Friendly Ol’ North Florida

51.4 miles on the Florida Trail from Camp Blanding to Olustee Creek

Day 4 

Day 4 started with registering to hike 6 miles through Camp Blanding. It was warm and muggy in the morning, but there was a brief shower about 4 pm that cooled things off nicely.

Vintage postcard sign of Camp Blanding

It was a beautiful day and we hiked about 10 miles. We were able to filter water from crystal clear Magnolia Lake.

Lake Magnolia

We spent the night at a trail angel’s place. She has a small cabin and outdoor shower, so it was nice to be clean. Oh yes, we also had a shower yesterday at Gold Head Branch State Park, 2 showers in a row!

Scenic vista of Lake Magnolia

Day 5

We started with a pretty walk along a quiet residential street. Then out to a highway where we came across the first opportunity we’ve had to buy more food. It was a gas station that is used to hikers coming by, so they had all our favorite foods! And without us asking, they told us where the outlets and water spigot were outside.

Yum!

Then a little farther on the highway and we went into the woods. It was a flat walk along the same bike trail that we had started on. On it we came across 4 other hikers! Are we in the hiker bubble?? There was a couple from California who had already hiked a double triple crown. Meaning they had hiked the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, twice each! That’s around 16,000 miles! 

Cowboy, Mosey (me), Cache22 and Why Not?!!

After the paved part of the trail, we walked on an unpaved rail/trail that still had some railroad spikes laying around.

Railroad spike on the trail

We had arranged for a place to stay tonight that was a couple of miles off trail, and our host Sara picked us up. So guess what, another shower tonight!! And a washing machine, so we and our clothes are clean. There were also “loaner clothes” to wear while our laundry was being done, and I found a beautiful outfit. How thoughtful!!

Kind of like a big tent, no?

Also staying there were the Boat Brothers that we had met on our first night. They had been in town and bought supplies to make chicken fajitas, and the shared with us and another hiker. We are really being pampered! We hiked about 12 miles today.

Day 6

We got to sleep in this morning, and around 9 Sara drove us back to the trail. On the way we stopped at a gas station for Cowboy to get a Mountain Dew for the caffeine and sugar he wanted to help him finish our longest day so far. We made it 15 miles!

Mosey, Sara, and Cowboy as Sara dropped us off at the trail this morning

The first 7.5 miles was along the same rail/trail as yesterday, then 2.5 miles on a dirt road. We stopped for lunch at the corner where the trail turns onto a busy road for the last 5 miles. It’s a derelict building, and as you can see, it makes for a great photo opportunity 😂

A place to sit is a place to sit

The last roadwalk had a solar farm on one side and a tree farm on the other. There was also a bridge with hardly any room for pedestrians. Frightening!!

Cowboy braving the bridge

We strolled into Lake Butler and went to the local Mexican restaurant for a delicious meal. They are use to seeing hikers, so the waitress asked if we needed to charge our phones and fill our water bottles. Then it was a short walk to the city hall lawn where they allow hikers to camp. We felt pleased with ourselves that we had gone so far today!

Union County historical marker in front of city hall

Day 7

Today started with getting packed up at city hall and having a chat with Brushy Bart, another hiker we had met a couple of days ago. Then a stop at the local IGA grocery store for food for the next 4 days. I met a city commissioner in the checkout line, and he welcomed us to their town. Two other people asked about our hike, such friendly people.

Brushy Bert!!

Out of town is a 7 mile road walk. It was warm and very humid, but we knew a cold front with rain was on the way. I also knew there was a covered picnic pavilion and I hoped we could make it before the rain.

The rain coming down the road to us

We saw the rain coming, we did not make it in time! It was cold and windy so at the pavilion we dried out and got warmed up and waited until 2 when the rain stopped.

The next 7 miles were mostly on forest roads, but there were also a couple of bogs to walk through.

Classic pine woods

Justttt a little boggy

By the end of the day we had blue skies and a beautiful sunset.

It was 14.4 miles today, and because of the rain delay we got to camp in the dark. As we walked up, we head Brushy Bert ask, “Is that Cowboy and Mosey?”