PART 1
we hit the trails about 7:30am and the temp was 61F with moderate fog when i arrived. when we left it was 81F and partly cloudy. we were out for 6.5 hrs and covered approx. 7-8 miles. while most of the country is getting hit with snow and blizzards earlier in the week we are able to hit the trail in just pants and tee shirts.
we could have easliy hung out at the beach with a cooler full of ice cold beer and checked out that wild life!
WELCOME TO SUNNY FLORIDA IN WINTER!
i will start off by saying the hike was great, but the hunt not so great. i plan on doing much more hunting in the future, but there are some things i need to learn. we started off hiking some of the fire breaks / dirt roads. i was thinking we could pick up a rabbit or two along the grassy sides. we didnt see a single rabbit the whole trip. i figured i could at least pick up a few squirrel, and we had a chance early in the morning at 8 or 9 squirrel, but we didnt take them. they were easy targets too, as they were only 10 - 20 ft above us in some oak trees. i chose not to take them for a couple reasons. for one, i didnt have a way to carry them ( poor planning on my part ). i could have just dropped them in my pack, but then i could end up with a pack and gear covered in dead squirrel guts and blood. second i knew it would be a while before we were at a location where we could clean and cook them. you cant light a fire just any place, so i was thinking we could get a couple squirrel close into a camp site that had a fire ring where we would be allowed to light a fire.... well, after we found those squirrel early in the morning we didnt see another one for the rest of the day.
my solution will be to take along my radio pouch that came with my MOLLE ruck. i could then attach that to the outside of my pack. its large enough to hold several squirrel and at least a few rabbits. next time i go small game hunting i will take the little bastards when i have the chance!
we also saw plenty of deer and hog tracks. this one looks like hog tracks to me. its possible its deer though. they can sometimes look very simular.
after hiking some of the roads we hit some open grassy areas. we hiked/hunted that area for a while, and then stopped for a break for a snack break.
maybe my ugly mug scared off all the critters...
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE VIDEO OF THE COWS...
during our break we sat under a small oak tree. on the other side of the field approx. 200 yards out we spotted three deer. two were bucks, and one was kinda hiding behind an oak. the two bucks were BIG for florida deer. i dailed out the scope on my rifle and had a good look at them. next i grabbed my tasco binoculars and had a really good look at them. this is the first time i used these past 100 yards, and they worked great. one of the bucks had a really big rack. im sure any deer hunter would have been proud to take that monster. BTW this is small game season, and deer are of limits...
this first photo in just a shot across the field to try and give an idea how far away they were. the second photo is with my camera zoomed all the way out, but its hard to see the deer in the photo. they are standing between the two trees in the middle of the frame.
during our break we talked about our gear, and rifles. my buddy has an old winchester ( forget what model ) but its pretty darn old, and awesome for that matter. who doesnt like old rifles? his breaks down into two parts which makes it packable to some degree, and it shoots .22 short, .22 long, and .22 long rifle! my rifle is a mossberg 702, nothing special, but its a great shooter, and accurate. i have a daisy scope on it ( dont laugh ) but the scope is actually made by winchester, they just slap the daisy name on it. it holds zero just fine, and has clear optics. what more do you need for a .22?
we hung out with a turtle during our break...
after walking the roads and grassy plains we hit the FT in hopes that we would have a shot at some squirrel in the hammocks.
turned up dirt from hogs...
here was a decent looking water source. i did not top off here as i knew we would come accross better water on this trail. this could have been used if needed.
we stopped for lunch at the campsite that we SHOULD have been staying at tonight
. its a nice campsite with plenty of room for people to spead out. it has a fire pit, some benches, and a picnic table. the mail box holds a register book where people basically write in some comments about the trail, trail conditions, tips about the trail, or whatever.
i took 3 ltrs of water with me. 2 ltrs in a outdoor products hydration bladder, which is working just fine, and has gotten plenty of use, and 1 ltr in my new ZS nalgene. i used almost all the water from my nalgene for lunch and decided i would top off before hiking back. the water pump is just 1/10 of a mile from the campsite. the water from this pump can be cloudy at times, this time it was nice and clear. i didnt feel the need to filter, but i did use MSR purifier solution. i have read reviews of people saying that this solution makes the water tast like chemicals. IMO the water tasted no better, or worse than the water from the tap in my house. i had a very slight chemical taste to it, but for me its a non issue.
on the hike out we found grapefruit and oranges ( we knew they would be there ) and they KICK ASS as always! my buddy is great at climbing for these things. we loaded up on the way out, and i actually added 4 lbs to my packs weight when i added the fruit. i was happy to carry the extra weight for the awesome citrus score! my buddy loaded up his vest. we have a few trails that i know of that offer up free fruit.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO
i spotted this prickly pear on the way out, though there was no fruit.
This parkland is literally across the street for me, and stretches pretty much as far as the eye can see. I wanted to do this like a realistic bug out and walk from the house the 10-15 miles to the campsite. 
