Complete the Ocean to Lake trail and then start again

This morning we packed up early and early into our beautiful room at the Jupiter Coastal Inn. I wish we could have stayed there forever. The room was so nice! In my wildest fantasies, we could have taken the day off and swam in the pool all day. Instead, today we will restart the Ocean to Lake Trail again. Which means that this afternoon we will enter the swamp again. But that’s exactly what we signed up for! Just after 6:00 am we called our Uber and asked it to take us back to a gas station in Hobe Sound. There we reconnected our trail and were able to resume the hike. Before we started walking again, we headed to a 7 eleven and had some breakfast. This 7 eleven had bonus bread and some empanadas and other delicacies. I had an iced coffee and was surprised that the 7 eleven bonus bread was really delicious.

We then had to walk down the road a bit to get through the town of Hobe Sound and back to the sandy trail. It was nice to get off the road and back into the beautiful hills. It also felt good to climb again this morning that little section we had done yesterday afternoon. And the sky lit up so beautifully when the sun came up. It was another slightly cloudy day which I think makes the sunrise and sunset seem even more incredible. We finally left the sandy section of the trail and continued through Jonathan Dickinson State Park. We headed back to this beautiful long boardwalk that I really enjoyed walking along. There were large palm fronds sticking out from the boardwalk. And at the same time the sun peeked beautifully through the trees. It was a really calm and quiet morning on the road.

Glide ahead of me along the Ocean to Lake trail.

Shortly after we were walking through an open field surrounded by palm trees. There were many pine trees stretching into the distance. The surrounding area was incredibly vast. It was around 10:00am at this point and we had covered 9.5 miles during the day. Which is pretty good considering the fact that we didn’t leave the hotel this morning until after 6:00 am AND stopped for breakfast at 7 eleven. All things considered, we weren’t doing too bad. About an hour later we returned to the road. I didn’t mention this area yesterday, but it’s a pretty unique section of trail. The trail continues along a huge concrete barrier towards the road above. Then you end up going under the road and going around to the other side. Today when we were under the concrete structure of the road we sat briefly and enjoyed a rest. We weren’t far from the water under the bridge and I couldn’t help but think how crazy it must be when the water level rises. There were marks in the concrete that led me to believe that the water levels may rise so high that this entire area may be flooded. If this were the case, this area would be totally inaccessible to hikers. Which is hard to imagine but probably very likely. I really don’t know what you would do if that happened.

Heading onto a really nice stretch of boardwalk along the Ocean to Lake Trail.

As we left for Riverbend Park, we ended up turning off to the same gas station as the other day. We went there to have something to eat and drink. I filled my little bear bottle with this delicious coconut milk drink. And I also had some pizza and made a couple of treats to enjoy during the course of the day. Then we walked back to Riverbend Park, which is a really nice park. When we stopped at the gas station earlier, we intentionally didn’t stay or take a break there. We both grabbed some hot food with the plan to take it to Riverbend Park so we could take our break there. In fact, I bought about 7 eleven egg rolls that I was excited to try. I had never heard of those at a 7 eleven, but when I saw they had sweet and sour sauce packets I knew they had to be legit. So we walked to the park and found a nice place to sit and enjoy a break. Then I realized I had been missing out my whole life because 7 eleven egg rolls are delicious! I honestly think I like them better than most egg rolls at Chinese restaurants, which is saying a lot.

Drink a delicious and creamy coconut drink from my little bear bottle.

After enjoying our break, we ended up walking down a dirt road to avoid a section of the swamp we traversed two days ago. This was the section of the marsh that reminded me of Bradwell Bay and it was very deep and very continuous. I think the other day we went through the swamp about five or six miles and that really slowed us down. The worst part is that we could have avoided it entirely by simply walking down the road. We will still have to go through a swampy section of the trail later today and probably tomorrow. But if we can save ourselves a little time and some tedious walks, then I don’t mind at all. Additionally, we will only do the Ocean to Lake tour to earn extra miles. And we’re doing it yo-yo! So I was very excited to take the dirt road around that area of ​​the swamp. The only downside was that the road we were on was very open and exposed and it was a very hot day. I was cooking in the sun and had to keep my umbrella open the whole time.

I’m so glad I was carrying an umbrella. I think for most of the calendar year triple crown it was pretty useless. I didn’t really find myself using it much on the Appalachian Trail. Then I didn’t even use it much on the Pacific Crest Trail because the desert wasn’t that hot when I was passing through. Although when I was on the Continental Divide Trail this year, it rained practically every day. My umbrella was incredibly useful on that section of trail and probably saved me from some dangerously cold and wet conditions. But here on the Florida Trail I think an umbrella is one of the best things you can have. The rain down here is crazy. And it’s also very sunny and exposed most of the time.

Enjoying one last rest as the sun set before continuing into the darkness.

By 5:30 pm today we had covered 30 miles. Which was great! In fact, we were making very good time and hadn’t taken too many breaks. It definitely helped that we avoided that deeper swampy area that slowed us down so much the other day. Around this time we finished the small road detour we were making through the swampy area. And then we ended up walking down this flat dirt road to enjoy one last break before heading back out onto a wet, swampy trail. It was really nice to sit back and enjoy at least one last rest. We knew exactly what to expect, so we’re definitely going to get our feet wet. Really the only question was going to be where we would end up camping for the night. And I guess how far we go during the day. It was still very early, so we enjoyed that break and then continued towards the swamp.

The cutest little tree frog on a branch that stretched out over the trail.

I felt pretty good for the next hour, but as the night progressed, I felt very tired. The trail wasn’t too swampy and Slide was at the front so I didn’t have to worry as much about spiders or things on the other side of the trail. We ended up seeing the cutest little tree frog around 8:00 pm. It was right on top of a branch sticking out of the trail and it was bright green and adorable. His huge eyes are so cute! And shortly after I tripped on something and ended up falling backwards onto my backpack. I came out almost unscathed, but I hit my head on my backpack and the clip I wear in my hair broke. Which is a shame because I use it constantly. But it also hit me really hard on the head and left a small welt. That was a little frustrating and I realized how tired I was because of how much it bothered me. Usually this sort of thing doesn’t frustrate me much and in fact tends to make me laugh. When I find myself impatient and feeling very low, it is usually a big indicator that I am too tired. Learn more about bvhfgg18. We actually only ended up walking for another 5 or 10 minutes after that and found a really nice flat spot to end the night. It wasn’t the best place in the world, but considering the swamp around us, it seemed like our best option.

This was easily one of the cutest animal encounters I’ve had all year.

I set up my tent pretty quickly even though the terrain wasn’t the best for staking. I was so tired I didn’t really care. It was a huge relief to get into my tent and finally lie down. We only did a little over 37 miles today, so it wasn’t our longest day ever. I just think the miles have definitely been adding up for us. At least for me. I can definitely feel the effects of the endless 38 mile days. At this point we are approaching the end of the 10,000 mile year. Today is day 353! Which means that very soon we will be wrapping this up. Understandably, you’re finally starting to feel the exhaustion of it all. I’m glad I stopped a little earlier today and I’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep and reset.

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