Thursday, February 7th, 2019
We had a great night of sleep at the Surf and Sand Hotel and were ready to get the show on the road!
First thing first, we caloried up at the free breakfast buffet and lingered around long enough to let the fog dwindle away. We prepared ourselves for a long waiting game while trying to get a hitch to Fort Pickens. After wandering around Pensacola Beach the night prior, we realized that the bulk of the people we’d be waving our thumbs at would be vacationers and retirees. The odds were against us! However it only took 2 minutes and a little dance with my trekking pole to catch the eye of a little old lady named Barbara.
Barbara told us she thought we were cute and she was quite adorable herself! She moved to Pensacola 25 years ago from Michigan and “never looked back!” Before dropping us off, she told us to watch out for the weirdos. Little did Barbara know, we are the weirdos! We were more concerned with run ins with “A Florida Man”, Skunk Ape, and water snakes.
Once we tracked down the location of the northern terminus, our journey began!
It started out pretty mellow through a campground.
We listened to the fighter jets flying above us, but they were hidden from sight. Our legs would get sore with the 6 mile stretch along the beach, but the scenery made up for it.
Once the trail led us back into town, we took a lunch break at Sidelines Sports Bar and Grill before the long road walk through large beach rentals and homes in construction.
The trail would take us through sand dunes at the end of the day to Bayview campsite. The mosquitos were awful, so we hid in our tent the rest of the evening listening as paragliders buzzed around, stalking us from above.
15.7 miles (25.3 km)
Jump Ahead to The Florida Trail: Chapter 2
or
See What You Missed
Stubbs Rambles On 