Trail Miles 691 to 770
Interstate 10/Madison Junction to Sirman's Baptist Church:
Songbird and I are still tired in the morning. My left leg and foot are swollen and I’ve lost toe nails on my right foot. Songbird is staggering under the weight of the gorilla on her back. Seriously, she has a gorilla on her back- a Gossamer Gear Gorilla backpack.
We joke around all day, most of it as bad as my gorilla joke. We have a big road walk today and being playful makes the miles easier. More smiles feels like less miles.
There are lots of loose dogs reported on the Guthook app so Songbird practices using her umbrella as a shield and Mark and I practice clacking our poles. We look ridiculous. We soon discover dogs are very scared of the opening and closing of the umbrella and Songbird discovers she has a new superpower that makes dogs run and hide. One particular nasty dog doesn't back down though and Mark chases it back to its yard. Such is the life of hobos walking on a road.
The road grows long as the shadows lengthen and I begin to think of all the road miles ahead of us on this trail and begin to ponder quitting. (Due to Hurricane Michael we will have an additional 60 miles of road to walk around the worst damage). It seems foolish to do a thru hike this year. At least to me at this moment it seems silly. I grouse and cuss, for no good reason, (of which I'm not proud). I begin texting Mayor, a fellow hiker ahead of us, asking questions about the trail. We decide we will tell him we are quitting, as a joke. Although I'm not joking that much. He believes us and has such a sweet, encouraging response that I feel terrible. Mark and Songbird want to continue the joke, but I have to tell him the truth. We aren't quitting. YET! (Check out his blog: https://boundlessroamad.com/).
Tomorrow we will enter trail again and I will probably forget the road, but tonight I question our sanity. As did the cars who passed by with us all decked out in flowers. Mark with azaleas, Songbird with rain lilies and I with some purple flower I don’t yet know.
(Check with the pastor of Sirman's Baptist Church before camping there. Neighbors called the pastor on us and he came by to check on the 'hobos', but he had no problem with us camping there once he realized we were on the Florida Trail. Good place to camp is on the far side of the church building.)
Sirman's Church to Random Camp:
Day of daze. Maybe we’ve had too many twenty mile days, but I caught myself just mentally checking out a lot early in the day. And then we come to Rusty, a dog who runs out to greet us barking his sweet little head off. "He don't bite", says the lady on the porch as she screams his name and then hurries out to grab him. Just another day of walking on the road being accosted by dogs.
Many of these church's have cemeteries. I think it is wise, as it is important for the living to think about where we all end up. We stop at one cemetery and read graveside markers. There seems to be a confederate soldier buried and lots of babies. Dust to dust. Or is there more? Mark and I think so, but we have no proof.
It takes faith to believe in heaven. But it also takes faith to believe there isn't one.
It is spiritual day. We listen to a sermon of a pastor I like and discuss religion.
We miss our turn onto a forest road and try taking a short cut back to the trail across a hunt camp. We end up wading in water that reaches my thighs. We are all thankful to find the trail again and camp as soon as we can find an open spot as the sun is setting. It’s lovely, but very buggy along the Aucilla River. We hear laughter and people in the woods and it’s kind of spooky somehow. There are also bees buzzing overhead. It sounds like a swarm forming. We saw one earlier in the day as well.
Random Camp to JR's:
Ticks wake Mark up in the night and then me in the process. He can feel them crawling on his skin. Luckily, only one had latched on. They must have gotten in the tent on our clothes. After that we both are on edge and we keep waking up and checking each other for ticks. Sounds like a country western song. We fall fitfully to sleep only to wake up to some animal scuffling around. Needless to say we are tired this morning. Especially me. I’m really dragging and my left ankle is still swollen and tight.
JR's to St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge:
St. Mark’s National Wildlife refuge is gorgeous and we see snakes, alligators, deer, and a bobcat as well as countless birds. Part of the trail is on a levy and some of it is not. We did not read the notes on the Guthook app that suggested we stay on the blue line trail and we have a few miles of bushwhacking. It is good practice for Apalachicola that we will be entering soon. The stories from hikers ahead of us are terrifying.
Mosquitoes are overwhelmingly thick tonight and the incessant buzzing is disconcerting as I lay here trying to type out this update on my phone. The net of our tent is covered in mosquitoes diligently trying to get in to us. These are the most aggressive mosquitoes we’ve yet met on the Florida Trail. I guess I will be using a funnel and bottle tonight for my midnight bathroom break. (For the ladies: a gogirl, or pStyle are excellent for peeing at night when you don't want to go out or for the ability to discretely urinate standing up with your back to the road. LOL! Currently, I prefer the pStyle slightly more.)
Interstate 10/Madison Junction to Sirman's Baptist Church:
Songbird and I are still tired in the morning. My left leg and foot are swollen and I’ve lost toe nails on my right foot. Songbird is staggering under the weight of the gorilla on her back. Seriously, she has a gorilla on her back- a Gossamer Gear Gorilla backpack.
We joke around all day, most of it as bad as my gorilla joke. We have a big road walk today and being playful makes the miles easier. More smiles feels like less miles.
There are lots of loose dogs reported on the Guthook app so Songbird practices using her umbrella as a shield and Mark and I practice clacking our poles. We look ridiculous. We soon discover dogs are very scared of the opening and closing of the umbrella and Songbird discovers she has a new superpower that makes dogs run and hide. One particular nasty dog doesn't back down though and Mark chases it back to its yard. Such is the life of hobos walking on a road.
The road grows long as the shadows lengthen and I begin to think of all the road miles ahead of us on this trail and begin to ponder quitting. (Due to Hurricane Michael we will have an additional 60 miles of road to walk around the worst damage). It seems foolish to do a thru hike this year. At least to me at this moment it seems silly. I grouse and cuss, for no good reason, (of which I'm not proud). I begin texting Mayor, a fellow hiker ahead of us, asking questions about the trail. We decide we will tell him we are quitting, as a joke. Although I'm not joking that much. He believes us and has such a sweet, encouraging response that I feel terrible. Mark and Songbird want to continue the joke, but I have to tell him the truth. We aren't quitting. YET! (Check out his blog: https://boundlessroamad.com/).
Tomorrow we will enter trail again and I will probably forget the road, but tonight I question our sanity. As did the cars who passed by with us all decked out in flowers. Mark with azaleas, Songbird with rain lilies and I with some purple flower I don’t yet know.
(Check with the pastor of Sirman's Baptist Church before camping there. Neighbors called the pastor on us and he came by to check on the 'hobos', but he had no problem with us camping there once he realized we were on the Florida Trail. Good place to camp is on the far side of the church building.)
Sirman's Church to Random Camp:
Day of daze. Maybe we’ve had too many twenty mile days, but I caught myself just mentally checking out a lot early in the day. And then we come to Rusty, a dog who runs out to greet us barking his sweet little head off. "He don't bite", says the lady on the porch as she screams his name and then hurries out to grab him. Just another day of walking on the road being accosted by dogs.
Then there is a vending machine just sitting beside the road in the middle of nowhere. It looks like it should be a portal to another universe, and we put our coins in and are transported away in the effervescent flow of bubbles.
There are many old buildings being taken over by nature and huge wisteria vines today. We see lots of turtles and one snapping turtle. Mark pokes towards it with a stick and its mouth opens really big and it snaps the stick.
It’s also a church to church walk today. We stop at each one and get water from their faucets. Midday has us lunching at Mt Giliad's Church. It’s a very peaceful spot and old hymns rise up from within me and I sing a few verses aloud.
Many of these church's have cemeteries. I think it is wise, as it is important for the living to think about where we all end up. We stop at one cemetery and read graveside markers. There seems to be a confederate soldier buried and lots of babies. Dust to dust. Or is there more? Mark and I think so, but we have no proof.
It takes faith to believe in heaven. But it also takes faith to believe there isn't one.
It is spiritual day. We listen to a sermon of a pastor I like and discuss religion.
Long days of walking let the mind wander to such things and it’s invigorating getting Songbird’s scientific and skeptical take on things.
We miss our turn onto a forest road and try taking a short cut back to the trail across a hunt camp. We end up wading in water that reaches my thighs. We are all thankful to find the trail again and camp as soon as we can find an open spot as the sun is setting. It’s lovely, but very buggy along the Aucilla River. We hear laughter and people in the woods and it’s kind of spooky somehow. There are also bees buzzing overhead. It sounds like a swarm forming. We saw one earlier in the day as well.
Random Camp to JR's:
Ticks wake Mark up in the night and then me in the process. He can feel them crawling on his skin. Luckily, only one had latched on. They must have gotten in the tent on our clothes. After that we both are on edge and we keep waking up and checking each other for ticks. Sounds like a country western song. We fall fitfully to sleep only to wake up to some animal scuffling around. Needless to say we are tired this morning. Especially me. I’m really dragging and my left ankle is still swollen and tight.
The trail along the Aucilla River continues to be wild and unkempt. She’s like the wild, rebel sister of the Suwanee River. She also appears to be undependable as she keeps disappearing underground; here one moment and then gone the next under the limestone. Palm fronds and bushes block the trail, while roots trip your feet up. Songbird tries flying and falls three times. She slows down a bit after that. All together we see four black racer snakes, one Pygmy rattler, two gators and a box turtle. We continue to pick ticks off our skin and after we leave the trail we all strip down to our underwear and check each others bodies. It is quite the sight and we are glad no one drives up.
When we get to JR’s convenience store it’s pretty obvious I’m struggling, so we decide to just lay around and camp there. We meet Hubert and his wife. He comes over to us and says he sees God’s glow on us. I get tingles. I’ve been praying all morning for strength and the ability to ignore the pain. Hubert gives me the biggest smile and warmest hug and I am instantly uplifted.
It’s evening now and Mark and Songbird are grilling some hot dogs and chili over a hobo fire while I keep my leg elevated. JR’s roosters are crowing.
JR's to St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge:
St. Mark’s National Wildlife refuge is gorgeous and we see snakes, alligators, deer, and a bobcat as well as countless birds. Part of the trail is on a levy and some of it is not. We did not read the notes on the Guthook app that suggested we stay on the blue line trail and we have a few miles of bushwhacking. It is good practice for Apalachicola that we will be entering soon. The stories from hikers ahead of us are terrifying.
Mosquitoes are overwhelmingly thick tonight and the incessant buzzing is disconcerting as I lay here trying to type out this update on my phone. The net of our tent is covered in mosquitoes diligently trying to get in to us. These are the most aggressive mosquitoes we’ve yet met on the Florida Trail. I guess I will be using a funnel and bottle tonight for my midnight bathroom break. (For the ladies: a gogirl, or pStyle are excellent for peeing at night when you don't want to go out or for the ability to discretely urinate standing up with your back to the road. LOL! Currently, I prefer the pStyle slightly more.)
St. Marks:
We don't have many miles to do today, so we take a jaunt out to old Port Leon to watch the sunrise and see the water. Port Leon is long since abandoned, but in 1838 it was the terminus of Florida’s first railroad. A hurricane and yellow fever caused the abandonment of the once semi bustling port. Not much is left, but the old raised rail bed to walk on.
Next stop is The Magnolia Inn B & B, where we are seriously pampered with cheese, wine, chocolates and a huge room with a Jacuzzi tub.
We don't have many miles to do today, so we take a jaunt out to old Port Leon to watch the sunrise and see the water. Port Leon is long since abandoned, but in 1838 it was the terminus of Florida’s first railroad. A hurricane and yellow fever caused the abandonment of the once semi bustling port. Not much is left, but the old raised rail bed to walk on.
We then dash off to the pick up point on the river. We call the marina and a gal named Skittles is soon there picking us up in a boat and shuttling us across the narrow river to a nice marina, where we sit on the deck and drink coffee. (We also buy more mosquito spray!). There we meet Michael who lives on a boat and he tells us about the great American Loop. Maybe this should be our next big adventure? So many adventures, so little time.
Next stop is The Magnolia Inn B & B, where we are seriously pampered with cheese, wine, chocolates and a huge room with a Jacuzzi tub.
St. Marks is a cool old town, I believe it may be the oldest settlement in Florida, with a laid back vibe. She’s seen her share of hurricanes, but she always arises from the waters. As I will too, in an hour or three!
Miles hiked this section: 79
Lesson learned: Umbrellas make excellent dog deterrents.
(We sent ourselves a package from Amazon to JR's Store and we received it with no issues. JR is great. Every morning early he heats up big sausages and people stop in and go behind the counter and make their own bun and throw a sausage on it. Later some ladies show up and cook other simple grill items. This is a convenience store so we were able to buy some food resupply items as well. St. Mark's marina has resupply too, as well as the old historic grocery store in town. You might want to stop in there just for the experience of it as it is really old. Most hikers stay at Fish Camp, but we can't offer any information about it because we went the posh route at the Magnolia Inn. We enjoyed the Magnolia Inn Immensely. For us it was worth every penny.)
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