A Little Traveling Music

March 30, 2016

It rained all night.  When it quit raining, it continued dripping off the live oaks.  I’m one of those people that can’t sleep if someone is out on the street talking, even in low voices but can sleep through storms.  I especially like rain on tents.  I will not say I slept all through the night but got enough sleep that I felt pretty good all day.

This trip was to shake out any bugs that I may not have thought of and I found a few things I would do differently.  However, let me say up front I love my tent, my mid-temperature range sleeping bag, the air mattress, the air pillow, and the sleeping bag insert (like a bed sheet).  I also am in love with my jetboil stove.

Air mattresses have come a long way from the first time I tried to sleep on one.  This one has two separate sides and you blow each up individually.  I was dreading the huffing and puffing but both sides inflated very quickly and surprisingly, stayed inflated all night long.  It rolls up into a cylinder a little larger than a typical aluminum can of food.  The pillow was also a surprise.  It was perfect for my needs and it rolls up into the size of an A battery.

Here’s what I learned.

1. Bring a pen and a pencil (and while you’re at it, some paper).  You’ll eventually need it.
2. Not all dehydrated meals are created equal.  Dinner was a breeze.  You rip off the top of the packet, pour boiling water into it, reseal and wait.  Voilà, Spanish rice. The huevos rancheros for breakfast was a bust.  You start the same – rip off the top, add boiling water, unable to reseal but wait.  Then you cook the eggs in a nonstick pan.  Luckily, the stove I have has attached a nonstick cooking surface.  You were to wait anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes so the beans could soak up enough water to become tender.  Didn’t happen.  You really need to read the instructions on each meal before you decide to purchase it or use it.  Even though meals are made by the same company, different meals are prepared in different ways.
3. Dehydrated food, comme vous le dites, has a peculiar effect on fecal development.  I knew this but had forgotten it.  You tend to be a little runny with a diet of nothing but dehydrated food.  Fortunately, there was a port-a-potty at the campsite.
4. Breakfast would be better done using something to simply boil, such as oatmeal or cereal.  The simpler the better.
5. Starbucks makes some pretty good instant coffee packets.
6. You can never have enough camera batteries.  I didn’t and I could have charged them in the jeep since it has a regular 110v plug but I left the battery charger at home.  I ran out of juice later in the day.
7. Even if you bring bear spray, you need to remember to carry it with you on day hikes.  I didn’t remember and ran into some bear signs on the trail I hiked this day.  Really dumb!

   

8. Did I tell you I forgot my walking stick?  I made extensive lists, including the walking stick, but forgot to put it in the jeep.
9. Boots are best left outside (unless you are in porcupine territory).  Loosen the up before you get in the tent and as you get in, take them off.  It saves cleanup afterward.
10. You can never carry enough water.  You’ll always need more.  Always take advantage of any you find.
11. Bear bells are not loud enough.

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The trail is fairly well marked and I took a lot of photographs.  It was nice to see wild magnolias in the woods and an old friend of mine Polygala nana, one of my favorites.  It’s commonly called candyroot or low bachelors’ buttons.  It has beautiful yellow flowers that when dried, loose all coloration.  There is a possibility the species is P. rugelii but I had no way of telling in the field.

A word of caution if you go.  It’s a nice trail but you do walk through bear country.  Also, they have a couple of “bridges” which are more like planked walkways. They get covered over in slime and are quite slippery.  You would be better walking in the ditch instead of the bridge.

I did see a white tail deer just as I emerged from the end of the trail and as I got in the jeep and traveled to DeLeon Springs State Park, a wild turkey crossed the road.

The trip to DeLeon Springs State Park was interesting.  It’s a natural spring that comes out of the ground and spills over into the waters that lead to the St. Johns River.  They were offering scuba lessons when I arrived.  The main swimming area is over 30 feet deep so it is perfect for scuba instruction.

I took the $14 boat ride down the river and back.  We saw manatee and osprey in abundance and everyone was excited about the alligators but you see more in the Everglades.

I walked their nature trail and that’s when I lost all battery power.  They have a short loop of a trail and a more extensive 4 mile loop that takes at least 3 hours.  You have to register with the ranger for that trail, so I didn’t do it but it’s a possible for a future date.

Since I was low on battery power, I decided to forgo the extra night and drove home that afternoon.  Unfortunately, every route was blocked with traffic jams due to rain.  It took me over 6 hours to get back home.