Monday, February 25th, 2019
A chill was in the air as we packed up and started making our way to the town of Saint Marks. We’d walk under huge palm trees, a change in scenery from the tall pines we’ve been passing under for quite some time.
We’d also travel across a few bog bridges and along forest roads before crossing the Wakulla River.
We would be following the bike trail the rest of the way into Saint Marks.
The first thing we wanted to get out of the way was resupplying at the old Bo Lynn’s grocery. After ditching my pack out front, I was stopped by a woman who had a number of questions for me about the Florida Trail and how my hike was going so far. We chit chatted for a bit, and she suggested I eat lunch across the street at her local favorite, Cooter Stew Cafe.
We would take her advice, but only after resupplying and meeting the cute little old lady, Miss Joy, who’s owned Bo Lynn’s for about 40 years (I’m pretty sure longer than that, but I can’t recall exactly how long she said). At Cooter Stew Cafe, Frisbee got a bacon cheeseburger and I ordered the brisket sandwich. We talked a little with the owner about the trail and when we finished eating, the waitress said our meal was already paid for! How awesome is that? I’m pretty sure it was the lady I was chatting up a storm with, but we’ll never know for sure. We were still hungry so we ordered a second round of food!
When we first got to town, we noticed that there was a large waterway, the Saint Marks River to be exact, separating us from the rest of the trail. Remember when I mentioned that we didn’t prepare or plan ahead for the Florida Trail and that it’s been messing with our daily mileage? Well our poor planning strikes again!
A local and self professed adventurer told us there wouldn’t be much boat traffic to flag down that day to help get us across, but he gave us directions to a place called Shell Island Fish Camp where they provided a ride across the river for a fee. We got to stepping.
The fee for a ride was $25, but they would give a free ride if you stayed there for the night. Tenting was $10, so we cut our day short and spent the rest of it relaxing. We were bummed that we weren’t hiking, but our stay there was nice.
13.2 miles (21.2 km)
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Stubbs Rambles On 