Late night pranks at gas stations

Last night I was exhausted when we walked into the room. It’s crazy to think that was just the first day of big mileage with about six more weeks in store for us. I was pretty tired when I got up this morning and packed up the room. But we were still leaving the motel just as the sun was rising. We’re hoping to cover about 40 miles today, so we definitely couldn’t sleep in. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to sleep again until this is over.

Once we left the Days Inn in Navarre Beach, we continued the journey walking through the town. I then stopped at a gas station to hopefully have breakfast and coffee. I had coffee and ice cream and then we continued walking down the path. In which we stayed perhaps an hour or so. Throughout the day we would do a combination of walking along trails and roads. But most of the day we will spend in the forest, which should be nice. Honestly, the best part for me is being out of direct sunlight. That can be one of the hardest parts of walking on the road.

It felt great to get back into the woods and feel like I was on the Florida trail again. We had to climb a couple small hills, but otherwise the Florida Trail is really flat. It’s so flat that when you have to climb 10 to 50 feet, it seems like a lot. Because you don’t expect to do anything at all. From time to time we stopped to take a short break or to drink water. Time passed quickly as we walked along the pretty pine-covered path. There was also plenty of boardwalking along the trail in the section. The Florida Trail is absolutely covered in them.

We finally reached a section of trail that I remembered vividly. We crossed an old road and I had a lightbulb moment. Then I looked to my side and saw what I expected, a boat in the middle of nowhere! I remember passing by here in 2023 when I was hiking with Beer Run. It’s really fun to see a boat stranded in the middle of the forest. My only guess is that maybe it got here when there was some kind of flood. Or when the road was more accessible, someone drove it and left it there. Now it is full of all kinds of garbage.

The “stranded” ship.

The trail crossed a main road at least one more time in the early afternoon. Then sometime in the afternoon we finally hit the road and had to walk a bit. For the most part we had a large shoulder or there was even a section where there was a separate walking path along a bridge. I guess it would have been a pretty sketchy bridge to the crossing otherwise. I felt great and the temperature was pretty perfect. The day passed pleasantly and calmly, just as I like and would have expected.

Around this time, we had also realized that we were probably going to be able to wait in line past a gas station right at the end of the day. In the afternoon we will hit the road and pass a gas station a little less than 40 miles into the day. So hopefully we can camp somewhere nearby after dinner and drinks. Finding that out definitely excited me and filled me with some energy. Going to a gas station is the absolutely perfect way to end a 40 mile day. The only thing better would be to end it in a bed.

The cutest little trail marker I have ever seen!

By 1pm we were already 20 miles into the day. Which meant we were having a great time and it wasn’t going to be a late night. That’s one of the main advantages of starting early. I had an amazing routine for most of this year. For months, I started very early in the day and did my best not to take too many breaks. Which meant I could often get into town early, do longer days so I could enjoy shorter days, and things like that. Everything seemed to work very well. Then, towards the end of the year, I couldn’t stand it as well. I started staying in the city a little later in the mornings. Then I would end up having to walk later in the evening. That became a cycle that messed up my schedule a bit. It’s good to have a slightly better schedule again.

Slide forward along the path.

When we were halfway through the day, we stopped and enjoyed another break. Then for the next few hours we just pushed and got good mileage. That part of the day passed in the blink of an eye. Before I knew it it was already 4 in the afternoon and it seemed that at any moment the sun would set. Around this time we passed the junction where the Black Water Trail and the Florida Trail connect. The Blackwater Trail is the trail that connects the Alabama Trail to the Florida Trail. It is a section of the Eastern Continental Trail. If you are following the standard Eastern Continental Trail route, you will connect directly from the Blackwater Trail to the Florida Trail. Which would mean you’ll miss the 56 miles north along the Florida Trail, where the northern terminus is marked in Pensacola. When I was here in 2023, we went to Pensacola and then were driven back to a nearby area so we could reconnect at the junction of the Blackwater Trail and the Florida Trail.

Today, we just passed the junction and continued south on the Florida Trail. When I was hiking the Florida Trail earlier this year, I didn’t actually make it that far west. Somewhere around St Marks, Punisher and I continued north, rather than west, towards Pensacola. This had us going up towards Tallahassee and then continuing north into Alabama from there. That route saved me a lot of time and energy, which in the grand scheme of things really saved my butt this year. Which is kind of funny to think about, because now I’m back here doing it all over again anyway.

Crossing a bridge over this great river.

We enjoyed another hour or two of light before the sun finally set. The trail was really nice and easy to follow and was also wide and covered in pine needles. At least that made those last few hours of the day pleasant as we continued into the night. Over the next few hours, we would stop once again for one last rest. Then we simply pushed until we got to the road that we would follow to the gas station. There will also be quite a bit of road walking in general tomorrow, which should be enjoyable and make the day pretty easy. Walking on the road is very hard on the body in some ways. And in other ways, it can be incredibly easy. If you have service, you can occupy your time using your phone. Which really helps the time fly by. I think on the Florida Trail the ideal trail condition is a wide, flat forest section covered in pine trees or dirt. Walking on the road is hot and exposed and you have to worry about the people around you. Some sections of trail on the Florida Trail may be overgrown or flooded. But the best case scenario would be a dry, flat trail with no obstacles.

The junction of the Blackwater Connector and the Florida Trail.

It was around 8:30-9pm when we finally got to the gas station. We both went in and I had some drinks, snacks and a pint of ice cream for dinner. They had pizza there and some other food, but nothing that I was looking forward to. Then I sat on the bench in front of the store and ate all that ice cream. We both sat there for a while before we realized there was a guy in the car right in front who had passed out. That became quite a spectacle.

Glide forward walking through the pine forest. Just before the sun set.

There was a bench we were sitting on that was directly in front of the gas pumps. And apparently this guy had pulled into the pumping area and parked his car. His car was still at the pump, but he was behind the wheel, completely asleep. We’re talking about knocked out. Once we realized it, it was hard not to look at it. And finally, other people came to the gas station and realized it too. Finally, someone working inside came out and told the guy he had to move his car. But I thought they probably should have let him stay there since he was probably drunk. Who knows, maybe he was just exhausted. You never really know the whole story.

We sat at the gas station for a while and then finally continued looking for a place to camp. We simply continued along the path heading towards some kind of park. I made a joke about how I was manifesting some sort of picnic area. And when we arrived at the park area we were pleasantly surprised to find that. There was a very nice covered pavilion with picnic tables. The floor was cement, which was super nice. So we just set up our air mattresses right there under the shelter cover. It is always very nice to be able to configure access to a table. Being able to place all your things on top is a delight. Then, you’ll also have a nice little bench next to you to leave your things on overnight.

There were some adorable cats outside the gas station.

Today was another long day and a little over 40 miles. Once we reached the pavilion, I located my camp. Then he ate something before going to bed. But I didn’t really have the energy to write or work on video. When I got here a couple of days ago, I made the decision to delay my editing a bit. I enjoyed being stuck in real time with my videos and blogs for most of the year. But I think it will be nice to give myself a break for the first time in over 11 months. And it would also be nice if my videos suffered a slight delay. With the big miles we’re doing, it’s not going to be very convenient to meet a lot of people or necessarily have a lot of magic on the trails or anything like that. I think it would be a little helpful to delay posting just so we can stay more on track. Plus, I swear I got a lifetime of trail magic this year. I am sure that we will still have many interesting encounters and meet amazing people and familiar faces. That’s all part of the adventure.

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