15th Last Annual 27-mile One Day Hike

15TH LAST ANNUAL 27-MILE ONE DAY HIKE!
The hike will start (--be ready to hike by 5:45 a.m.--) and end at campsite #18 in the Withlacoochee State Forest's Citrus Tract's Tillis Hill Recreation Area Campground.

CAMPING
Please make a camping reservation through Reserve America for Tillis Hill Recreation Area. With such an early hike start time on Saturday, it's a good idea to stay at or close to Tillis Hill on Friday night. Alternative campgrounds within the Citrus Tract include Holder Mine and Mutual Mine.
HOTELS
There are also hotels about half an hour away in Inverness, Lecanto, Homosassa and Crystal River.

SATURDAY HIKE
We are glad you are interested in this one day, long distance hike. This will be the 15th year and it has always been a hard challenge and a lot of fun! In recent years, we divided up into two groups of hikers. The main group hikes at a moderate pace, stopping at most crossroad intersections on the trail to make sure everyone is okay. The second group splits off after sunrise and keeps moving, stopping at few if any crossroads, taking fewer and shorter breaks (perhaps only a 10-minute lunch break) in order to minimize cooling off and getting stiff. While this style has generally attracted faster hikers in some years, the goal is continuous movement without stopping, not the pace of a trail/road race. (Please try to keep any obsessive compulsive tendency in check.) The above notwithstanding, you can expect an occasional very brief stop to see a few scenic highlights just off the trail (though not enough time to smell all of the roses) and enjoy the traditional camaraderie of hiking together with kindred souls.

CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION

• Personality and attitude question: Hypothetically, if the weather forecast is for 44 degrees and 80% chance of rain all weekend, would you come? Those were the actual conditions on this hike a few years back. The hike will go on. Bottom line: don't sign up if you are not sure you are coming.
• Voluntary/Mandatory bailout at 18 miles if you are not there in 7 hours. Safety first.
• Willingness to sign FTA waiver. There will be a $5 contribution when signing in to reimburse the cost of supplies. Water and Gatorade will be stashed at intervals along the route so you don't have to carry a lot of weight throughout the hike.
• Be at campsite #18, ready to hike at 5:45 a.m. Plan to already be parked, geared up, having visited the facilities, and signed in -- i.e., you'd best plan to arrive no later than 5:30 a.m.

SATURDAY EVENING POST-HIKE GET-TOGETHER
We hope you will stay after the hike for the (~6:00 p.m.) potluck, campfire and social at site #18. We encourage you to make a $10 donation to cover the chapter costs for misc. expenses incurred for the meal/group campsite, etc. Sue B. will be making vegetarian chili. Thom rum cake. Please bring something to share with everyone. We will have a hot plate for your use and tables set up to put the food on. The Saturday night potluck dinner will begin at approximately 6:00 p.m. or earlier, depending on when our hikers arrive back at the campground. If anyone is able to bring firewood, that would be appreciated.

SUNDAY MORNING BREAKFAST OPTION
After everyone is packed up, meet at approx. 10:30 a.m. (not far from the campground) at the Breakfast Station, 7781 S Suncoast Blvd (US-19), Homosassa, FL 34446.

Hope to see you there for an awesome weekend!