Walking all night in the pouring rain on the Florida Trail

This morning it was so nice to be able to pack up at the Juniper Springs campground with all its amenities! It was barely raining and last night it had also rained lightly. Once I packed everything up, I walked the short distance to the bathhouse to brush my hair and teeth. We then took our food out of the bear box and got ready to roll. We had some leftover donuts and other treats from last night’s magical trail with Hippie Chick, Poet, and their family. It was great to see them and spend some time together last night.

It was still pretty early when we all packed up and made our way through camp and back to the trail. I remember this next section south of Juniper Springs as really nice and easy. We dealt with some downed trees in January, but it was hard to imagine that would be a problem for us today. The trail ended up being very pretty and we went through a pine forest with soft sand under our feet. After a couple of kilometers we had to cross a road to get to the trail on the other side. We then walked for a couple more hours, heading to a pond and the surrounding recreation area. It took me a minute, but I finally realized we were approaching a large picnic area with trash cans, tables, and a bathroom. The last time I came here at the beginning of the year, we didn’t really stop at all. I could have gone in to use the bathroom, but we didn’t stay long. This time it started raining pretty hard just as we approached the recreation area. So we hid in the bathroom for a few minutes to enjoy a break that didn’t involve getting soaked.

Before the light rain started, it was a really nice morning.

As we were leaving there, we ran into a dog that was alone on the road. He had a large tracking collar and was a beagle, so we quickly discovered he was a hunting dog. A couple more dogs had run by, but he was just doing his thing. He was clearly training because he wasn’t doing a great job! We distracted him like crazy just by talking to him. Although he eventually ran off to hopefully reunite with his crew. It continued to rain on and off for the next half hour or so, but fortunately it did not persist for long. Then it finally cleared up and it turned out to be a pretty good rest of the day.

Passing through this pond we head towards the small recreational area.

Our route for the day would take us from the Juniper Springs campground, into the general area where Alexander Springs is located, and then into the town of Paisley. We would arrive in Paisley early in the afternoon and then continue from there to get more mileage. By 11am we had covered about 15 miles, which was pretty solid, and the time seemed to pass nice and easy. For most of the afternoon we were walking through a pine forest or a more open area with palm bushes around. When I was here in January it was raining too! That’s the funny thing about hiking a national scenic trail two or three different times. Somehow you can hike the same section of trail three times and every time you’re there the weather is exactly the same. There are some places I have only visited in bad weather. And other places where maybe I had to deal with terrible weather the first time and then had great weather the next time. I can’t help but think about it when I’m on the road.

This part of the trail felt like a rainforest to me!

The last time I was here it wasn’t just raining; It was raining harder than I had ever experienced in my entire life! It literally felt like someone took one of those Gatorade jugs from the side of a football field and poured it over my head. I was walking through this area with Punisher and we were hoping to get out of the rain. Fresh Ground was supporting us and we were going to meet him near Juniper Springs to get picked up. It started raining on us quite early in the day and then the sky opened and we were sprayed, splashed and drenched in a matter of minutes. Nothing could have helped us! None of us even had time to put on our raincoats. When we hit the road and encountered Fresh Ground, we were only about 12 miles into the day. But we were soaked! So Fresh Ground literally picked us up, took us to a laundromat to wash and dry our clothes, then we had lunch and were back on the road an hour later. By then we were very dry and the rain had let up. That was such a wild day. I had never before, and never have since, done laundry in the middle of a 30 mile day. That is a unique memory to say the least.

Once the rain passed early this morning it ended up being a great rest of the afternoon. We made good progress and arrived in Paisley sooner than I expected.

Early this afternoon we were back in a densely forested area that looked a lot like a rainforest! We spent a while walking along a boardwalk with palm tree branches hanging from it. Everything was wet and lush and it felt like we were on a different planet. After an hour we would leave the forest and return to a dirt road. In 2023 when I was here I had to walk a little further down the road due to a prescribed burn. The trail was actively burning just as I was passing through! Which meant I had to take a dirt road a bit before reaching the town of Paisley. If I remember correctly, I think we also did the same extended hike earlier this year, in January. But Slide and I are basically Florida Trail purists these days, so we stayed on the trail and added miles.

Slide and I walked down the sidewalk toward Paisley.

It was around 3 in the afternoon when our feet stepped on a charming sidewalk and we continued towards the town. We were hungry and planned to stop for pizza at a place right in the center of town. Slide had the great idea to call him before we got there so we wouldn’t have to wait like yesterday! That was pure genius. We arrived in town, headed straight to the pizzeria and our large pizza was ready. We both sat inside and devoured everything. Then I went to the gas station next door to grab a couple more snacks before getting back on the road. Tomorrow we’ll go through more shops and stuff, so I didn’t really need much.

At 4pm we were back on the road leaving Paisley. The Florida Trail stayed on the road for a couple of miles after that, usually heading toward a boy scout camp. We passed by a property that had a lot of animals fenced in its yard. There were a couple of donkeys that were super friendly and came trotting over to the fence when they saw us walking. One poked his head over the fence so I could pet his nose. They were really cute! Then we drove off the road and back into the woods. While we were walking, I had been communicating with 9 Lives, aka Kelly Hayes, who I hiked 2000 miles with on the CDT in 2024. She is in the area and was planning to try to come out and meet us! I knew we would be crossing a lot more roads this afternoon, so it seemed perfect.

I loved these donkeys! They ran up to us and were very friendly.

However, everything changed quite quickly in the next hour. Suddenly it started raining lightly and then it started pouring rain. We put on our rain gear pretty quickly, but definitely not as quickly as we should have. And even using my umbrella wasn’t enough to stay completely dry. Luckily, Slide had just gotten an umbrella yesterday thanks to Hippie Chick and Poet. I wouldn’t use one for all long distance trails, but definitely the Florida Trail. When it rains here it usually pours. The two of us continued as the sun began to set and it continued to rain heavily. I kept hoping that at any moment it was going to let up, but it never did. Part of me was eager to stop early and another part of me just wanted to wait. We ended up continuing without stopping until we reached this little tiki hut structure. It provided a perfect brief respite from the rain, which was really nice. Unfortunately, it’s just a narrow structure that runs directly over the trail, so we weren’t going to be able to hide there to camp overnight.

This guy stuck his head over the fence and let me pet him.

I remembered that the trail would pass a shelter sometime within the next 10 to 15 miles. Although I knew I was further ahead than we were going to get tonight. If we could have added a few miles this afternoon to finish at the shelter, we probably would have. But we would have had to walk a few more hours in the rain to get there. Instead, we left the tiki hut and continued until we found a flat spot where no water was pooling. There were some trees above that gave us a bit of protection while we set up our tents. I was soaked and ready to finish. I set up my tent quickly and then took off my rain gear before entering. Then I tried to organize everything and get comfortable. It will be difficult having to put on wet socks, shoes and possibly rain gear tomorrow morning if it is still raining. I just hope it rains all night and tomorrow ends up being a good day.

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