Alex Outdoors

I wish I could find more colorful words to describe this 4-day adventure in the Citrus tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest but this brain of mine, permanently tired from a 50 hour workweek doesn’t produce more than a half accurate account, so bear with me……. Sunshine state of mind This was my first chance to find out if my body would tolerate a multi-day backpacking trip. Usually my hips freeze up even after only a long walk, and my lower back promptly aches the next morning. Pushing 43 plus miles over four days would either “make me or break me” as the old saying goes, but what did I have to lose? Absolutely nothing. I typically don’t let the “what if’s” hold me back from having fun even if it means enduring some discomfort. Worst case scenario I’d use up all the Advil in my first aid kit. No risk, no reward. Or, as the Marines put it: pain is weakness leaving the body. AmIRight? Here’s a map to give you an idea of where exactly we logged all those miles in a counter cl...