Mike Pickering's Website

Citrus Trail

Summary

GPS files

• Track file in GPX format
• Waypoint file in GPX format
  • 5MILE is Five Mile Pond (approximately 5 miles from the start of the trail)
  • BULLS is Bull Sink
  • CAMP1 is the primitive campground I stayed in
  • CAR is the trailhead by the Holder Mine campground
  • CAVE is a cave
  • CISTRN is a cistern along the trail; there may be water here
  • MANSP is Mansfield Pond
  • MUTUAL is the Mutual Mine campground
• Photo waypoints in GPX format
• Google Earth .kmz file

Description

My first Appalachian Trail hike was solo, but there are so many people on that trail, I wasn't truly on my own. This was my first solo, multi-day hike, and I thought it was a great experience. If you want seclusion, this is it. I saw someone drive by on a forest road on my first day, and ran into a park ranger at the Mutual Mine campsite on the second night; aside from that, I saw no other people on the trail. During hunting season, I'm sure there are more people about, but the trails are closed; make sure to call first to clear your trip dates with the rangers.

The landscape is typical Florida at first, but as you progress, you come across more and more interesting things. Because of Central Florida's unique geology, with lots of limestone, it is a center of phosphate mining. In fact, the Mutual Mine campsite is built around an old mine pit. There are many places on the trail where you climb over limestone, and there are variations in the elevation, which doesn't happen too often around Jacksonville. There are even a few caves on the route.

When Sandra Friend says that water is an issue, she's not joking. I carried 3 liters, and didn't run out, but I did have to divert my route to the Tillis Hill campsite on the second day. There are several lakes and sinks marked on the map, but all I saw were low areas filled with grass. Even if there was water somewhere in that, it wasn't possible to reach it. Halfway through the second day, I finally saw some milky-colored water in a low-lying area, but I already had plenty from having filled up at the campsite. There are two cisterns, but they're relatively close to the trailhead, so they're of limited value. None of the primitive campsites have water, and if you're able to cache water at the road crossings (i.e. you can drive down the sandy forest roads with no problems), you should.

I arrived around 10:00 in the morning and got started. The trail is divided into A, B, C, and D loops, with A being the shortest. See the pictures for a trail map. The D loop was the longest, and the one I did.

The A loop was nice enough, but not too different from hiking around Jacksonville. Be careful about deer ticks! I'd never seen one before, but I knew immediately what they were when I saw dozens on my legs. Thankfully, you can brush them off pretty easily, but I checked myself about every 10 minutes after I first saw them, and continued to see them for the rest of the trip.

The days are short during the time I went, which is right around the winter solstice, but it worked out well. I came to the second primitive campsite around 4:00 pm, which gave me time to set up camp and get dinner started before twilight. Total distance for day 1: about 17 miles.

In the morning, I had to delay breakfast because I was low on water. I had been counting on filling up at one of the lakes, or at least at the cistern, but all were dry. I was only a few miles from Tillis Hill, though, and had plenty of water to get me there. It was completely deserted. I sat down at a picnic table, had a leisurely (if late) breakfast, and filled up on water.

Between the campsite and Tillis Hill, the forest started to get more interesting. Later that afternoon, the landscape started changing as well, with limestone scattered around in many places, and a few mild climbs. I was actually glad for my trekking poles. After lunch, the trail crossed into an area with few trees, and the sun started to get a little hot. This was the end of December, but in Florida, "winter" and "cold" are not necessarily synonymous.

Finally, I started to approach the side trail that led to Mutual Mine. I toyed with the idea of pushing through to the end, but figured it would be getting dark by the time I reached my car, so I headed for the campsite instead. It's a fairly long walk from the trail, but it's worth it for the bathrooms, picnic tables, and of course, water. Besides, there isn't a primitive campsite nearby.

I got my pick of campsites at Mutual Mine, since I was the only one there, but regretted my choice once I finally went to bed. There is a bright light outside the bathroom, and it shone into my tent all night. So, if you have your pick, consider a campsite further down the road.

The next morning, I left camp around 7:15 for the final 10 miles. As I walked downhill, I suddenly saw the cave! Maybe I'm easily impressed, but I thought it was pretty neat. According to Sandra Friend's map, there are a few more caves on the trail, but I must have missed them. There's also a cistern on the way back, filled with greenish water, but it's about halfway between the campsite and the trailhead, so it's not that helpful.

The maps at the kiosk were very good, and the trail markings were excellent. The trail is maintained by the Florida Trail Association, and there are plenty of orange blazes everywhere. Also, at every place where the trail crosses a road (including forest service roads), there is a sign with the name of the road written on the back. You cannot possibly get lost on this trail, and it's easy to tell exactly where you are with the map. Kudos to the FTA for this excellent trail.

Lessons learned from this trip:

• It never hurts to carry a little extra water. I'd rather haul around two extra pounds than be forced to give up my morning coffee.
• Bring insect repellent with DEET! There were no mosquitoes on the trip, but DEET is supposed to be effective against deer ticks.
• Lay out everything on your list, then pack! I somehow left my sleeping pad at home. At the primitive campsite, it wasn't too bad, but at Mutual Mine, the ground was awful hard that night.