Earlier this year I hiked 45 miles of the Florida Trail. I have been eager to backpack longer distances now that the weather has finally cooled down here in Florida. I decided to repeat what I did before but in reverse then add additional miles. The “plan” was to go 90 miles but after talking to two hikers on the trail, I chickened out on the last section due to heavy storm damage from Debby, Helene, and Milton hurricanes in the final section that have altered the trail. It was questionable whether the whole section was open. Even in the section that I hiked, there were lots of trees down with root balls to be stepped around and fallen trees going everywhere.
There was evidence of LOTS of work by volunteers in clearing the trail.
I ended up hiking ~60 miles over 4 days. Osceola National Forest was much better than last time. A major portion of the trails were flooded at that time including a long section up to my butt. This time is was almost completely dry except a couple of small sections. While there was still mud in some areas, I could walk the edges to stay dry. Some of the previous flooded trail was now soft moss that was pretty nice on the feet!
Love that I saw these pitcher plants. They are carnivorous like Venus flytraps.
The rest of the hike was either along the Suwanee River or just inland.
Had to laugh about several of the creek crossings. The app of the trail suggests walking on the log to stay dry. Because I’m a gymnast who has trained to balance with a heavy backpack. I’d rather get wet then slip, especially while solo hiking.
John picked me up at Graffiti Bridge (Suwanee River Bridge). It’s an old bridge that people come from all over to take pictures and/or spray paint the bridge. It was remarkably PG rated with most of the graffiti about who loves whom or what school was the best. Apparently it is famous with bikers who bring there bikes there for a photo shoot. There were 3 different bikers there taking pictures while I visited and one took this picture of me.
The worst part was that last morning that got down to 24 F. Sleeping wasn’t that bad (I bought a new sleeping bag that is designed for those temperatures), but packing up and hiking in the morning was rough. I couldn’t carry a big coat so I wore everything I had plus wore socks as mittens. There was a frost for a few hours until it warmed up. Did you know tents are heavier with frost?!
The whole hike was like an expensive resort with a silent retreat (I only met 4 people on the trail the whole time). I practiced mindfulness as I focused on the present moment to find the next blaze and watch every step so I didn’t trip on a root or branch. Instead of yoga, I stretched by taking ridiculously high steps climbing down and then back up every tributary along the Suwannee River. Like a fitness camp, I lifted weights by carrying my backpack the whole distance. What a deal!
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