Day 1 - 1/21/2011
At the last minute (yesterday to be exact) I learned of a hammock hang in the Ocala Natl Forest. So here I lay at almost midnight.

Arrived about 5:30pm and got setup. Met folks and had dinner followed by getting to know everyone around the campfire.

Looking forward to tomorrow and checking out everyone's gear and the various hammocks.

Day 2 - 1/22/2011
I slept very well even though I didn't feel tired until about 1am. I got up at 7 but jumped back in the hammock and got up again at 9:30. The night wasn't bad at all and there were plenty of night birds and frogs.

After breakfast I headed out and picked up the Florida Trail for a nice little 3.5 mile hike to another lake and back to the site. I fixed up some Spam and garlic mashed potatoes. Love that stuff. I took Buddy Buffalo with me and he had a wonderful time. He really likes getting on the trail and I had to race to keep up with him. He was one happy bovine!



After the hike I walked around the lake to see what setups everyone was using. It was cool to see a varied collection of hammocks, tarps, and other related equipment. Most major manufacturers were represented and it was cool to finally put eyes and hands on some of the stuff I'd one read and heard about. I finally got to check out the Warbonnet Blackbird and fell in love with the Trail to Tree Switchback hammock.





We have a wonderful group of people which makes for an incredible inaugural event. With folks from all over the state and even some that traveled in from TN and SC I was amazed at how well everyone meshed together like one big family. If you said you forgot something hands shot out with the missing item. Everyone was so helpful and supportive sharing their gear, food, etc.





There were a lot more kayaks than I'd expected. That thought hadn't even crossed my mind. Had I learned of the event more than the day before I would've thrown the yak on the truck and taken it with me. It was a beautiful area and I know the guys that got on the water and a wonderful time.





Now we're gathering around the fire and the gumbo is on. There's even a pizza in the dutch oven. It's been cool hanging (literally) with everyone and checking out the gear folks are using.



With the shrimp boil and gumbo underway we started breaking out every stove you could think of and fired up Stove Alley. We had stoves of every size, shape, and material. We had commercial stoves and DIY stoves. It was a stove lover's dream. I've been lusting after the Vargo Titanium wood stove for some time and was thrilled when someone brought it out. It was a virgin stove that was a Christmas gift and it was lit for the first time at the hang.







I ended up staying tonight which wasn't planned. To say the food was phenomenal would be an understatement. And abundant doesn't scratch the surface either. The low shrimp boil was massive and the gumbo was delicious. It didn't end there, though. The dutch ovens were working in earnest pumping out tantalizing desserts and even another dinner round of pork and beans followed by more desserts.



After dinner we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the lake which couldn't have made for a better setting for such a cool weekend.





The fire felt great and the fellowship was awesome. Really a great group of people. Now I'm in the hammock to stay warm. It was 34 at about 8. Should be fun!



Day 3 - 1/23/2011
Wow. What a night! The temperature dropped like a rock. Fortunately I slept very warmly and really didn't feel like getting out of bed. When I heard people talking and looked out the hammock, though, I knew I couldn't pass up the view. The temp dropped to 25.5 degrees overnight and the lake looked absolutely gorgeous as the fog wafted across it with the sun gently rising above.

I was disappointed that I couldn't get better pictures to capture the moment but I took so many pictures last night that my camera battery was dead. Why didn't I bring a spare? Lesson learned.



After an amazing breakfast one of the guys and I got a ride to the FT trailhead on 19. It was a very enjoyable 2.7 mile hike back to the lake. I really had a good time and the scenery was very nice.

I got my site broken down around 1 and hit the road for the drive back to Jax. It took me a little over 2 hours since I had to stop for lunch and I can't really drive past Gander Mountain without stopping. :-)

I had a wonderful time this weekend but had a wonderful reunion getting home. My son was thrilled when I walked in and couldn't wait to tell me how they'd camped out under the dining room table while I was gone. It wasn't long before we had a tent setup in the living room and he was laying it it watching TV through the bug screen. :D

Can't wait to get out again! Happy trails!

One of the gifts I got this past Christmas was the Black Diamond Orbit lantern. It's very small and stows away easily. It weighs in at just 4.5 oz with batteries. I found that it fits perfectly in my Snow Peak double-wall titanium cup.

The biggest driving factor for wanting it was being able to have light around the campsite beyond what the headlamp provides. Typically I carry emergency candles since they're usually long burning. Unfortunately they don't work that well in windy conditions and really don't put out a lot of light.

Enter the Orbit. I was very impressed with its light output on high power (good for about 10 hrs per the mfgr). Taking a walk late at night the Orbit was more than sufficient for lighting the trail for two of us. Even on low power (supposedly good for 24 hrs) it provided plenty of light. I used it mostly around the picnic table on the last hike to give us all light instead of needing all of our individual headlamps.

I'm very happy with it and it'll be a regular addition to the pack. It also worked very well in the hammock for letting me get situated and even read before bed.

Thanks to my hiking partner Eric Rousseau for sharing his pics with me.

After reading and watching videos about it for years I finally decided it was time to try my hand at making a cooking pot from a Heineken 24 oz mini keg. I'm not a Heineken fan so I hated to waste the beer but I decided that the ends justified the means.

It took me two tries to find the right safety cutter to get the top of the can off but I got it working. What I ran into with the Farberware and generic Kmart opener is that they both had a little plastic nub (or whatever you call it) at the bottom of the cutter. This works fine on veggie cans that are straight but not so well on the angled tops found on beverage cans.

Tonight I compared the fit of each opener on the can and the Kmart model was closer to being where I needed it. Out came the Dremel and cutting wheel. I cut it off as much as I could and used a grinding bit to finish the job and smooth it out. Next I went to work.

On the way home from the office I stopped at ABC Liquor and picked up two 24 oz Heineken mini kegs. I couldn't find them elsewhere.



Next I started cutting SLOWLY. I also had the can in the bathroom sink in case the pressure caused beer to go flying out of the can. Since I took my time I was able to carefully release the pressure and didn't have any problems at all.



It took just one trip around the can and voila!



My aluminum Snow Peak Trek 900 pot/pan weigh 9 oz. The Heine pot weighs 1.2. Granted I can't use the lid on the can as a fry pan like I do the Snow Peak but if I'm just boiling water it's hard to argue with shaving a half pound off my pack weight!

This morning we awoke to a much colder day. The temp inside my hammock was 45 and the outside temp was 38. I really do need to buy a Kestrel so I can get accurate temps throughout the night and entire trip. I don't need to know, but I sure do want to.

I quickly piled on additional layers adding back the thermals I'd replaced the night before and throwing on an additional shirt. I ended up with 3 shirts and a pullover and 2 pairs of thermals under my hiking pants. The insulated gloves I purchased prior to the trip certainly came in handy but they made it difficult to break camp later on.

While I was laying in my hammock not really wanting to get up and face the cold I had a horrible realization. Remember I said I was trying out real camp cooking? Well, I'd planned on and had mentioned several times how I was looking forward to fixing pancakes this morning. Unfortunately I realized that I'd left the syrup behind. I still don't know how. It was sitting right next to the things I'd grabbed for my omelet the day before and I'd just prepped it the night before the trip. The worst part is that I'd decided to pre-mix the batter at the house so it would be well mixed and not clumpy with sub-standard camp fixing. The total weight was about 19 oz and I ended up not fixing them. Talk about a disappointment of epic proportions.

Since I'd decided to skip breakfast other than a cup of coffee I broke camp early so I'd be ready when the others finished. They can tear their tent setups down a lot faster than I can my hammock but for me it's a heck of a lot more comfortable.

We left the site at 9:45 and got to the dock about 10 which was perfect for a 10:15 departure. The ferry was packed with some that had come over with Will and I along with a few others including a large group of Scouts. We actually passed them on our way to Sea Camp on Saturday and were surprised they only stayed the night especially with all of the stuff they brought with them. I hadn't kept my sunglasses out so I just sat on the side of the ferry with my beanie pulled over my eyes and "napped" on the 45 minute ride back.

One of the things I like and try to do on every hike is bring something back for my son. I know that he'd really like to be out hiking with me but until he's older and can do some distance (I know he'll give out quickly at this age) I do what I can to bring a little bit of the hike home. I headed to the gift shop and picked up a toy blue crab. He loves hard animals that he can play with in the tub and I thought it'd be a perfect addition to his growing collection.



I've also wanted for quite some time now to have a little hiking buddy to go with me. I don't know why, I just do. I was thinking about a mini sock monkey but today I came across my new friend, Buddy Bison. So now I'll take Buddy with me on all my outdoor adventures and hopefully encourage some kids to get out and experience the great outdoors themselves. Of course, I need to go back to Georgia since I didn't take Buddy's picture at the Cumberland Island sign. :-O

We awoke to temps in the low 40s but overall everyone had a good night's rest. I think several of us were grateful to the makers of ibuprofen. We got to work quickly and each set about making our own breakfasts. Since I don't normally want to carry all of the weight associated with real cooking on the trail I decided I'd use this weekend just for that. My starting pack weight was 37 lbs which is more than I've every carried but I had pots and pans along with other assorted goods. I also carried 4 stoves since I had several I'd never actually used in the field before.



For this morning I'd packed Backpacker Pantry's scrambled eggs and vegetarian bacon (whatever that is) to mix with my fresh mix of shredded cheddar, diced ham, and salsa. I even carried a freezer pack to keep everything cold! Unfortunately I hadn't practiced cooking this on the camp stove before and it cooked a little faster than anticipated. It was still good but could've been better. Then again, what can you expect from freeze-dried eggs?




Photo by Eric Rousseau

Here's the obligatory hammock shot of my humble abode.



After breaking camp we decided on a change of scenery and took Duck House Trail to the beach. It was a nice stretch and even had a little elevation change through soft sugar sand before leading us back into the final oak hammock before dumping us out at the Atlantic Ocean. The seas were calm and littered with gulls and large pelicans out for a bite. There was also a massive gathering of terns.

I was surprised at how many sand dollars there were along the beach. Had I thought I could get them back home in one piece I would've picked them all up. In hindsight I wish I had there were so many. I also couldn't believe how many and how large the horseshoe crab shells were. We didn't see any alive but the beach was covered in shells at least 1' across. I'd never seen any that large.



It was a nice walk with a cool breeze. It felt good to get lost in the rolling waves while scanning the beach for nice shells and shark's teeth. We hiked several miles down the beach turning inland just before the Stafford Beach walkway. We got back on the PT and stopped at Stafford for a quick break.

We arrived at Sea Camp Beach and found Eric who'd gone on ahead of us. We scored another awesome campsite (#13) with its own beautiful oak and a path up to the dunes (no direct beach access though). The sites at Sea Camp are more family-friendly and have picnic tables, fire rings, pack poles, and even a food box to (hopefully) keep your edibles safe from the prowling critters.

The Food Box

Photo by Eric Rousseau

After making camp and enjoying lunch the guys headed south to the Dungeness ruins. I decided to hang back and stayed at the site. It really was a nice, peaceful time where I was able to catch up on a book I've been reading. While I was sitting there a young doe even wandered into the site for a few brief moments.

When the guys arrived I started a great fire and it worked wonders for driving the chill away. It was like a mini inferno. I'd found a large dead limb that we laid across the pit to keep it going. There really is little else that can make you feel the way a warm campfire can.

Using Flint and Steel

Photo by Eric Rousseau

Enjoying the Fire

Photo by Eric Rousseau

Unfortunately the cell phone died early in the day so I don't have any pics to share after the beach. I hope to be able to share some of Eric's soon.

It had been a long day so we let the fire die down and turned in about 9:30.

Today my buddy Will and I headed out from Jacksonville to St. Marys, Georgia where we caught a ferry to the Cumberland Island National Seashore. We were meeting some other co-workers that headed over yesterday and when we got to the Ranger station we met up with the final member of our group. The ferry left St. Mary's right on time at 9:00 and arrived on schedule at Sea Camp Ranger Station at 9:45. Unfortunately I made a crucial error and left the camera battery on the charger at home. Thanks to that mistake the pictures in this update will be slim.

After sitting through about a 15-minute Ranger introduction to the Island and getting our backcountry permits it was time to hit the trail. None of us were in a big hurry so we took our time and enjoyed the scenery. The landscape is very appealing and ranges from moderate palmetto stands to lush oak hammocks with a few pine trees thrown in for good measure. The old oaks really added a lot of character to the hike and were gorgeous to admire.

We had hiked about 2 hours along the 8.5 mile Parallel Trail towards Yankee Paradise when we decided to take a quick lunch break. Our South African friend Bruce and I had been snacking along the way but we didn't mind resting while Will enjoyed his lunch in a box. Heck, he even had an after-meal mint!

We took a slight detour (ok, we missed the tiny marker for the Parallel Trail) via Pratts Trail and went through the Stafford campsite. It's the greyline of the island I suppose. The only points of the island with treated water are Sea Camp and Plum Orchard. Stafford has running water with bathrooms and cold showers but drinking water has to be boiled or treated.

From Stafford we headed down a short private road and picked up the PT again which took us through Hickory Hill and across the Willow Pond Trail. Willow Pond will take you down to the beach but we continued north where we intersected the Duck House Trail and the Yankee Paradise campsite. We saw a good bit of wildlife along the way including a lot of birds, numerous armadillos, and even some of Cumberland's famed horses.

Yankee Paradise is a very nice site with two large camping areas. The three of us picked our spots (I took the best trees I could find) and made camp. We were a little surprised that Eric and Andy hadn't made it from Brickhill Bluff yet but figured they were taking their time and sightseeing.

Since we knew we'd lose daylight about 5:30 we decided not to wait for them any longer and began the 1-mile hike to Plum Orchard. As it turns out the guys ended up meeting up with us shortly after we arrived.

The NPS only does tours of Plum Orchard twice a month. We actually lucked out, though, and ran into Jeanie. She's a NPS volunteer that's started living in a renovated apartment inside the mansion for the next 6 weeks. She'd only been there since Sunday so giving as a private guided tour was a good practice for her to go over her notes. It really was a great experience.



Plum Orchard was built in 1898 by Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy as a gift for their son George. The mansion is in great shape considering its age and includes 24,000 square feet and over 100 rooms.

Walking in the front door the visitor is greeted by a beautiful sunken fireplace with seats on either side to enjoy its radiant warmth. To the right is a large dining room.



The mansion sports a cavernous marble pool. It's fed by an artesian well and remarkably for its day was actually heated. Its appearance is deceiving when empty and looks much deeper than its 9.5'.



The property that the mansion sits on is absolutely gorgeous. It's easy to imagine the family sitting under the massive oaks that surround the residence while enjoying a superb view of the river.



With a wonderful private tour out of the way and our water supplies refilled we started the hike back to the campsite and arrived just as we were about to lose daylight. We got started on dinner and settled in around what would have been our campfire had it been allowed. We sat in the dark for a couple of hours talking about gear, other adventures we'd taken, and even (gasp!) some of the guys had the gall to discuss work.

I can't believe that it's New Year's Eve and I have nothing more to show for 2010. After a debacle of a hike in May I haven't even set foot on the trail (other than a short local one).

Fortunately that's all about to change. I can't begin to say how refreshing it's been gearing back up for a hike to Cumberland Island, GA next weekend. One of the guys at work puts together a hike there every January and this is the first time I've been able to make it.

I've spent part of my vacation time this week going over my gear, menu, etc. I'm really fired up about it and can't hardly wait. The guys are heading out Thur but another co-worker and I won't be leaving until Fri morning. I'm not sure what the weather has in store but I'm confident I'll be ready for it. The backcountry portion will be a little bummed at night since no fires are allowed. It's understandable, though. It's been so dry lately we've had way too much wildfire activity.

Ok, so that's it for now. Sorry for the loooooong gap between updates. Hopefully that'll change in 2011. I've already gotten started on the re-match plans for the AT. ;-)