keep her tail between her legs around CMB at Ocala.

I knew he was out of control when he told sarbelle she had a pretty mouth.



j/k, CMB”

“My picures are up!
Woo Hoo, this was a nice trip!
Thanks again to HPM for putting up with this wild bunch!”

“Glad everyone had a good time, sounds like it was a blast.”

“You had me on your list twice. Hey, I know I have put on some weight since the first OCala hike, but I didn't think it was THAT much.

Sheesh!

Tex”

“Yoiks!”

“Wow what a great trip.I would just like to say from my heart that you are all my friends and I miss you all already.


Oh ya the people that did not get there CD's please send me a email and your address and I will get it in the mail for ya.

I have to get un packed and I have to get ready for Ms Cmb when she gets home from work so I will post back soon.


8)”

“I have to get un packed and I have to get ready for Ms Cmb when she gets home from work so I will post back soon.


8)"
Crazy Mike Backpacks
01:56:55 PM

Mike, it's best we not know why you have to 'get ready'. ;-)”

“Why?????


8p”

“LOL
Mike, we don't really NEED to know about your sex life. ;-)”

“Just know about the bacon ring is scary enough.”

“know = knowing”

“LMAO @ chili!”

“Thats ok.

Life is good when you have so many cool friends!!!!


8)”

“Wow, lots of short comments, very few detailed trip reports.”

“Everyone is too tired.

Didn't get home until about 1 AM and had a meeting with a client at 0900.”

“Great pictures, everyone!”

“i think i was the only one with not a single tick, chigger or bugbite.

also, i am the only one that did not have sex with crazy mike.”

“No, rad. There are two of us.

Permanone is good stuff; keep chiggers; ticks; bugs; CMB.....


keeps them all away.”

“What worked, what didn't, for this trip.

Worked - Western Mountaineering HighLite Sleeping Bag. I bought this 17 oz. total weight wonder used and it kept me, a very cold sleeper, warm down to a windy 39 degrees Sunday morning. I was wearing a fleece cap, silk weight T-shirt, and silk weight long underwear bottoms. The bag rating is 40 degrees. The temps went down to a low of 35.2 and I was warm then after pulling on some more clothing.

What didn't work - My GoLite Breeze killed my shoulders after I tanked up with 5 Liters of water at the campground. You really do need to stay under 20 pounds with this pack. This isn't a problem with the pack, just how I used it.”

“LMFAO!!!!!!



8)”

“You guys & gals were missed this weekend........Looks like ya had a GREAT time!!! wish I could have been there!!!
:(

THANKS for sharing the pics....some precious shots of Sarabelle!!”

“Radagast, I wasn't there for when Crazy Mike unleashed his manliness on everyone on night two, so I am unscathed as well.”

“Made it home by 3:30-ish. My voluneer offer to be bumped on the jet in exchange for a free roundtrip... well, nobody got bumped. Dang!

Great trip. Post more later; have a meeting to attend. But let me say ONE THING. I almost SAT on that Red Rocket this morning!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!! >8-O”

“These allegations are false. I did not have sexual relations with that TTer, Mr. Crazy Mike Backpacks.”

“I cannot recall anything about CMB's behavior at this time.”

“Thank you Chili!



8)”

“..was totally awesome.Beautiful weather,beautiful people made a great trip.It was great seeing known TT'ers and getting to know new ones.Hiking through the different ecosystems were breath taking.The laughs around the campfire were just too much.Gojo and Crazy Mike ...Geeze you had to have been there to appreciate their humor.
Many thanks to HPM and Treebait for their planning.
Thanks to Ewker for a safe trip there and back.
Thanks to Walkindude..just cause I got to ride with him. ; ) lol

Great pictures everyone!!

Very enjoyable trip..can't wait til Sipsey..woohoo!!”

“Thursday night I get a call from CMB and Gforce. They couldn't find Grassy Pond. I suggested they just go to Buckman Lock and I'd see them there.

Friday morning Treebait and I pull up to Buckman say our hellos to Mike and Gforce and boogie down to Grassy Pond to meet up with the rest of the gang. When we arrive everyone else was there except Tango and Dhutch. We were a bit concerned but those are two ladies that can more than take care of themselves. We tried to call on our mobiles but coverage was poor. We loaded up and boogied to Buckman to begin our hike.

The first five miles follwed the Cross Florida Barge Canal. There were water birds in abundance and a few raptors too. The day was warm and sunny and the trail was an easy grassy stroll.

Treebait was having some problems with a blister that formed under a callous so we walked a bit slower than the rest. Before too long Tango and Dhutch caught up to us.

Eventually we hit the roadwalk across Rodman Dam and made camp on the shores of the Rodman Reservoir in the early afternoon.

That night was a good time with a big circle around the campfire and we made smores and noise. Lots of catching up, fooling around, and meeting new friends ensued. After the last few headed off to bed the rain began. Radagast rolled up sometime in the night.

Saturday was much cooler and made for very nice hiking weather. Treebait and Cyndeee were not feeling up to continuing the hike so they caught a ride to the cars.

Treebait is doing fine and Cyndeee I hope you are feeling better. Let's hike again soon.

The rest of us continued the trip and ambled through sand hill pine forests and through oak "islands". It was definately a nice section to hike and everyone moved along at whatever pace.

Early in the afternoon we wandered up on camp. We were spread across a grassy opening under the pines. Some of us napped others visited. At nighfall around the campfire we had a great time.

As Chili observed: "The rednecks and ATVers were probably in their camp complaining about all the ruckus those damn backpackers were making."

More later....”

“i am feeling much better, it was a ;little to soon after my surgery to hike with a pack. i wish i had thought about slacking and letting the car that was coming back with supplies take my pack to delancy and walk with just my water. well i had a great time. no ticks, no bug bites and i lost 2 more lbs. this is a very interesting group of people to hike with and i enjoyed meeting each one of you. i guess jerbear headed over to the east coast, send me an e-mail if you come down this way again. will wait a few more months before bping again.”

“The worst thing about a trip like this is saying goodbye to such a fantastic group of TT'ers. It was great to see those I haven't seen in some time and meet up with many new ones . . . just wish there was more time to sit and talk more with everyone.

Can't thank HPM and Treebait enough for all their efforts in planning such a perfect trip . . . and arranging the great weather. :)

As for a trip report . . . well, you just had to be there!

. . . still laughing!”

“Gforce, however did you survive so long in the car with mike? GASP! You didnt let HIM drive, did you?????”

“"Radagast rolled up sometime in the night."

if i had a nickel for every time i heard that...










...i could buy a dime bag!”

“Great pics everybody, and here are mine to add to the list:

Pennsy's Ocala pics

I tried to get a photo of everybody but I'm afraid I missed a few. It's tough trying to keep track of so many people.

I just want to thank HPM and Treebait for organizing a great trip and for y'all for allowing a yankee to get his toes warm for a weekend. A huge thanks to Artex for picking me at the airport, putting me up at his place (even if he did crash before 8pm), and hauling my butt around Florida. And thanks to Tango for the ride back to the parking area.”

“INTRO
It was a great outing. Last year I did great, but, unfortunately, my age showed strongly on this one. Since my hiking ended last fall, I've gone to pot. Although I continue attending martial arts' classes, I've had very few workouts and swims.

TRIP REPORT
I started out ahead of the pack, but eventually they all passed me. Since the actual trail was above the canal edge trail, I decided to go up the steep incline. It was rough getting to the top. This was about the halfway point. Really feeling it, I laid down and rested for about an hour. About that time I heard the last two hikers, Lizs and Gojo, on the lower trail. I called and they climbed up the embankment. They decided to rest with me for a while and then they continued on the trail. I got up and continued right after that. By the time I reached the campground I was really bushed. So I bummed a ride across the dam and long embankment and reached the campsite with the last of the group. We all enjoyed socializing, eating and joking during the evening campfire. A lot of great people were there.

My legs and knees did not improve much overnight, so when I heard about Dhutch's plans for shopping, etc. I changed my plans. I rode with her back to my car, took the ice and other things in my car and drove over to the campgrounds at Lake Delancy. A number of hikers arrived at the same time and carried the goodies to our site. I parked and backpacked into the woods a short distance and joined them. Fun and games continued the rest of the afternoon. Radagast said that he was only kidding, when he claimed to be bacpac. I'm not so sure! He is quite a capable man. Feeling cold early in the evening, I retreated to my sleeping bag in my nearby tent. Eventually, as the noise level rose, I realized that most were talking and few were listening. I fell asleep.

The next morning I was up early, but it was cold without more clothing. So I went back to bed for an hour until the sun started to warm things a little. It was lively again around the fire that morning. After most of them left on the trail, I hiked to my car, managed to get out of a sandpile with it and drove to the hike's exit point. Treebait was waiting there and after a short conversation, I drove home.

It was great seeing all you people there. I especially enjoyed the hugs from all the girls. For the person who asked about my medical alert bracelet, I'm sorry that I did not explain fully. The two things that I mentioned, if in my body at the same time, would cause death by reducing the blood pressure too far. Artex, sorry I did not manage to talk more with you. I have some questions. Anyone that can get their company to pay for a date is A-1 in my book. Maybe we can get manage a get-together some time. Jerbear, thanks for the hot dog. OM, thanks for the mango slice. HumanPackMule and Treebait thanks for the marshmellows. OM, thanks for cooking my hot dog down to where it looked like ... ; well, you had to be there! And all of you, thanks for your companionship. ¡VIVA TT!

PLANS
It appears that I can lose it real quick at my age. So I plan to get back to my exercise program, and trim down a little. Then it will be back to GSMNP in the Spring to get lean before my 50th college class reunion in June in Appleton, Wisconsin. Then I would like to drive north and meet Pekka, spending a night or two at Anvil Lake with memories. After that I'll head for My Old Flame in Minnesota and visit some of my family. I finally met fabulous Lizs on this hike. She is great, so I'll definitely stop to visit with her on my way to Iowa, where I'll spend some time with my youngest daughter. Additional adventures for this trip are still in planning.”

“HPM - thanks. It looks like a great time was had by all. Who knew chiggers would be out and about - bummer.”

“Joy and I had an awsome time. Whe was telling me on the way home how cool it was to run with the big boys on that last stretch. All she did is #&%!$ all the way back to Georgia on how I made her mind the whole time and that Cool Chili dude just let her run and play all she wanted.
What a great time was had. I am sure I will have the opprotunity to join some of you again.
I am a newbee to this site can some one help me with the link to where Artex's pics are posted.

Thanks for a great time. Awsome trip for sure....”

“I want to say no pics will be forthcoming from me. So many camera were flashing I had no desire to take any.

I had my first smore Friday night actually I had 2. Yes I was a deprived child! I'll have s'more smores!

Once again a TT trip has surpassed itself. It was so much fun. Thanks to all who showed up and made this trip what it was. Thanks HPM and Treebait.

HEY, let's do it again next year!”

“OK,here goes... (it's LONG<<, but it's a FUN report.... teeehehee)

As gojo said, I arrived at the Atlanta Airport and we were gone, sheesh, like 5 minutes later (yes, I fly through airports like OJ Simpson... I know, I know, you young peeps have no freakin' idea what I'm talkin' about!!)

We decided to bypass Om's on the way down to rumors (from YO BEAR) that they might be headed to Grassy Pond. Heck, EVERYONE was headed to Grassy Pond, it appeared. So that's where we headed.

We stopped in Gainesville to eat at Gabor's or Kaborza's or some suck thing. I had everyone eating duck over the Gators' loss to my Iowa Hawkeyes in the New Year's bowl game. PHHHHHHHHTTT to Om and Arclite!!! LOL!!! Oh yah, Raddy Daddy, too!! :-P

We turned onto the unmarked dirt road that looked like it had to be the right one. After a mile or so, we saw an unmarked road to that right that I figured had to be the one to Grassy Pond, cuz it looked like a #%$$##$#% road on the map.

We headed in and soon came upon a hiker bursting forth from the undergrowth, headlamp on. We determined he was there for the hike. He was Hound Dog. He had been dropped off there and said he thought a person would get stuck on the sandy road back to Grassy Pond. gojo said, "Let's go see!" and we headed off. I said, "Who the #@%@%$%##% is Hound Dog???" So we backed up and talked to him further.

We camped at the Grassy Pond turnoff from the Forest Service Road and greeted everyone the next morning. Some loooosers like CMB and G-Force never could find the pond!!! LOL!

I met Cottonsocks and what a treat that was. WAIT!!! You're telling me that wasn't Cottonsocks??! OK, well I guess she wasn't gimpy and I never did hear the "F" word.... hmmmm.....

Everyone left (or were we slooooooooww??) We headed off to stash some beer at the first night's campground near Rodman Dam. It looked like we were gonna make it on the wild, sandy 4WD road all the way to the dam, but alas, we had to go back around. However, we did spot a really nice recliner at one stop sign.

After stashing the beer and some gear (hey I was NOT slackpacking, although my hiking partner and Sarabelle and Red Rocket were), we went to the Buckman Lock visitor's center and were told how to get to the trailhead we could SEE across the lock. (I think Treebait also told us this information..... oops!)

We got there and started our trek around 12:15. It was fun watching all kinds of birds on the barge canal, especially those floating down the river.

Later, a voice from the great beyond yelled, "Who's there?" and we headed up the steep dike embankment to find Nowslimmer resting. I can understand the need to rest. It was around 80 with high humidity. Almost too much for my cold Midwestern winter blood!!We sat and yapped a bit and then moved on.

We caught up to Blindman's Bluff, Tex and Cyndee (and Joy), who had missed a turn. We then proceeded to miss another turn, backtrack and take a fire break/ATV trail through a swamp and hog rooting to the official campground. I "showered" there. LOL!

Then it was a loooooooooong hike across the dam to the campsite area. One of those things that are never-ending. It was around a mile, with a brisk head wind.

At camp, Crazy Mike came out to greet me. We have that long "history," ya know, with the Buffalo River hike in Dec. 2002 and of course, Yellow River State Forest. (I know ya LOVE IT, Mike!!)

We found our expertly stashed gear (I mean, no one else found it!!), got set up and headed to hang out at the campfire. (that's me and gojo, not Mike... lol!) Key fun this evening consisted of dhutch's "strapped on" (did she just say "strapped on??!?!!?") Thermarest chair kit and her encouragement for fully body tick checks, as well as Chili's blinding yellow clogs (good thing we had Joy, seeing eye dog-in-training there!) It rained sometime over night and the weather turned cooler. Wandering into camp early in the evening were Trail Talker and Flamingo (??) Much later, the great Radagast showed up.

Saturday, gojo and lizs again left camp LAST. We did two geocaches this day. The first find was not far from camp, where the trail looked like it might go to the lake, but it went left. About 80 feet off the trail, in the woods, we found the tupperware container and I swapped a buck for a really cool (haha) toy motorcycle.

Later, we looked for something called a traveling geocache. It was to move along the Florida Trail. (Since this one was started, such caches have been "outlawed" by the group that administrates the activity). We went into the live oak thicket were it was supposed to be. I said to gojo, finally, "It's not here. It's gone." I had found broken sticks set up like a teepee against a tree -- which is exactly what a person finding the cache and moving it was supposed to do, to let a person know it had been there.

We soon saw a really weird drawing on a forest service road. gojo added a "wardrobe malfunction" to it for good measure.

We reached Lake Delancy, had more beers (funny how the liquor managed to follow us around) and shortly got the tent set up. Then it was back to the fire with most everyone else till the late hours of the evening. Man, was it nuts!!! Hound Dog proved himself TT worthy. Bubba Cletus Joe became his very BESTEST friend (if ya know what I mean!!) The papparazzi (sp?) were out in force to catch Crazy Mike's antics (walkindude, Pennsy, Artex, HPM and more). Red Rocket took on new meaning. Ewker lost a playtus (could "boil or not?" have anything to do with that??) Stovestomper was voted off the island when he couldn't locate his shelter. MDSHiker and Pennsy nearly burned up with campfire sparks. The "bacon #ing" legend was retold at Om's urging and much to her chagrin. Artex, sitting next to Yam, was remarkably fart-free. Tango kept Crazy Mike in line. etc etc.

Sunday morning was brisk. In the tent I said, feels like it's not quite freezing to my used-to-minus-19-degree-days bones. Indeed. It was around 35-36. The non Yankees howled!! But all survived.

Out of camp last YET AGAIN, gojo and I tried to really hoof it to Grassy Pond. We walked out that sandy dirt road Hound Dog had said couldn't be driven (Thurs. night) met the TT crew and headed out.

This was kinda funny: Five of us were in Tex's truck with her at the wheel. gojo was in back with the dogs. We went past Lake Delancy on the way back to get our cars and all of a sudden I said, OH, do you mind if we stop and pick up our cooler? (had been left there from last night to pick up) Tex started to slow down, but gojo tapped on the window and said, "It's OK. I'm fine." So I figured, OK, he doesn't want to put them out by stopping.

We got to his truck and I told him how I said we should stop at Lake Delancy. He said, yeah, why didn't we; it would have made sense. I said, cuz you said it was OK. Ends up he had no clue what was being said. He was just signaling that despite the bumpy road, he was OK. LOL! Weird timing, but tooooo funny.

We got the cooler and headed to Gainesville. Tried stopping at Cracker Barrel, and later found out we just missed Tex and crew (who had seen Stovestomper there). We ate at Ballyhoo's, brewskies, cheeseburgers and fries outside (and a Gator to make fun of inside... ahhhhh, to have a lifesize Hawkeye to batter him!!)

Then we headed to Om's for fun, doing a geocache SANS GPS in downtown High Springs. hehehehe.. Tex and Jerbear were at Om's. We took a hike down to the Santa Fe River. Very beautiful with cyprus trees and blue springs! After pound cake (YUM!) and an initial posting to TT, we were on our way.

As I mentioned before, I almost sat on the Red Rocket Monday morning, as it was all curled up and hidden in a blanket. EGADS!!! gojo took me to the airport -- we did a geocache in his county seat on the way. (That makes geocaches in eight states for me. NO, Chili, I don't know my total! LOL!)

Great trip! Sad to say good bye to friends old and new. Thanks to everyone for shuttling and setting things up. Special thanks to my cabana boy and his special cousin with the sweet smile! And hugs to all, especially that lost soul Stovestomper!! LOL! (photos to come)

Sipsey??? ummmmmmmm, maybe!!!”

“The Crazy Mike blackmail pictures will be added in one week unless I get $10,000 sent to my bank account.
The clock is ticking Mike

MOOHAHAHA!!!!”

“GREAT pics....I have laughed out loud so many times looking at these pics.......My roommate just had to see what I was laughing about!!!

Thanks for sharing....”

“Great pics Dude! Dang, I posted a CMB blackmail pic for nothing. I need to be more resourceful.

Super trip report Liz.

Hey Tango - don't forget who made you your very first smore. ;o)”

“Wow, you guys!! Thats the way to do it. I LOVE trips like that.. I swear, I'd have been crying all the way home, partly from laughing so hard and partly from missing everybody. Hope I get to meet some of you somehow....”

“No really...Pennsy was a wonderful smore chef! Thank you!

It was totally great hiking with you, you are a riot!”

“Nowslimmer - likewise, it would have been cool to talk to you more. If there's a downfall to trips with a lot of people, it's that you don't get to spend much time with everyone. Great meeting you nonetheless, and hopefully we'll hike together again before..... THE THING!!! :-)”

“Hey Ya'll, Out of sheer necessity I have discovered that keeping a coat of DESITIN cream ( used for diaper rash on babies) works great to keep those little raskel chiggers at check and sure does help the itching. Try it you will like it.
Blindman Bluff”

“Wow...thanks for all the pics that everyone shared. It was totally awesome to meet everyone!

* Note to self - Next time bring more liquor.”

“Hey Tom! Great meeting you!
Fill out your profile a bit, and add your email address.
I've got a few homemade stove links for you and Tex.”

“I just like to say to everyone on this trip how great it was. Thanks for all the pics they were, ah well, representative of the craziness! The pics were great.”