Florida Trail: Day 58
March 4, 2022
Mile: 512.6 to 538.1 (25.5 miles)
Start: Tinsley campsite, Etoniah Creek State Forest
Finish: Cow Creek campsite, somewhere wedged between a highway, neighborhood and cow pasture, Keystone Heights, FL
This morning we had all the best intentions of waking up at 6am but when the alarm went off, our bodies both felt like they could do with another hour of sleep. I’d rather make sure we’re well rested because the lack of sleep during the day translates into lower energy to do big miles. So even though we didn’t start till about 8:30am this morning I was completely fine with it because we were able to be completely rested. We even were able to chow down on some oatmeal straight from the packet (who needs a bowl anyways), joke around a little bit and then head out of our kind of miserable campsite.
We hiked maybe a third of a mile before encountering trail magic at a rare water source at a pond formed by a sinkhole that trapped rainwater in its basin. It is a little scary to judge whether there were alligators or not in the water but we were still pretty good on our drinking water levels as we had carried a little extra from Iron Bridge Shelter. Luckily a local Trail Angel named Tropical Tom had left some Trail Magic on a big oak branch here with three bags of snacks, drinks, first aid items and below the tree some jugs of potable freshwater for hikers. The trail magic was awesome, so unexpected and so appreciated!
I topped off my water from one of the jugs and dug into a bag containing sodas, bananas, candy and sweet snacks. We took some peanut M&Ms with us as our mouths started watering while holding the box of the candy in our grubby hands. Shannon and I each packed out a can of soda and a banana before zipping the bags back up thanking the Trail Gods and the Trail Angels for our great fortune of finding these snacks this morning.
Next we had a lovely 8.5 mile road walk along busy country highways. Luckily there was a big shoulder on the side of the road for us to use instead of being shoved into a ditch or someone’s front yard to avoid being run over as we’ve seen in previous road walks. There were lots of interesting and “friendly” signs posted in people’s yards ranging from your typical “No Trespassing” to the more direct silhouette of a human head riddled with bullet holes and hand painted lettering describing how good of an aim the owner was with his guns. The place looked like a junkyard but I believe it was actually a trailer home with a bunch of broken down vehicles and machinery. I wanted to take a picture but was scared to linger too long outside the place which just radiated with crazy vibes.
Fortunately for us the last 2 miles of our road walk were on a dirt road which was a welcome relief on our joints and feet. We hiked into the borders of Gold Head Branch State Park and at their recreation area traipsed past a beautiful pond shimmering in the late morning light. There was a designated swimming area roped off with buoys next to a sandy beach that looked very tempting to dip in. However there were several signs posted on the beach warning about alligators in the area. I’m not sure why anyone would swim here and certainly I don’t plan on ever swimming in a lake or a pond in Florida but good on those few brave souls. Who knows how many alligators have claimed the lives or limbs of park goers here? All I knew was that I wasn’t going to add to the tally.
Anyways the area was gorgeous with flowing curtains of Spanish moss fluttering in the breeze, the sparkling lake and neatly trimmed shaded lawn. The Florida Trail took us up a set of cement stairs and a weird rolling sidewalk that would’ve been really fun to bike down but additional signs were posted specifically calling out “No biking or skateboarding.” What was even the point of the weird sidewalk? We found some shaded picnic tables to sit on around the back of an event center building where we were able to plug in our electronics to charge. How fancy to be able to charge your phone directly on the Florida Trail!
Despite it being only around 11am, we decided this would be a logical stopping point for lunch as we had a water source, shade, outlets and even bathrooms. The restrooms were surprisingly nice, cool and clean and we collected water from their sinks while lingering for a while in the chilly indoor temperatures. Our lunch consisted of an appetizer of trail magic peanut M&Ms and Coca-Cola which by the way has 75% of your daily sugar intake in a single can – I had no idea it was that bad for you! We balanced the sweetness out with savory protein with me rehydrating some Soy Curls which are kind of like dehydrated tofu. I’m trying to make sure my diet on trail isn’t completely terrible and was experimenting to see if I actually like the alternative meat substitute. I added a little Cajun spice mix so the Soy Curls didn’t taste like slurping long strands of boogery cardboard and it was fairly tasty but afterwards they made my stomach hurt so I guess it’s going to be a no-go for me on these. Shannon made the Cracked Pepper flavor of Right Rice and we sat for a while trying to make sure we didn’t let the time slip away but somehow almost 2 hours passed while we sat at lunch and enjoyed the shade. Aiiie!
During lunch we called Shannon’s sister Mel and brother-in-law Nick who just had a baby girl Hattie a few days ago. Mel was able to talk for a bit while her doggy Skyler howled in the background every time that the baby cried. I’m not sure if their mini Husky is being over protective or is jealous of the baby or maybe a combo of both. He rarely howls but ever since they brought the baby home he has been howling like clockwork every time the baby cries. It was fun chatting and glad we were able to check in with them and that they’re all doing great.
All of a sudden it was 1pm and we knew we had to get going or the miles wouldn’t get done and we’d be stuck in Florida forever. With the afternoon in full swing we hiked around through some ancient Live Oak trees and into the woods where we followed an interpretive trail with signs posted about different plants, animals and geology. The fallen oak leaves were crunchy underfoot and we slid and tromped our way through the somewhat shaded forest with the dappled light providing a little relief from the sun. Soon we were spit out onto sandy pine hills which meant no respite from the heat and the crossing was dry, dusty and hot.
The official entrance to Gold Head Branch State Park lay a little bit east of the crossing of the Florida Trail and previous hikers had said recently the state park employees will come out of their booth and try to chase you down for money for walking through the park. We were feeling some Hiker Trash vibes this afternoon and being on the cheap side decided we didn’t really feel like getting hustled and shook down for money. What other choice did we have but to walk through the park? The official Florida Trail literally goes through the recreation area.
Luckily our Hiker Trash prayers were answered. Just as we loomed on the edge of the woods before the State Park Office, a large truck pulled up to the entrance. The truck distracted the park ranger from seeing us and we crossed out of sight of the office door behind the building before sneaking back into the forest.
In the afternoon we trekked around a huge mining operation with a beautiful teal lagoon surrounded by mini mountains of gravel and sand. According to our navigation app, some of the local ponds and lakes have dried up because of these mining operations cracking into the water table. We left behind the sand mines and crossed onto a bike path next to a busy highway before traversing to the entrance of Camp Blanding Air Force Base was open or not. The Florida Trail Association has arranged a land easement through the Air Force Base but you have to first check if the area is actually open to the public or if the military is using the area for missions. Next you are required to sign some permits in order to enter and exit the base. There is no camping allowed out here on the base although there are some gorgeous lakes and shady spots that would make for amazing campsites.
In the 1940s Camp Blanding was the 4th largest city in Florida with over 1 million military personnel coming through for basic training for World War II. Today it is quite empty, used occasionally for military operations. When you’re on base you’re also not supposed to touch any bombs or ordinances you come across because they might still be live and you’re supposed to report them to a special hotline. Sadly we didn’t see any munitions on the trail so that was fortunate but it doesn’t mean that they’re not there. We were just extra careful where we went to the bathroom, checking the ground and leaves beneath our feet as we left the path.
Later on during our Florida Trail hike we met a guy who grew up in this area and told us about exploring the Air Force Base. When the guy and his buddies were younger they would go wandering onto Camp Blanding to see what kind of cool items they could find leftover from when the base was used for missions training in WWII. They took all sorts of military memorabilia from the 1940s from old bullets, helmets, canteens and potentially some unexploded bombs. He said he still has all of the items from his Camp Blanding scavenger hunt in his garage and after we left him laughed nervously, hoping that this guy’s kids or grandkids didn’t get into his shakily procured military mementos. “Hey granddad what’s this?” as a WWII grenade rolls off the shelf and explodes. Oh well – you can’t fix stupid.
Hiking through Camp Blanding added a few extra miles onto the Florida Trail as if you wanted go straight on the bike path for 2 miles you’d reach the same point much faster instead of doing the 6 trail miles through the woods of Camp Blanding. We’re glad we hiked the Florida Trail instead of cutting down the bike path because the past few days the trail has of been kind of blah with a lot of boring road walks, trekking through neighborhoods and stuff like that. At one point we stopped at the north side of beautiful Magnolia Lake where the water was shallow, clear and delicious. The trail opened up in a shady moss covered refuge where we stopped for a few minutes to rest during the hottest part of the day. I scooped some fresh clean water from the shallows to filter for drinking water. The cool water was refreshing on my hands and tiny silvery fish darted amongst the reeds. The lake was so clear that it was very tempting to go for a quick swim in it but I had to remind myself that we’re still in Florida and this lake is probably filled with alligators. Shannon and I sat for a moment to rest during the heat of the day on our foam sit pads, letting our bodies cool down and feet rest. As I sat filtering water and snacking, I didn’t realize that Shannon had fallen asleep because it looked like he was reading on his phone with his sunglasses on. I guess I woke him up when I started talking to him which he was a little bit grumpy about but I guess I’ll blame that on him being feistier in his advanced age (he’s only a few years older than me). Teehee!
Anyways we still had a decent amount of mileage to go so we popped in some audiobooks and headed around the lake, wishing wistfully that we could camp here with how beautiful the Air Force Base campsites were. Unfortunately the campsite that we had to look forward to staying at tonight looks to be a tiny plot of land on a small easement of public property next to the cow pasture where you can’t drink the water as so much cow sh*t flows down from the farm and into the creek. Hiking beggars can’t be choosers I guess.
We circled around the south side of Magnolia Lake which used to be one of four segregated parks in Florida set aside for Black people up that was segregated until the 1970s (what the actual f**k… segregation legally ended in the US in 1964). White people had their own park at the Gold Head Branch where we hiked through this morning. I didn’t realize that white people tried to segregate nature or that segregated parks were a thing and I’m sure as hell glad it’s not a thing anymore. The park eventually closed down in the 1970s and later was reused as the set for the action hero movie G.I. Jane starring Demi Moore. It was cool to be able to visit the area with all of its history. Some of the dilapidated houses used for the movie were creepy and we weren’t quite sure if we were alone out here. The view of the lake and remnants of the old park were idyllic but we couldn’t linger as we still had miles to go. Plus with each lengthening moment it became more and more tempting to camp next to the beautiful water but that was supposed to be illegal. With the amount of old permits stuffed into the Camp Blanding entrance permit box, it had been tough to even fit our two permits inside and seemed to indicate that the permit box was rarely checked by anyone.
We left Camp Blanding and instead of heading into the town of Keystone Heights where the Florida Trail used to go and there are lots of food options for resupply, we took the new FT route which one hiker called, “Le Tour de Trailer Park.” The orange blazes led through neighborhoods via dirt roads where dogs came out and barked at us and residents looked at our backpacks with funny scrutinizing glances. Luckily the only dog that chased us was just a single fluffy white teddy bear whose trailer trash owners watched us and didn’t even attempt to stop their ankle biter from running at us. The little bastard ran off after we poked our hiking poles at it.
The other dogs that tried to chase us on “Le Tour de Trailer Park” were two small dachshunds whose owner had them off leash in his front yard. A car was coming towards us on the road but the dachshunds were so preoccupied with chasing after us and they were so tiny that they probably couldn’t see it. The two dogs ran after us not knowing what we were and almost shot out into the road under the wheels of the car. I stopped the car by putting out my hands while the dogs’ owner came rushing over to grab his pets out of harm’s way. The owner was very grateful and thanked us for saving his dachshunds and then asked if we needed anything. We replied back that it was very kind of him for the offer but we were okay. I was so tired that I almost replied that we’d take a shower, a place to sleep, a hot meal and fresh water but I didn’t. He took a dachshund in each arm before repeating thanks for saving his dogs and we moved on.
Around the corner a couple of golden retrievers came dashing out into the road to chase us and we weren’t sure if they were stupid enough to get run over by a car or not. One of the dogs almost did get run over but decided against chasing us returning back into his yard. It’s funny that these people just let their purebred animals which can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars run wild with no leashes or fences seemingly not caring if they get run over by a car or truck. Earlier on our journey through trailer park land, we saw a black vulture eating something gray out of the middle of the road. It turns out it was a freshly run over fluffy purebred cat, the kind that looks like the fluffy one on the cat food cans and cost upwards of $2,000 from a breeder. It kind of seemed like people were just throwing away money with letting their pets run wild.
After passing a few trailers we hiked through rolling hills and farmland with owls hooting and horses grazing and stuff like that. There was a kind of sketchy section around the lake where there was no sidewalk and the cars zoomed real fast. The properties looked really nice and nearby Crystal Lake appeared to be a nice place to have a house except that there were at least 50 alligators that probably lived there.
As the sun set, we finally left the neighborhood and trekked down the road to the Sunoco gas station which was a critical stop for Florida Trail hikers because there wasn’t much potable water in this area so we had to stop to fill up our water bladders. When I walked into the gas station the owner was very friendly and asked if I was hiking the Florida Trail so I shook my head yes. He pointed out where the bathroom is and commented that it was kind of late in the day for us to come through here as it was now almost completely dark out. I told him that we’d had a long day but was excited to be here. The owner told us where to get water and even offered to fill up our water from the soda machines but the trickle took too long so we collected water from out front at one of the spigots.
When I was shopping around for snacks, a couple of very curious locals asked if we belonged to some hiking group. One asked what we were doing out walking with packs and one guy with cracked glasses asked if we were going to the fish fry. I asked him to clarify what fish fry he was talking about and he gasped in disbelief that we didn’t know about the local fish fry. Hmm… we literally just showed up 5 minutes ago buddy. Broken glasses guy pointed out to some street light in the dark and said it was just over yonder. Not wanting to get asked another question I pretended to see what he was talking about and said that maybe we would check it out. It turns the fish fry was for Lent or Easter where $10 would get you a homecooked meal at one of the churches. Honestly it sounded very tempting to stop in but we were exhausted and with my stupid gluten allergy, fried fish usually is fried in wheat flour so I likely wouldn’t have been able to eat it. Lame.
Anyways, we hiked past the bumpin’ fish fry and out to the main highway where dozens of cars zoomed by nonstop. We had to wait a little bit in the dark to make sure it was safe to cross in between headlights before ducking into this little bitty piece of land that was a public easement that the Florida Trail Association had set aside for hikers. It was very thick in the brush and we scared up what might have been a bear or deer as we hiked on in the dark. The tangled mess of forest opened up into a cow pasture, part of which was mowed and thankfully we were able to find lots of flat spaces to set a tent up for the night.
Shannon ran off into the forest to take care of what he referred to as “an unexploded ordinance” while I cooked some mashed potatoes and helped get the tent fixed up for the evening. After he returned from his bathroom excursions, we ate lukewarm instant mashed potatoes and garbage gas station food like gummy bears and spicy potato chips followed up by a banana and some electrolyte drink mix. Then the orange thumbnail of the moon set to the west and we became very sleepy even with the loud highway noises in the background. Shannon hung up our food bags and jumped into the tent after a long day. We both passed out knowing tomorrow we’d have to do another big day but we were okay with it as maybe we’d be able to hike through terrain that wasn’t a road or a neighborhood again.