Florida Trail US 331 to Dean Camp

Trail Miles:   973 to 1069

US 331 to Bull Campsite:

Nancy, our trail angel, is fantastic. She serves us dinner and a big breakfast this morning.  She drives the four of us the hour back to the trailhead.   This is all way beyond the call of duty. She even gives Songbird the sunglasses off her face when Songbird realizes she has misplaced her own. Nancy  is a really generous person and a straight talker, which I like. Thank you Nancy!

We find that the trail on Eglin Airforce base is amazing.  It is well maintained and the scenery beautiful.   (Permits are necessary, but they are easy to acquire and free for thru hikers. Call ahead a few weeks ahead of time to get current information.  850-882-4164.  When we hiked thru we had to complete a simple online course before being issued the permit).  When I say well maintained, I mean probably the best maintained part of the whole Florida Trail.   This is a great section of trail through mixed forest and across beautiful, crystal clear creeks.  There are even a few hills to ascend and descend.    Nancy told us her chapter of Florida Trail maintains this section.  Thank you very much. 

Deer moss lines the trail and I remember when we first saw it about 600 miles back.  It still looks odd.  Like a forest full of big, green bubbles.  We wonder if dearfoam slippers got their name from the moss.  (Hiker brain!)

Wild azaleas are blooming and these ones are yellow!  They are a big surprise to us.  We’ve never heard of wild yellow azaleas.    We’re told they are rare by day hikers. 

We see more dogwood and mountain laurel blooming. There are many bushes along the trail.  

We also pass the big, ferocious, magical  Alaqua Dagon.  It’s even labeled on our map app. 

We cross the biggest bridge on the whole Florida Trail.   It’s called Demon Bridge and it is amazing and only recently completed.  Good job!

Drum roll please.....

We also climb the highest peak in Florida.  I know.  It’s incredible. We feel slight dizzy at the altitude of 315 feet.  We have a toast to our accomplishment. 

It’s been a big, full day.    Soon this thru hike will be over.  I’m starting to think about that.  Different memories along the trail hop unbidden to my thoughts as I walk along.  I will have to work hard in the coming days to stay in the present moment. Presently, I hear a gentle snore from Mark and I just hope he doesn’t get the night sweats again tonight.  I’m beginning to think he might have picked up a tick or mosquito disease.  Lord knows, there have been plenty of both. 

Bull Campsite to Pearl Campsite:

I cry today.  I fall again today.   Right on my head somehow. Yep, I don’t enjoy today very much, but the trail is  great.  Another beautiful day on a wonderful trail through scenic  Eglin Airforce Base.  

Nancy, the hostess with the mostest, meets us and gives us trail magic  of doughnuts and Gatorade around lunch.  Thank you Nancy!  We pass the one thousand mile mark too, which is cause for some celebration. 

It’s interpersonal issues between Mark and I that really drag me down.  It happens.  We have differing interests at this stage of our hike.  I want to savor and he wants to get it done as fast as possible. Which might include him scowling when I stop to take a photo.  The poor guy is sick too, so I should just give him a break.  He had another night of sweats last night. I can’t talk him into a doctor visit as he wants to wait until he gets home.  I sadly booked our return flight today.   The end is near.  I guess I gotta put this phone down and just get it done.  First though, I’m going to have a good cry.  Then sleep.  Then put on my big girl pants and hike on.
(We don't recommend Pearl Camp, it had a lot of trash and is very close to a road.)

Pearl Camp to Milligan:

Upon awaking I bring up the relational difficulties of the previous day to Mark. I’m thinking a fresh day might bring more understanding.  It doesn’t.  I find myself raising my voice.  I yell, “stay off my back!”  Awkward moment as Sunset and Songbird hear everything.  I really know how to keep it classy.

When all four of us are sitting around having breakfast,  I just go ahead and talk about the elephant in the room.  What would everyone like from these last miles and has anyone minded that I’m a bit slower?   What would your expect?  Of course they all say, 'lets go slow'.  Even Hawkeye.  They have all seen and heard my complaints.  But these guys know how to keep it classy, unlike myself.  Songbird says she would like to savor these last days and she convincingly says her plantar fasciitis is acting up, so slowing down might be a good idea.  Sunset says we hiked a hard day yesterday, we should all be proud. Then he adds, in his southern drawl, 'We can do 17 miles a day and still be done with the trail on Thursday".  So a plan is born.  

Today is a road walk day and our personal trail angel Nancy has her son meet us and pick up our gear, so we can slack pack.  Big breakfast at McDonald’s and a leisurely, fun stroll through Crestview.  It’s a typical American town with brand name stores and sprawl.  The downtown area is quite cute though.  When we reach a tiny town called Milligan, the weather changes and the temp drops.  Rain drops start to fall and Mark suggests we go to Nancy’s house early and stay warm and rest.  Yes!  Excellent idea.  

Right now, we are sitting around snacking and having a beer while watching a ballgame. Nancy is really helping us in this section.  She is the best of the best!

Milligan to Wild Azalea Camp:

We have so much fun with Nancy and appreciate her hospitality greatly.  She feeds us and plans out our final days and drops us off amidst friendly banter and laughter.  Thank you very much Nancy!  

Weather is once again perfect for hiking.  How can we be so lucky?  It’s not too hot or cold and not a cloud in the sky. The miles alongside the road glide by.  There is plenty of shoulder and we can often walk on a cleared area for the power lines.  We joke around.  Mark tries riding a horse, but it won’t budge.  I guess he needs his spurs. 

In Holt we stop in at the quick stop gas station and find it well stocked and we have an impromptu picnic out back and visit with folks who appear to be homeless.  One of them rides his bike 140 miles a week around the area.  How awesome is that?   He tells us a spray bottle with water keeps the dogs away.  

Soon we hit trail that has recently been part of a control burn.    Burned areas may be a bit yucky to hike through, but it does an excellent job keeping the forests  safe from wildfire. Very soon we enter  green forests again and the acrid smell from the ash is a distant memory.  We discover a poor man’s boardwalk.  It reminds us of the oxen logging paths often called,  corduroy roads. 

Sunset doesn’t remember any of this trail from his previous thru hike and thinks it is all new trail.  We think he might be getting senile. Just kidding.  He’s sharp as a tack and correct, because  soon after we arrive at Wild Azalea camp a very clean young man hikes in and tells us this is indeed all new trail.  His name is FlatTop and he is a local trail angel. 

Wow! This area has great  trail and great  angels!  We jokingly tell him he needs to move down to Clay county so hikers can get some love down there too.  I realize I’ve seen FlatTop and his girlfriend Kelly on the Florida Trail Facebook page.  They have been hosting lots of hikers that go through.  We discover Nancy takes the older ones and they take the younger set.  Somehow we hit the trail angel lottery and providentially get both.  

FlatTop might not have food to share with us but he shares all of his research on ultralight gear.  We had no idea how light one can backpack.  His base weight is less than 5 lbs! Thanks so much for sharing FlatTop. 

Wild Azalea Camp to Dean Camp:

Another day on the Florida Trail dawns clear after a rainy night.  We say goodbye to  FlatTop and head off quickly.  We are already thinking about the Tom Thumb convenience store 6 miles away.  It’s funny how we enjoy eating at convenience stores.  In our other life, we rarely eat there.  

We road walk past old homes and brand new homes.  We think they are Yankee  homes because they have big garages and big fences. It seems like most native Floridians just park there cars  in the driveway or on their yards and they rarely have privacy fences.  

Like hobos we set up behind the convenience store drying out our rain soaked tents and perspiration laden sleeping bags on the short cyclone fence.  We eat.  We rest and then we hike on. 

Open highway lay before us and we have it all to ourselves as the lane is closed.  We cross the Yellow River and soon enter West Eglin Airforce Base and dirt trail once again. 

It’s a nice wooded walk that has some small climbs.  Great trail.  The scent of pine wafts up as the day warms.  My mind rolls back over the 1000 plus miles we’ve hiked so far and my eyes well up.  I’m surprised by this.  I didn’t think I’d be emotional.  Not very long ago, on one of the many road walks, I  secretly hoped some random dog would bite me, so I’d have a good excuse to quit.  Now I’m so happy we didn’t.  

We stop at Weaver Creek to soak our feet and get some water.  Mark gets in and makes creek ‘angels’ and acts silly with some goggles he  found alongside the road earlier. He’s getting kinda strange.  The trail is doing something to his head. 

We meet trail maintainer Brad from the FTA Western Gate branch.  We are very thankful to all the trail maintainers and tell him so.  He shares some of his thru hike story from the spring of last year.  

Dean creek has us loading up with water for the night and before five'clock we are camping at Dean Camp. It is a nice campsite, even without a picnic table. We make a fire and heat our food then Mark, Songbird and I have a ridiculous impromptu dance party; seriously crazy dancing going on.   Sunset looks sort of bemused by our antics, but later shares how blessed he is to call us his friends.  The end is near and we are all getting a little sentimental. 

Miles hiked this section:  96
Total Miles on the Florida Trail: 1069

Lesson Learned:  Bad days come and bad days go.  Just keep walking.
Or as Dora in "Finding Nemo" says,  "Just keep swimming!"