This morning we woke up very early at our tent site. It’s always a pleasure to pack with a picnic table nearby! You can put your things on the table and use them to organize yourself while you get situated. Once we were both fully packed, we sat at the table for a while before getting started. I really love how we have these nice “slow” starts to the day. We wake up early, pack quickly, but always take a little time to start the day. That’s one of the things I really enjoy about walking together, and something I probably wouldn’t do if I were walking alone. Then we returned to the wide grassy path we had walked the night before. This time heading south again, returning to the place we had come from before. Last night we briefly drove north to get to the campsite and add the extra mileage. Today we return to our usual activities heading south.
The sunrise reflecting on the water as we walked along the seawall through St Marks Wildlife Refuge.
It was nice to start the day walking along the wide grassy path. And if I remember correctly, we would walk on such a road for most of the day! The next section is one of my favorites along the Florida Trail. We spent the morning continuing through St Marks Wildlife Refuge. The first thing in the morning we were walking in the dark and finally the sun came out. The timing was perfect, just as we emerged from the forest and onto the grassy dike, the sun was beginning to rise. The dam followed waterways on both sides and the views of the sun rising and reflecting on the water were stunning. The walk was easy and pointless along the wide grassy path. I didn’t have to look where I was going and instead was able to enjoy the exceptional views for the next hour or so.
We were in the absolutely perfect spot to watch the sun rise this morning.
Between 7:30 and 8am, the sun was fully up and we had to stop to shed some of our layers. That’s been the morning routine lately, as the days started out nice and cool, but when the sun fully comes out it gets very hot. The road ran along what I can only imagine was an extension of the San Marcos River. Although I can’t really say for sure. As we walked we ran into an older man heading in the same direction. He was very excited to see some Florida Trail hikers and ended up walking alongside us for a while. He was walking with this really cool bamboo cane that he made himself. Apparently, a while back he had run into another Florida Trail hiker who didn’t have trekking poles and had been having trouble in the swampy areas along the trail. Then this man gave him the bamboo staff he had been using at that time. What a nice gesture! He walked beside us for a minute or two, but our pace was too fast. And unfortunately we are in no position to slow down and take our time right now. Every day is a long day no matter how fast we go.
Bundle up this morning because it was very cold!
The trail continued along the grassy dike for a while before reaching a slightly more wooded area. Finally we took a sharp turn and came out onto a dirt road. Slowly, but surely, I step out onto the sidewalk once more. We stopped for a short break next to a bridge to drink some water. Then I sat on the bridge wall for a minute to make an instant breakfast carnation coffee in my water bottle. While we were there, I also took off a few more layers. I had left something on this morning because it was still a little colder. From there we continued along the dirt road and finally came out onto this huge boardwalk. We even ran into a couple more hikers who had walked in from the nearby trailhead. It’s a great surprise to see people here! Hikes south on the Florida Trail tend to be incredibly quiet, especially in November and December. Most hikers hike the Florida Trail north in January and February.
The views just kept getting better and better as we made our way along the dam.
Around noon we left the forest and emerged onto a paved road. I had very vivid memories of being here at the beginning of the year. When Punisher and I were here before, this is where we turned off the Florida Trail and started heading north towards Tallahassee. In January we saved the extra miles of continuing west towards St Marks and eventually Pensacola. Instead, we continued on a more direct course north to reach Alabama faster. Which worked great at the time and everything ended up working out. It’s funny though, at that time I never expected to be back here in Florida. I would have literally bet a huge sum of money that I would never do the Florida Trail again, or at least not anytime soon. But at this point I really should know not to make assumptions like that about myself. I swear, I always end up rehiking a section of trail or an entire trail that I swore I would never do. But hiking the Florida Trail twice in 2025 during the border-to-border calendar year Triple Crown certainly wasn’t something I expected.
Slide ahead of me on the dike.
Once we were on the road, we would continue on the sidewalk for at least the next two hours. In previous years this route would have taken us past a lovely little shop called JR’s. A place I camped in 2023 and then stopped briefly earlier this year to get some food and resupply. If I remember correctly, we had some delicious hot dogs at JR’s this January. But the business has since been sold and is now called “Big Red’s.” But it’s still not open since the renovations were done. Which is a shame for us currently, but it looks like the place will be great for hikers in the future. It has been completely renovated and is really beautiful. It would be great if they improved the place and had the kitchen up and running in the future. Although it’s hard to imagine that the new owner will allow hikers to camp near the building or even in the side building like before. It would be great if these new owners continued to operate in a hiker-friendly manner.
The bear is always happy when he is full of coffee!
Although the store was visibly closed, we still walked over to see if we could get some water from an outside tap. But unfortunately there was no one around that was on. Once we passed through there, we continued moving along the road. And although we couldn’t get a drink or anything in the store, we weren’t unlucky! Just before we passed Big Red’s we found a brand new, sealed bottle of cranberry juice on the side of the road. It had clearly fallen out of the bed of someone’s truck or their car somehow. Because the bottle was scratched but it was perfectly sealed. The two of us shared that little bottle of juice as we walked down the road. What a fun surprise! The phrase “the path offers” truly never ceases to amaze me. It certainly does.
The shaved bottle of cranberry juice we found on the side of the road. However, it was totally sealed and was a wonderful little surprise!
As we walked along the road we passed over the Aucilla River. The Aucilla River section of the trail ahead is really pretty. It should be a lovely last part of the day once we’re walking alongside it again. Our walk along the road continued for the next few hours and was quite monotonous. However, sometime around 3pm we would pull off the road and head back into the woods. However, the next section of the trail was a bit silly. It was quite overgrown in some sections and felt a bit tedious. Especially since there was a dirt road that the trail repeatedly crossed back and forth. But road trips are always shortcuts! And we’re definitely not trying to cut mileage. So, we zigzagged back and forth across the road and stayed on the trail. After about an hour we began to follow more closely along the Aucilla River.
The trail followed this long boardwalk for a while. The Florida Trail has many interesting bridges and walkways.
Later that day, Slide took a look at the mileage so we could determine where we would end our day. Later in the afternoon we were going on a long road walk. There wouldn’t be many camping options once we passed through a more residential area. It seemed to make a little more sense for us to do one of our favorite things: round trip! Sometime after dark we walked through a really nice flat area that looked perfect for camping. We then decided to walk for an hour or so and then just turn around. That way we could camp in a nice flat spot, but also cover a few extra miles during the day. By this point in the day I was feeling very tired and pretty ready to be done. Plus, it started to get really cold outside! I took out a cape and put it on. But then the temperature dropped even more drastically and very quickly. I was very cold and uncomfortable. However, it seemed like the best idea was to keep moving. I knew that if I stopped to layer up I would feel even more uncomfortable.
Honestly, that last hour of the day was pretty tough. I was the most uncomfortable cold I had been since I can remember. The temperature was much warmer when we were in the forest. But once we hit the road it was brutally cold! Luckily, we made it back pretty quickly and started heading back into the forest once again. And after a very unpleasant 20-30 minutes I started to warm up once again. We then walked for another half hour and returned to the large flat spot we had passed earlier in the afternoon. It was the perfect place to set up camp. We both got situated quickly. It felt so good to bundle up! Then I went into my tent, did my stretches quickly, and headed to bed. Let’s hope that tomorrow morning when we set off it won’t be as cold as this afternoon!
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