Wednesday, February 20th, 2019
As soon as the sun was about to rise, we broke down camp and mentally prepared ourselves for the swampy hike ahead.
We got our feet wet right off the bat, and the trail would take us in and out of swamp water, and up and over blow down for most of the morning.
We’d take the little nature trail to have lunch at Camel Lake campsite.
By noon, we had only hiked 5.3 miles. Pretty sad by our standards. The norm is usually 10-12 miles. Knowing there were more blow downs to slow down our pace through the next stretch of trail, and that we didn’t have enough food to be traveling at that speed through Apalachicola, we briefly took the nearby forest road 105 until it reconnected with the Florida Trail.
Our detour was short, and we were back in the swamp in no time. Fortunately, we’d get the occasional relief from wet feet when the trail took us into long leaf pine forests, and it would alternate between that, marshes and grassy fields.
While passing through, we’d run into our 10th NOBO, a Canadian named Plod. We’d also see a lot of interesting plants, including the carnivorous pitcher plant.
I’d get a scare when I nearly stepped on a Pygmy rattlesnake! Afterwards, I’d get startled by numerous sticks laying on the trail since they all started resembling snakes.
We started passing through a burn section and were a little disappointed that that was where we had planned on camping. We had little choice to do otherwise. We could have backtracked 1 mile or pushed on and risked night hiking, something I’m usually not opposed of when we’re hiking on a trail where everything doesn’t wants to kill you.
We set up, hoping the crisp earth wouldn’t puncture our tent.
19.2 miles (30.9 km)
Jump Ahead to The Florida Trail: Chapter 16
Jump Back to The Florida Trail: Chapter 14
or
Start from The Beginning
Stubbs Rambles On 
I admire your tenacity. I have lived in Florida all my life. My husband suggested we hike the Florida Trail and I flat out refuse. It is too hot, too humid and I have zero desire to walk through swamp water. Plus, other than the beaches and springs I really hate Florida scenery. I’m very much enjoying narration of your trip. We are planning on a thru-hike of the AT in three years but Florida…nah! Lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! I don’t blame you. Most of the hikers out here already have a thru hike under their belt, mostly being the AT. Hiking the Florida Trail in the winter has actually brought on some cold weather. Even colder mornings than some on the AT, surprising enough! If you asked me a year ago if I’d ever hike the Florida Trail, I would have laughed. However it’s been far more beautiful than I expected, especially along the Suwannee River. Thank you so much for following along, and if you ever need to pick my brain regarding your upcoming AT hike, feel free to drop me a line! I love talking about it! 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person