Woke up at 8a.m. and left camp by 9:30a.m. Finished up around 6:30p.m.
Total miles: 17. Stopped 3 miles before the Ocala National Forest.
Weather: Warm and humid. Temperatures reached low 80's.
While hiking, Mariner and I came across this lady(Mid 70's) who was hiking south on the Florida Trail going towards the Everglades. She told us she was doing the whole Florida Trail (1,300 miles) and she was a little more than 2 months into her hike.
We figured out she was right around mile 700 and she was hiking just over 11 miles a day (to put in perception we were hiking about 21 miles a day). It was so amazing that she was out there hiking by herself. She told us that she completed the Appalachian Trail twice with her late husband.
Just to meet her was such a great experience because that was the first person we met that was on the trail. It was almost motivational to talk to her to find out where she was going and when she started.
As it got closer to 5p.m., Mariner and I decided it would be a good idea to try and find somewhere to sleep before the Ocala National Forest.
We came across a park with a shelter and some picnic tables underneath. We thought it would be a perfect place to spend the night until the park ranger came out. He was extremely friendly and welcoming but he told us we couldn't stay there because his bosses office was right across the street and he was yelled out 2 nights before we came in because he let some backpackers stay the night.
So we moved our stuff about a half mile back into the forest where we made dinner and set up camp.
Another rough night of sleep because of some animal noises that had me sitting up in the tent just waiting for some animal to attack.
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