Trail Mile 541 to 621
Extra Extra: Read all about it. Lake Hampton to Lake Butler:
Lake Butler to Olustee Battlefield:
These roadside graves always give us pause. She was only 16. Lolly was her nickname.
We are so excited to exit the highway and then we aren’t. The trail is wet and cold, because the high today is about 49 degrees Fahrenheit and this area has recently received a lot of rain. The good thing is our feet don't hurt as we can't feel them due to the cold water we are walking in. We were reading Mayor's trail blog last night and when he passed through here a couple weeks earlier, the trail was dry and overgrown. We have learned that everyday the trail can change. It is not a static space.
This little creek crossing is swifter than it appears and with black water deeper than our hiking poles we decide it is too deep for us to cross and find a log just downstream to walk over. There is a little hop at the end, that causes my heart to make its presence known. A swim right now would not be fun.
It stops raining by lunch time, but the trail and forest roads are still mostly under water so we keep walking. 15 miles into our day we take a break to eat and put on dry socks as the road ahead looks dry. We hope it’s dry. But gosh darn, it’s cold now as the wind starts to blow. We get a freeze and flood alert/warning on our phone as we head out again.
I’m ready. LOL!
A half mile before where we want to camp, we hit water again. Ahhhhh! Wet feet. Time for a fire and some grub and some sleep. Brrr. I am cold. Freeze warning in effect. Why did I send my down jacket to my sisters? The extra weight of it would have been worth it tonight!
Olustee Battlefield to Milton's Campground:
It was cold last night. Like freezing cold and I must have been dehydrated or something, because I couldn’t seem to get warm. I kept shivering and my feet and hands went numb. Mark heated water and put it in a bottle for me and we cuddled and I eventually warmed up a bit and slept. When morning came around though I was staying in bed until the sun came up. Florida is not all alligators and beaches!
This is Jim the ranger who loves snakes. We saw a big snake yesterday and he says it is a canebrake, but some people call them timber rattlers.
He also encourages us to enjoy and live every day in gratitude. He is one positive soul and happily opens the Olustee Battlefield Visitor Center early, so I can get warm and use the bathroom. Seeing how cold I am he offers socks and a coat and suggests we might want to do some road walks. I skip on the clothes, but we take him up on the road walk as he says water levels are high as it has rained 6 inches in the last week and 3 of those inches the night before last. We come up with a forest road re-route. Who cares that it is 2 miles longer, as it will keep us out of the freezing cold water.
Tomorrow the weather is expected to get warmer. I hope. I really wanted to quit this trail last night. Mark bolstered me up, just like I did him when he got injured. That’s what being married best friends is all about.
We’ve now walked 600 miles on this trail and we also cross Interstate 10 today. It reminds us of going under it on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Milton's Campground to White Springs:
Dogs bark a lot in the night. Still, we sleep well and I’m warm. I awake thinking it must be warmer than yesterday, then a sheet of ice slides off of our rain fly. Maybe not. There is a beautiful sunrise and an awesome breakfast at Milton’s. I'm loving this hillbilly place.
We are following the blazes again today and it feels good to be reconnected to the trail. We were a bit heartsick for it by the end of yesterday. It’s nearly perfect hiking weather.
We hear the river before we see her. It takes a split second for us to realize what noise we are hearing, as it seems like its been a long time since we've heard the sound of rushing water. It’s the Big Shoal on the Suwanee River. I believe this is Florida’s only class III white water.
We follow the Suwanee River downstream. There are short climbs and short descents and the sound of flowing water. The trees are an incredible green and the wild azaleas are beginning to bloom. I can barely catch my breath and my heart feels swollen. I might be in love with this place. We are very happy and hike along like giddy kids.
These photos do not do it justice. Good news is I can try again tomorrow to capture its beauty as we will continue hiking alongside it. Today our destination is White Springs B & B.
And we find Songbird there! She has been waiting for us. She is our hiking friend from early in the hike. Now, if we can only get Ole Sunset to come back we will have our trail family reunited.
We have a celebratory dinner at the White Springs B & B of chicken and vegetables and I might have had one too many glasses of wine. Judith is a wonderful host and every hiker should try to stay here when they pass through. You can’t beat the price or her hospitality.
Miles hiked this section: 80
Lesson learned: We can hike 20 milers back to back!
(Lake Butler and White Springs are both great little trail towns. Easy food resupply and good restaurants. We were unable to find ISO propane fuel in Lake Butler, so we called ahead to Judith and she picked one up for us in a neighboring larger city. We also learned you are not supposed to mail to post office with Fed EX or UPS. Seems obvious now. but when we ordered Mark some new shoes from Amazon, it didn't. Luckily a kind soul at the post office gave them to us as we showed up before they had sent them back. He gave us a stern warning that they do not normally hand these deliveries out.)
Extra Extra: Read all about it. Lake Hampton to Lake Butler:
Today is an extra day! We had an extra special lake view breakfast. We had extra nice, cool hiking weather. We hiked an extra two miles to the trail, so the B & B host wouldn’t have to take us. We had an extra easy old rail bed trail. We had an extra number of dogs on a trail that added 4 miles to go around a missing trestle. We followed the walk back around to the trail, which added extra miles over just walking the road. We got extra special care at Lake Butler City Hall and the Post Office. We got lots of extra waves and smiles today. We got extra calories by ordering the largest combination plate at Laredo’s Mexican Restaurant. We are getting extra electricity from the depot and are camping under an awning, so we can stay extra dry from the rain in the morning. To top it off, our clothes are extra clean due to the hiker box laundry detergent and the nearby Sunrise Laundry. My feet are extra sore from the bigger miles we’ve been doing and I’m extra tired, so goodnight, extra early.
Oh, we passed the half way point of the trail today. They tell us it’s all downhill from here.
Lake Butler to Olustee Battlefield:
Rainy, Cold, Wet! Type two fun.
The day started well at the next door IGA Deli with biscuits and gravy. It kinda went downhill after that with seven miles alongside a rainy highway.
These roadside graves always give us pause. She was only 16. Lolly was her nickname.
We are so excited to exit the highway and then we aren’t. The trail is wet and cold, because the high today is about 49 degrees Fahrenheit and this area has recently received a lot of rain. The good thing is our feet don't hurt as we can't feel them due to the cold water we are walking in. We were reading Mayor's trail blog last night and when he passed through here a couple weeks earlier, the trail was dry and overgrown. We have learned that everyday the trail can change. It is not a static space.
This little creek crossing is swifter than it appears and with black water deeper than our hiking poles we decide it is too deep for us to cross and find a log just downstream to walk over. There is a little hop at the end, that causes my heart to make its presence known. A swim right now would not be fun.
It stops raining by lunch time, but the trail and forest roads are still mostly under water so we keep walking. 15 miles into our day we take a break to eat and put on dry socks as the road ahead looks dry. We hope it’s dry. But gosh darn, it’s cold now as the wind starts to blow. We get a freeze and flood alert/warning on our phone as we head out again.
I’m ready. LOL!
Our feet stay dry and it warms up and I take all the layers off and enjoy the rainbow swamp, although it's not right for rainbows apparently.
The trees are beautiful alongside the forest road.
A half mile before where we want to camp, we hit water again. Ahhhhh! Wet feet. Time for a fire and some grub and some sleep. Brrr. I am cold. Freeze warning in effect. Why did I send my down jacket to my sisters? The extra weight of it would have been worth it tonight!
Olustee Battlefield to Milton's Campground:
It was cold last night. Like freezing cold and I must have been dehydrated or something, because I couldn’t seem to get warm. I kept shivering and my feet and hands went numb. Mark heated water and put it in a bottle for me and we cuddled and I eventually warmed up a bit and slept. When morning came around though I was staying in bed until the sun came up. Florida is not all alligators and beaches!
My sweetheart makes another fire to entice me to get up. He is the best of the best! At least today. LOL. Then a ranger comes by and we stand around and talk about all sorts of things, but mostly snakes.
This is Jim the ranger who loves snakes. We saw a big snake yesterday and he says it is a canebrake, but some people call them timber rattlers.
He also encourages us to enjoy and live every day in gratitude. He is one positive soul and happily opens the Olustee Battlefield Visitor Center early, so I can get warm and use the bathroom. Seeing how cold I am he offers socks and a coat and suggests we might want to do some road walks. I skip on the clothes, but we take him up on the road walk as he says water levels are high as it has rained 6 inches in the last week and 3 of those inches the night before last. We come up with a forest road re-route. Who cares that it is 2 miles longer, as it will keep us out of the freezing cold water.
Tomorrow the weather is expected to get warmer. I hope. I really wanted to quit this trail last night. Mark bolstered me up, just like I did him when he got injured. That’s what being married best friends is all about.
It’s a nice walk on forest roads and we see the trail a time or two as it crosses. We listen to music and hear hounds baying in the distance. Hunting with dogs is big here. There are dog boxes all over the place.
We’ve now walked 600 miles on this trail and we also cross Interstate 10 today. It reminds us of going under it on the Pacific Crest Trail.
We are camping tonight in what I’d stereotype as a run down hillbilly campground. We eat Vienna sausages and potato salad and drink red wine out of the bottle sitting on the grass, ‘cause there are no picnic tables. There is a 60 year old heater in the bathroom and I kneel and offer my soul before it to warm my hands. It’s pretty dirty in here, but it’s worth it. The folks are real nice and somehow remind me of my grandma ( the salad tastes just like hers) and I realize she was a hillbilly from Arkansas. I don’t know why I never realized it before. I think I’m discovering my roots.
Milton's Campground to White Springs:
Dogs bark a lot in the night. Still, we sleep well and I’m warm. I awake thinking it must be warmer than yesterday, then a sheet of ice slides off of our rain fly. Maybe not. There is a beautiful sunrise and an awesome breakfast at Milton’s. I'm loving this hillbilly place.
We meet Frisbee and Stubs on the trail. They are heading south with the intent to hike half the trail now and then come back in the fall and finish it. They share lots of information on the trail ahead. It’s nice meeting them.
We are following the blazes again today and it feels good to be reconnected to the trail. We were a bit heartsick for it by the end of yesterday. It’s nearly perfect hiking weather.
We hear the river before we see her. It takes a split second for us to realize what noise we are hearing, as it seems like its been a long time since we've heard the sound of rushing water. It’s the Big Shoal on the Suwanee River. I believe this is Florida’s only class III white water.
We follow the Suwanee River downstream. There are short climbs and short descents and the sound of flowing water. The trees are an incredible green and the wild azaleas are beginning to bloom. I can barely catch my breath and my heart feels swollen. I might be in love with this place. We are very happy and hike along like giddy kids.
These photos do not do it justice. Good news is I can try again tomorrow to capture its beauty as we will continue hiking alongside it. Today our destination is White Springs B & B.
And we find Songbird there! She has been waiting for us. She is our hiking friend from early in the hike. Now, if we can only get Ole Sunset to come back we will have our trail family reunited.
We have a celebratory dinner at the White Springs B & B of chicken and vegetables and I might have had one too many glasses of wine. Judith is a wonderful host and every hiker should try to stay here when they pass through. You can’t beat the price or her hospitality.
Miles hiked this section: 80
Lesson learned: We can hike 20 milers back to back!
(Lake Butler and White Springs are both great little trail towns. Easy food resupply and good restaurants. We were unable to find ISO propane fuel in Lake Butler, so we called ahead to Judith and she picked one up for us in a neighboring larger city. We also learned you are not supposed to mail to post office with Fed EX or UPS. Seems obvious now. but when we ordered Mark some new shoes from Amazon, it didn't. Luckily a kind soul at the post office gave them to us as we showed up before they had sent them back. He gave us a stern warning that they do not normally hand these deliveries out.)
LOL 'all downhill' ;)
ReplyDeleteThe extra's are what make it nice!