March 30, 2017
Trail Angel Sarah Leigh met me early this morning while it was still dark out. Our rendezvous point was the intersection of a small street and a county or state highway. I parked my rental car on the side street for the day, then hopped in her car for the ride to my starting point.
Sarah Leigh got into hiking from a work colleague and is still trying to learn the ropes, so to speak. We had an enjoyable chat during our 45 minutes together. We found the spot on US 129 where I should have emerged yesterday, and after bidding her farewell (and taking a selfie), I headed out under the viaduct and into the forest.
The terrain was much like yesterday's: It wound up and down along the edge of the Suwannee River. There were lots of cobwebs in the morning -- ugh! -- but not many in the afternoon. Maybe they burn off/dissolve by then? They do seem to be worst in the mornings.
There were a few spots where the blazes were down or not right in sight, so I had to retrace my steps a few times. But nothing serious. The weather was pretty warm -- 86 for the high, I think -- but it actually wasn't too bad because it got cloudy in the afternoon. There were even a few sprinkles for a few minutes.
Re: wildlife, a huge turkey was in the woods near me (I didn't see it) and suddenly flew off, which was startling. Ditto with a deer that was only a few yards away. But no snakes or bears or gators. Oh, I also saw a rather large (empty) turtle shell.
With about 2 or 3 miles left, the trail spit me out of the woods and into some dirt roads that eventually led to my car.
Tonight, after showering and soaking in an Epsom salt bath, I found one tick on me about 2 hours later. Not sure where that came from ...
Only four days left of hiking (100 miles!) before I head back home. For now. :)
Snowshoe
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Day 22/10: White Springs to US 129
March 29, 2017
I drove myself to the parking spot by Highway 41 just outside of White Springs. I hiked about one-third of a mile when I realized I had left both my sunglasses and HAT in the car. Sigh. So I hiked back and got them, then headed back out.
Today was a fantastic day on the trails, despite the heat (about 88). The Suwannee River section is gorgeous. The trail follows the river a bit to start, then takes you through White Springs, a very pretty town. Then you go through Stephen Foster State Park, known for its carillon. I enjoyed listening to the bells, although all I could hear in my head all morning was the famous song, "Way Down Upon the Suwannee River."
I had to head down to the river and touch the water, just to say I had done so. About 5 minutes after I did that, I came upon a big sign warning about the alligators in the river. Yikes! The one thing you're never supposed to do if there are alligators around is bend down near the water, since that makes them view you as small and edible.
Shortly after that, I nearly stepped on a snake! Luckily it wasn't a "red on yellow kills a fellow" snake. Things settled down after that, and I enjoyed a true trail along the river. It was singletrack -- often hugging the edge of the river bluff -- and wound up and down and all around. It was the most strenuous hiking I've had on the entire trail to date.
I fell not once today, but twice; both times I slipped on very deep piles of leaves.
The river is very interesting. It looks a typical blue in many places, but is also very brown and tea-colored from the tannins in the trees, I think the sign said. In many spots wide expanses of very white sand line the shore. It was very pretty.
Near the end of the day, when I was .2 miles from my shuttle pick-up spot, the trail disappeared! There were no more blazes, and my app map said the route was through scrub. No way! So I hiked on the one path I did see, which spit me out on the highway about .3 miles north of where I should have come out. Not sure what was up with that!
Snowshoe
I drove myself to the parking spot by Highway 41 just outside of White Springs. I hiked about one-third of a mile when I realized I had left both my sunglasses and HAT in the car. Sigh. So I hiked back and got them, then headed back out.
Today was a fantastic day on the trails, despite the heat (about 88). The Suwannee River section is gorgeous. The trail follows the river a bit to start, then takes you through White Springs, a very pretty town. Then you go through Stephen Foster State Park, known for its carillon. I enjoyed listening to the bells, although all I could hear in my head all morning was the famous song, "Way Down Upon the Suwannee River."
I had to head down to the river and touch the water, just to say I had done so. About 5 minutes after I did that, I came upon a big sign warning about the alligators in the river. Yikes! The one thing you're never supposed to do if there are alligators around is bend down near the water, since that makes them view you as small and edible.
Shortly after that, I nearly stepped on a snake! Luckily it wasn't a "red on yellow kills a fellow" snake. Things settled down after that, and I enjoyed a true trail along the river. It was singletrack -- often hugging the edge of the river bluff -- and wound up and down and all around. It was the most strenuous hiking I've had on the entire trail to date.
I fell not once today, but twice; both times I slipped on very deep piles of leaves.
The river is very interesting. It looks a typical blue in many places, but is also very brown and tea-colored from the tannins in the trees, I think the sign said. In many spots wide expanses of very white sand line the shore. It was very pretty.
Near the end of the day, when I was .2 miles from my shuttle pick-up spot, the trail disappeared! There were no more blazes, and my app map said the route was through scrub. No way! So I hiked on the one path I did see, which spit me out on the highway about .3 miles north of where I should have come out. Not sure what was up with that!
Snowshoe
Day 21/9: Turkey Run Trailhead to White Springs
March 28, 2017
Today I dubbed the Day of the Spider Webs. Ugh. The entire morning's hike was rather unpleasant because every 30 seconds or so I walked into those spider web things that wrap themselves across your face, neck and/or arms. When I'd stop to eat a snack, I'd see them draped all over my backpack, too. It was just so unpleasant, it kind of ruined the morning.
I popped out of the forest and onto connecting road routes around noon. But it was about 86 degrees by then and I was out in full sun. I used the hiking sun umbrella my kids got me, but when I had it tilted a bit (it was windy) it caused me to miss a blaze/turn/ and I went .75 miles out of my way before realizing it, so I logged an extra 1.5 miles.
Luckily things got better after that. I went through Randy Madison's little backyard camp, which was lovely. And then I began the Suwannee River section, which was quite beautiful.
I intended to end the day at Little Shoals trailhead, but my shuttle couldn't find it so I hiked another 1.2 miles on up to the highway on the outskirts of White Springs.
Snowshoe
Today I dubbed the Day of the Spider Webs. Ugh. The entire morning's hike was rather unpleasant because every 30 seconds or so I walked into those spider web things that wrap themselves across your face, neck and/or arms. When I'd stop to eat a snack, I'd see them draped all over my backpack, too. It was just so unpleasant, it kind of ruined the morning.
I popped out of the forest and onto connecting road routes around noon. But it was about 86 degrees by then and I was out in full sun. I used the hiking sun umbrella my kids got me, but when I had it tilted a bit (it was windy) it caused me to miss a blaze/turn/ and I went .75 miles out of my way before realizing it, so I logged an extra 1.5 miles.
Luckily things got better after that. I went through Randy Madison's little backyard camp, which was lovely. And then I began the Suwannee River section, which was quite beautiful.
I intended to end the day at Little Shoals trailhead, but my shuttle couldn't find it so I hiked another 1.2 miles on up to the highway on the outskirts of White Springs.
Snowshoe
Monday, March 27, 2017
Day 20/8: West of Lake Butler to Turkey Run Trailhead
March 27, 2017
This was an interesting day on the trail. I started in where the trail leaves SR 100 about 5-6 miles west of Lake Butler. The trail was a bit scruffy to start, but not too bad. At some point, though, the trail got strange. It was paralleling a soft, dirt road through the woods, but the trail itself was terrible.
The terrain was very lumpy and bumpy and difficult to walk on. In addition there were plants -- little bushes, really -- about knee-high choking the path that you had to bushwhack through. Normally, I'm a trail purist. I try to walk the trail as-is, no cheating. But after plodding through about a quarter-mile of this, the whole time seeing the nice, flat, dirt road a few paces to my left, I realized it was ridiculous to walk on this "trail." So I switched to the path and never regretted it. If I had stayed on the marked path, not only would I have sliced my legs to pieces, but I probably would have averaged the swamp's mile-per-hour pace.
After maybe 16 miles I crossed SR 90 and entered the Osceola State Forest. Ahhh! The trails were glorious here, and the scenery superb. I walked another 10-ish miles, enjoying every step, save for those spider web things that kept wrapping themselves around my face and arms.
Oh, I did start noticing a few mosquitoes -- the first real bugs since I started this trail in January. But it was just one here, one there, so I didn't even put on bug spray.
Trail Angel Janie Hamilton picked me up at the Turkey Run Trailhead. She was so sweet! She had some flavored water and regular water for me, plus didn't mind that I was a sweaty, smelly mess. She gave me a little tour of some parts of this area and is trying to help me arrange future shuttles a few days hence, when I have nothing lined up. This is the best of humanity at work!
Snowshoe
This was an interesting day on the trail. I started in where the trail leaves SR 100 about 5-6 miles west of Lake Butler. The trail was a bit scruffy to start, but not too bad. At some point, though, the trail got strange. It was paralleling a soft, dirt road through the woods, but the trail itself was terrible.
The terrain was very lumpy and bumpy and difficult to walk on. In addition there were plants -- little bushes, really -- about knee-high choking the path that you had to bushwhack through. Normally, I'm a trail purist. I try to walk the trail as-is, no cheating. But after plodding through about a quarter-mile of this, the whole time seeing the nice, flat, dirt road a few paces to my left, I realized it was ridiculous to walk on this "trail." So I switched to the path and never regretted it. If I had stayed on the marked path, not only would I have sliced my legs to pieces, but I probably would have averaged the swamp's mile-per-hour pace.
After maybe 16 miles I crossed SR 90 and entered the Osceola State Forest. Ahhh! The trails were glorious here, and the scenery superb. I walked another 10-ish miles, enjoying every step, save for those spider web things that kept wrapping themselves around my face and arms.
Oh, I did start noticing a few mosquitoes -- the first real bugs since I started this trail in January. But it was just one here, one there, so I didn't even put on bug spray.
Trail Angel Janie Hamilton picked me up at the Turkey Run Trailhead. She was so sweet! She had some flavored water and regular water for me, plus didn't mind that I was a sweaty, smelly mess. She gave me a little tour of some parts of this area and is trying to help me arrange future shuttles a few days hence, when I have nothing lined up. This is the best of humanity at work!
Snowshoe
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Day 19/7: West of Hampton to West of Lake Butler
March 26, 2017
Ten-Miler had to go home today, so she first helped me drop my car at the finish point, then drove me to my starting point. I wasn't looking forward to walking along more of the Palatka-Lake Butler rail-trail, as yesterday's portion was so rocky. But today wasn't too bad. Yes, there were still some rocky stretches. But there were quite a few stretches with soft dirt or grass.
The day wasn't too hot (80) and was partly cloudy, so overall it was pleasant. At one point the path takes you off the rail-trail and up onto State Highway 100 for a mile or so because a bridge is out on the rail-trail. When you get back on, it's a paved path the rest of the way into Lake Butler.
Walking through Lake Butler was pleasant, and the day ended with about six miles on Highway 100 heading west out of Lake Butler. That wasn't the greatest, naturally, but it is what it is.
Looking forward to tomorrow, which should be real TRAIL!
Snowshoe
Ten-Miler had to go home today, so she first helped me drop my car at the finish point, then drove me to my starting point. I wasn't looking forward to walking along more of the Palatka-Lake Butler rail-trail, as yesterday's portion was so rocky. But today wasn't too bad. Yes, there were still some rocky stretches. But there were quite a few stretches with soft dirt or grass.
The day wasn't too hot (80) and was partly cloudy, so overall it was pleasant. At one point the path takes you off the rail-trail and up onto State Highway 100 for a mile or so because a bridge is out on the rail-trail. When you get back on, it's a paved path the rest of the way into Lake Butler.
Walking through Lake Butler was pleasant, and the day ended with about six miles on Highway 100 heading west out of Lake Butler. That wasn't the greatest, naturally, but it is what it is.
Looking forward to tomorrow, which should be real TRAIL!
Snowshoe
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Day 18/6: Gold Head Branch State Park to West of Hampton
March 25, 2017
Yay! Another partly cloudy, not-too-hot day. Ten-Miler and I started off hiking together through Gold Head Branch State Park. She turned back about halfway to move her truck to the main entrance. I passed through before she got there, though, and entered Camp Blanding while she was back at Gold Head Branch. No worries; she simply moved the truck to the opposite end of Camp Blanding and began walking in toward me.
I wasn't sure what to expect at Camp Blanding, which is used by the National Guard as a training center. Luckily no military exercises were going on (if there were, we would have had to take a detour). The Camp was gorgeous, with lots of tiny trails and others that were spacious and wound past some pretty lakes. G.I. Jane was filmed here, and it is the site of state park beaches that were once segregated.
Once through here Judy drove on up ahead to a gas station/mini mart while I hiked through some neighborhoods. Right before I reached Judy, a nice man in his yard offered me any cold drink I wanted. I asked for ice for my water, which he gave to me. He said he was a transplant from Pennsylvania, then told me to watch out for drunks on the road tonight, since it's Saturday.
After meeting Judy at the gas station, she decided to go up to Hampton, park the truck and walk back in towards me. Immediately after leaving her the trail went through this awesome little area of thick vegetation; the trail was the only break in it. Unfortunately it eventually led to many miles of walking along a rail-trail that would have been lovely except for one thing: the base was made up of rocks. It was uncomfortable from the start, and after something like 10 miles of it, the bottoms of my feet were KILLING me.
Tonight we're staying at a new and very nice Best Western in Waldo. (And yes, we've been making "Where's Waldo?" jokes all night.) We had a fantastic dinner at this little Mexican place down the road. I had the best quesadillas I've ever had.
Snowshoe
Yay! Another partly cloudy, not-too-hot day. Ten-Miler and I started off hiking together through Gold Head Branch State Park. She turned back about halfway to move her truck to the main entrance. I passed through before she got there, though, and entered Camp Blanding while she was back at Gold Head Branch. No worries; she simply moved the truck to the opposite end of Camp Blanding and began walking in toward me.
I wasn't sure what to expect at Camp Blanding, which is used by the National Guard as a training center. Luckily no military exercises were going on (if there were, we would have had to take a detour). The Camp was gorgeous, with lots of tiny trails and others that were spacious and wound past some pretty lakes. G.I. Jane was filmed here, and it is the site of state park beaches that were once segregated.
Once through here Judy drove on up ahead to a gas station/mini mart while I hiked through some neighborhoods. Right before I reached Judy, a nice man in his yard offered me any cold drink I wanted. I asked for ice for my water, which he gave to me. He said he was a transplant from Pennsylvania, then told me to watch out for drunks on the road tonight, since it's Saturday.
After meeting Judy at the gas station, she decided to go up to Hampton, park the truck and walk back in towards me. Immediately after leaving her the trail went through this awesome little area of thick vegetation; the trail was the only break in it. Unfortunately it eventually led to many miles of walking along a rail-trail that would have been lovely except for one thing: the base was made up of rocks. It was uncomfortable from the start, and after something like 10 miles of it, the bottoms of my feet were KILLING me.
Tonight we're staying at a new and very nice Best Western in Waldo. (And yes, we've been making "Where's Waldo?" jokes all night.) We had a fantastic dinner at this little Mexican place down the road. I had the best quesadillas I've ever had.
Snowshoe
Friday, March 24, 2017
Day 17/5: SR 100 Near Palatka to Gold Head Branch State Park
March 24, 2017
Lucky me. Today was another cool (70s) and cloudy day on the trail. Not that I don't love the sun, but sometimes it's nice to hike in cool, cloudy weather.
The first part of my hike was along the Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail, a rail-trail. As soon as I started I came across a bridge over a creek that was blocked off with a sign saying the bridge was closed because it was too dangerous. Luckily I had read Late Start's trail journal; she said she deemed it safe enough, and a better option than wading through the fairly-deep creek below, or walking along the busy highway that had no shoulder. Sure enough, the bridge was plenty sturdy.
There was a bit of road walking after that along sandy trail, then I was led into the woods for several miles. It was very lovely.
Judy was joining me on and off during these segments.
The last half of the day was along a paved road and then a sandy road around the Christian Camp and Gold Head Branch State Park. At one point some dogs were threatening me, but a guy drove up in his pick-up and blocked the dogs from me until I got past. This was the second time I've been so saved here in Florida.
During this trip I've been plagued with iPhone email issues; my mail app got accidentally deleted during my fourth day on the trail, and when I reinstalled it it won't send any emails (although it receives them). Today my laptop wasn't working, and as I work at night in my motels, this was a serious issue. I think I finally have both fixed. I sure hope so!
Snowshoe
Lucky me. Today was another cool (70s) and cloudy day on the trail. Not that I don't love the sun, but sometimes it's nice to hike in cool, cloudy weather.
The first part of my hike was along the Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail, a rail-trail. As soon as I started I came across a bridge over a creek that was blocked off with a sign saying the bridge was closed because it was too dangerous. Luckily I had read Late Start's trail journal; she said she deemed it safe enough, and a better option than wading through the fairly-deep creek below, or walking along the busy highway that had no shoulder. Sure enough, the bridge was plenty sturdy.
There was a bit of road walking after that along sandy trail, then I was led into the woods for several miles. It was very lovely.
Judy was joining me on and off during these segments.
The last half of the day was along a paved road and then a sandy road around the Christian Camp and Gold Head Branch State Park. At one point some dogs were threatening me, but a guy drove up in his pick-up and blocked the dogs from me until I got past. This was the second time I've been so saved here in Florida.
During this trip I've been plagued with iPhone email issues; my mail app got accidentally deleted during my fourth day on the trail, and when I reinstalled it it won't send any emails (although it receives them). Today my laptop wasn't working, and as I work at night in my motels, this was a serious issue. I think I finally have both fixed. I sure hope so!
Snowshoe
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