Woke up: 6:30a.m.
Left camp: 8:00a.m.
Stopped hiking: 5:00p.m.
Another rough night of sleep but at least we are in the Ocala National Forest.
After hiking for 9 miles we reached our halfway point in the hike at around 11 in the morning. We were hiking directly north but our stopping point was the 88 Store. From there we start our descent towards Umatilla at the bottom of the Ocala National Forest.
The 88 Store from mine and Mariner's research (mostly Mariner's) was a BBQ/ Bar in the middle of the Ocala National Forest. A backpacking friendly store that must backpackers stop through to get food, wash out our clothing and just to sit down.
Right outside the bar was 5 Harley Davidson Motorcylces. The area around the bar was interesting to say the least. The houses weren't the best shape and the cars weren't the newest. Inside the bar there were 4 men in their mid 60s/ 70s with a beers in front of them. Remind you it's not even noon yet.
I first asked to see a menu but the bartender said they didn't have BBQ but she could make us a frozen pizza. At that point anything was better than having rice and pasta sides. We gladly at the pizza and washed it down with some gatorades.
After talking to a couple of the guys (I kid you not, the one guy's name was Skeeter!) there and asking about their experiences while living in the forest the one thing they made sure we understood was, "Bears are a real problem in the Ocala Forest. Be aware of where you are and watch out." After taking their advice, we washed our socks, filled up our water bottles and we were on our way.
After the 88 Store, we hiked 9 more miles to Hopkins Prairie where we decided to stop for a break.
Our "break" turned into a hour until we finally decided that our view was so awesome and that we might as well set up camp.
This was by far my favorite day because of the people we met at the 88 Store and the view we had for our campsite.
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