Gently Rolling Into Alabama: Completing the Florida Trail (ECT Day 61)

• Hiked Today: 26.1 miles
• • Blackwater Connector (23.1 – 45.4)
  • Alabama Connector (0 – 3.8)
• Total Hiked: 1,314.5 miles
• Total Paddled: 99.5 miles

Weather: 48-72°F, sunny, clear blue skies

Elevation: 81 – 246 feet

“Like a long lonely stream

I keep runnin’ towards a dream

Movin’ on, movin’ on

Like a branch on a tree

I keep reachin’ to be free

Movin’ on, movin’ on

 

‘Cause there’s a place in the sun

Where there’s hope for everyone

Where my poor restless heart’s gotta run

There’s a place in the sun

And before my life is done

Gotta find me a place in the sun

 

Like an old dusty road

I get weary from the load

Movin’ on, movin’ on

Like this tired troubled earth

I’ve been rollin’ since my birth

Movin’ on, movin’ on” 

– “A Place in the Sun” by Stevie Wonder (1966)

Blackwater Shelter 2 To Burned Spot

No condensation overnight! A great way to kick off the day when I don’t have to deal with a dripping wet tent fly.

I got going around 6:00am and kept it pretty steady until second breakfast two hours later. The early morning walk continued the general National Forest (this is actually a State Forest, but similar vibes) which was nice. Good trail makes me happy.

For my second breakfast stop, I was able to hang right along a beach of the Blackwater River. The trail cruises right on by, so I figured I’d better get my time here by the river while I can. There was a tempting rope swing, but no urge developed to go for a dip this early in the day 😊

The sun felt good on my back and the sound of trickling water from a nearby riffle was pleasant. I haven’t had cell service for a bit, so here I spent some time looking at my offline maps ahead for the Alabama section!

Post second breaky is when I think I have the most energy in the day. Probably not a coincidence that’s following my coffee intake. Today it was a grande mocha supreme, meaning I added a hot chocolate packet.

I started noticing that the terrain kept a gently rolling pattern. Very gradual, but sure enough up and down on repeat. Was I imagining it or was this a sign that I was heading away from the flat coastlands to the inner mountain regions?

In addition to the flowering trees, I saw a lot of this species, which I’ve been thinking of as Cedar in my head…

I got more glimpses of the Blackwater and it was beautiful. It really is too bad there’s not much of a section following along it for any significant chunk.

For lunch break I timed it nicely to stop at Hurricane Lake! Along the dam a pontoon boat had floated near shore and I got to chatting. They were “brim” fishing he said, which I’d never heard of before. So when I asked, he explained it’s a general term for sunfish, perch, and bluegill. I grew up calling all those pan fish. Interesting.

The afternoon would continue the up and down mini rollercoaster. I pretended it was going to help me get mountain trail legs. After all this flat I’m a tad nervous for when I actually get some real elevation gain.

Around 3:30 pm, I saw it, a yellow blaze. What’s this? I’ve seen lots of orange, some blue, but yellow? Alabama! That’s right folks, we made it to the end of Florida and the end of the Florida Trail! Woohoo.

I hung out there for a while just taking a break and putting a pause on it all, reflecting on the experience thus far. 

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

– Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Hiking and paddling over 1,400 miles in one state. That’s something. From my initial bit of research, the only other state with more continuous long-distance trail mileage is California. The PCT has 1,719 miles in Cali, according to FarOut. Next to that, the Ice Age trail in Wisconsin has around 1,200 miles. The CDT’s longest would be Montana at 971 miles, but that’s only if you include the back and forth along the Idaho border. Otherwise, surprisingly, New Mexico takes it at 777. There’s also the Arizona Trail which is around 800 miles. So yeah, Florida is impressively long!

“Put it in “O” for Onward

– Barley Lightfoot in “Onward” (2020)

An interesting thing this ECT journey, to finish something that I take pride in and feels like a major accomplishment, but to keep pushing onward. The journey is still just beginning!

True to the reputation, I started off the Alabama road walk on road. However, it was mostly two track National Forest road, not all that unsimilar to parts of Florida I’d been going through. And actually, the first 28 miles of Alabama is in Conecuh National Forest, so it should be pretty nice for a bit here!

Unfortunately, so much of the forest was charred that I setup in a slightly ash-filled bed of pine needles. Not ideal, but it was flat, and once inside, that’s what matters!

Outdoors For All

For those of y’all new to the site, I want to highlight the cause I’m raising funds for while hiking the ECT… increasing access to and equity in the outdoors! I hope you’ll help me support Outdoors Empowered Network (OEN) in their work taking practical, measurable steps, including access to appropriate gear, training, and best practices for cultural inclusion. They seed and support grassroots local member groups all across the country.

Please donate to my fundraiser via my Give Lively Page. My goal is to raise $1 for every mile I hike on this route, or approximately $6,000. I am falling behind though and need your help!

Check out this YouTube video explaining what OEN is about.

Check out the OEN website.

Check out my earlier post titled The Outdoors Are For All, going into why this cause is special to me

And thanks for following along!

Album of the Day:

“Tapestry” (1971) by Carole King