Spend the night in a nice Bed & Breakfast

This morning we woke up very early in our small wooden shelter. Last night I slept like a baby! It was great to be able to pack so comfortably on the wooden floor. Then we leave the camping area and return to the trail. The trail was a little overgrown and we had to find it again a couple of times. But it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The sun was just beginning to rise as we made our way through the forest, which lit up in bright shades of pink.

Our route took us across a small suspension bridge. It was covered in leaves due to the lack of foot traffic. This area has been quite abandoned in recent years. When I passed through here in 2023 going south we walked for a long time on the damaged trail. The difference between regular purges and Florida Trail purges is the presence of brambles and other plants. The trail becomes a tangled mess that is physically difficult to maneuver. At the 23 minute mark, Beer Run and I were walking together along the start of the Suwanne River section and dealing with the most damaged and “impassable” trail I have ever seen. We managed a slow 5-8 mile hike and ended up camping near the river. The next day we were able to go out on dirt roads to walk around the area.

The sky was really beautiful this morning after we had been walking for about an hour.

That meant that in 2023 I didn’t even go down to the nice riverside campsite we stayed at last night. It just wasn’t worth fighting through the endless trees and debris. This time we decided to take a chance and hope that particular area wasn’t as bad as others. There was enough feedback on Far Out for us to know that about 50 miles of the Florida Trail in the Suwannee River area were incredibly damaged and moving slowly. Many hikers reported their speed was reduced to 1 mph. I think we did well by circling most of that trail and then heading back towards the end. Because after today’s morning ended, the trail conditions completely improved and were calmer.

The deep, dark Suwannee River. This area seemed quite shallow. Water levels have been low this time here in Florida. We have been very lucky so far.

We passed a cool cabin right next to the trail as we headed back to the Suwannee River. It would be great to have a cabin by the Suwannee River! I guess you could only get there by canoe now. Maybe there is a road somewhere nearby and you would just have to walk a little. Or maybe some people are actually driving the wild, overgrown grassy roads that run through this area. The morning flew by as we continued through such beautiful terrain. And late in the morning we hit the roads we would follow for the rest of the day.

I vividly remember this section of the trail because of the weather I encountered here in 2023. I walked along paths around the damaged forest and those paths took me to a large gas station travel center. The same gas station that Slide and I were approaching today around noon. When I was here in the 23rd minute it was raining heavily and it had been raining all day. The hiker I was with and I were incredibly cold and soaked. We went in, grabbed some food and warmed ourselves up. But we were thinking of so many possibilities to get out of there and get to the next town. Both knowing we could come back the next day and calculate the mileage. But we couldn’t get transportation because it was a very dark place.

For the first part of the day we were still on the road in a wooded area. But eventually it turned more towards a grass track and we finally emerged onto a road.

Today, as we approached the gas station around noon, our circumstances couldn’t have been more different. The weather was great and we finally hiked back on an easy trail and away from the hurricane damaged trail. All we had ahead of us was a nice rest of the day and Wendy’s lunch in the near future. The timing couldn’t have been better to pull into the gas station in time for lunch. At that moment I was quite hungry. We ordered food and sat inside which was really nice. Then I walked next to the connected gas station to grab a couple of things. I wanted to grab a few things during the next leg to White Springs, FL. And maybe a couple of things to snack on.

When we left the gas station it still felt nice and early. We would arrive in White Springs early in the afternoon, although we would be a little short on mileage for the day. There is a fantastic little Bed & Breakfast in White Springs that, in my opinion, is not to be missed. You have to stop there if you are hiking the Florida Trail! So even if the mileage doesn’t line up perfectly, we’ll still make it work. We’ll just leave some of our stuff in town and then head out and walk another 3 miles or so. Then return to White Springs and return to the bed and breakfast for the night.

Dirt road walking with a water bottle full of electrolytes.

After leaving the gas station we walked for a while along the busy paved road. That road had a lot of fast traffic and was definitely not my favorite. But after a while we returned to a nice dirt road that we would be on for most of the afternoon. There were even a couple of cute dogs that ran up to us to greet us. They were very kind and I was able to give them a small pet. Then we continued walking towards the next town. The path we were on was lined with large oak trees covered in Spanish moss. They created a canopy over the surrounding area and it was very nice to walk around. As far as walking on the road goes, this wasn’t too bad.

The rest of the day passed in the blink of an eye. We continued down the road and headed to the small town of White Springs. One of my favorite towns along the Florida Trail. It has everything you could need. At 5 pm we were on the outskirts of the city and began to make our way. There seems to have been one or two motels in town at one time, but none of them have been open since I passed through here in the last few years. But there’s the White Springs Bed & Breakfast, which is even better! You can rent a room for an incredibly low price and the woman who runs the place is the sweetest. I remembered that there were two cute dogs on the property and I hoped they were still there. One was big like Scooby Doo and the other was a small husky type dog.

We entered White Spring sometime after 5pm. By the time we grabbed some food and headed to the bed and breakfast, it was already dark.

Before heading to the bed and breakfast tonight, we ended up stopping at the gas station in town. We were both hungry and were going to walk another 6 miles or so tonight. I wanted to grab some drinks, resupply, and other treats for tonight, plus something to eat now. That worked perfectly and after that we headed to the bed and breakfast. We checked into a nice big room that actually had its own bathroom. When I was here before, I was in a slightly smaller room, but it had the bathroom in the hallway, like many hostel-style places. I don’t mind either, but it’s always much easier to have the shower and toilet in the same piece of furniture.

Once we settled there, we left most of our things. I just carried my backpack so I could grab some snacks and something to drink for the next two hours. We wouldn’t be gone much longer. Then we would probably grab some dinner before retiring to our room for the night. We really ended up getting lucky tonight with the section of trail we were hiking. It was a nice flat stretch, wide almost like a road. I had forgotten that the trails near here were popular and that the trail was super nice. We were able to create our own loop along a pristine trail connection while hiking in the dark. All we had to do was add about 4 miles and then we could walk back to town.

The mural on the wall of our room at the White Springs Bed and Breakfast.

While we were walking, I ended up talking to my mom on the phone, which was great. We talked for over an hour and most of the night passed. It sure can be a cheat code to use at the end of a long day. If you have service, call a family member or friend. Let them “take you to camp” by talking to you as you finish your day. By the time I was done, we were finishing our loops and started heading back to the trailhead. Then we could return to the city. I was hungry again and was excited to get back to the room to relax. We had some dinner and some more drinks at the gas station. They gave me a meal that looked like meatloaf with mashed potatoes, vegetables and gravy. It looked good! The hot food was prepared and the person was no longer cooking. So it seemed like a pretty decent option to me.

I love the White Springs Bed and Breakfast. This place is incredibly adorable and there is plenty of open space for hikers to hang out. I really enjoyed taking a day off here in 2023 and the rooms are super affordable. It was nice to be able to come back here and stay again this time.

After grabbing some dinner, we walked back to the nearby bed and breakfast. It was nice to be able to walk in and up to the room feeling like we had already checked in. Then I wanted to shower and get comfortable before dinner. I also kept some of my stuff because I bought some snacks at the store. However, the highlight of the night was the hot dinner from the gas station. It was absolutely delicious! That might have been the best gas station food I’ve ever had. Right when we got back to the room, we were even able to do the laundry. I didn’t expect to be able to do it because it was late. But the kind lady who runs the place let us do it. Not long after I finished eating, we ended up calling it a night. It was already tremendously late once again!

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