Florida Trail Alexander Springs to Juniper Springs and Back- 18 Miles each Way 11/15/2021

Alexander Springs to Juniper Springs out and back for 36 total Florida Trail miles, 18 miles each way. I originally planned for 3 days of about 12 miles each and 2 nights. The first day I hiked 12 miles to the northern end of Ocala Pond, nobo mile marker 434.6 and approximately 70 yards off trail west to a nice flat stealth spot. The next day I decided to try and make it to Juniper Springs (6 miles) and try returning 9 more miles for a total of 15. After making it 15 miles to Farles Lake, I filtered water and dunked myself. Totally refreshed I hiked another 3 to Buck Lake. I hiked the blue trail a half mile extra to the Campground and spent the night illegally, but it was getting dark and I was getting slightly desperate. Had I continued clockwise on the blue trail around the lake I could have found some good stealth sites. The next morning I got up and out around sunrise to avoid potential conflict. It was a beautiful morning over Lake Buck with sun and fog which I captured in this video. The final 6 miles back to Alexander Springs was easy and I got back around 10:30 barely beating the heat. This was a great hike for me!