Poisonous Snakes and a Waffle House Rumble

This morning I woke up to the sound of Punisher’s watch going off quietly. I figured it must be 4am, because I was still so sleepy. I was shocked to look at my phone and see that it was 5am. This was the first morning so far along the trail that I felt as if I could sleep all day. I was so incredibly comfortable.

But today the weather looks like it’s going to be good. And then tomorrow we’re expected to get alot of rain. There’s no way that we’re wasting a perfectly good weather day to snooze! So we got up and began packing up. Fresh Ground came over shortly after that. Then we loaded everything into the van and headed down the road. The first stop of the day was at a Waffle House! Fresh Ground had noticed it on the drive in. He loves the place, as do we. So that’s where we had breakfast. I got a two egg platter with potatoes, toast, and bacon. Then a cup of coffee at the table and I took one to go to drink on the road.

When we first pulled into the parking lot Fresh Ground missed a turn, so he drove over a small strip of grass to park. We could see the people inside the Waffle House through the wide open window. Everyone’s jaws were wide open, absolutely shocked. It was hilarious to look at them all staring at us. When we went inside of the restaurant it was the topic of discussion how we had just driven over the small piece of grass between parking areas. Everyone was so nice and really didn’t care. But it was so funny.

A bridge that we crossed under to get over a highway.

We got dropped off back by the shoe store where we got picked up last night. Then began road walking through Lake Mary. Fortunately there were sidewalks the whole way. Fresh Ground made plans to meet us about 9-10 miles in just to say hello and give us some Gatorade if we needed it.

The bike path brought us by some pretty still ponds.

The morning went by quickly as we walked along a fairly busy road for a bit. Then got out onto some quieter side roads, weaving through neighborhoods. We saw signs about bear crossing throughout the area. I really hope we get to see a bear around Ocala.

Bear crossing through Lake Mary!

It didn’t take long to get off of the road and out onto a dirt road heading toward a recreational area. That’s where Fresh Ground was set up waiting for us. Today we’re going to wind up at Paisley, but Fresh Ground is going to meet us around lunch to help break the day up a bit. When we left there we continued along dirt road and eventually onto some actual trail.

This water way looked incredible with the sun coming down on it.

At one point I nearly stepped on a teeny tiny snake. It was super cute so I took a couple videos. But it was really brightly colored with red, black, and yellow. Punisher saw it and said that it might be poisonous. And upon a quick google search we learned it was a coral snake. A small one, but still a very poisonous snake.

A cute little coral snake!

The next few hours we were on real trail the whole time. It was well taken care of and cushioned with pine needles. It felt so good on my feet. My feet, by the way, have felt incredible ever since getting the super feet insoles yesterday. All of the mile foot pain that I’ve had has went away. Punisher and I realized we were both feeling the exact same pain in our big toes. Mine on my left foot, and his on his right. Of course we never shared this to each other a couple day ago when I really hurt. And at the church in Christmas I even noticed my foot looked a little bit red and swollen. I was a little bit worried, if I’m being honest. And apparently he had the same thing going on!

Punisher up ahead along the bike path.

We both just suffered in silence and didn’t want to mention it. Even though each of us was concerned it could be something serious. But after each getting insoles our pain has completely gone away. It’s so wild that the same odd sensation was happening to both of us. And even funnier that neither of us really bothered to talk about it until it was resolved.

Hunting season is in full swing out here.

I’m not much of a complainer. And I try not to speak things in fruition that I don’t want. So when something starts to hurt me, I’ll usually keep it to myself until it resolves itself or becomes a bigger issue. But as of today my feet have felt fantastic.

Walking along some well manicured trail through the afternoon.

After walking through the woods for a couple of hours we eventually got out onto a road again. This is the area of the Florida trail where there is a small tiki style rest area, built right on the trail. Fresh Ground was set up there. And he was actually hanging out with the guy who built it hey structure. His house is right next door to it. So he built an area where hikers could sit and relax. He also caches water there as well which is very nice of him.

Fresh Ground waiting for us at a road to serve us lunch.

It was around 1:15pm when we got there. And we were over 20 miles in for the day. Fresh Ground had made up burgers and fries with all the fixens. I drank an iced cold water and some Gatorade. Then ate two small burgers. As always, I felt so great after feasting on his incredible food. He is truly keeping our bodies so well fed and taken care of out here. What an incredible start to a year long journey.

The sign for the tiki rest area, made by the kind neighbor John.

We hung out there for a while, talking to John who lived next door, and Fresh Ground. Then around 2pm we headed out to do the last 9 or so miles of the day. Our route continued along a nice pine trail for most of the remainder of the day. Not long after leaving, we hit an area where the trail was flooded a bit. But we were able to navigate around the water to keep our feet dry. Then it was dry for the rest of the day.

A large Florida trail marker.

After almost an hour of walking, Fresh Ground called us. Apparently there were a ton of hikers ahead with dogs. It’s a Saturday and it’s hunting season. So he wanted us to get out onto the road if possible ahead. Just so we didn’t risk our safety along the trail. Which was great advice. Then we also talked about plans for this evening. Originally I had been in contact with a blog reader named Gary. He lives east of Paisley and is a warm shower host. He offered to have all of us come to his home this evening! Which was amazing. We coordinated everything this morning.

There was a lot of target shooting in this area.

But then Fresh Ground got into Paisley and realized there was a campground right in town. It was a similar scenario now to last night. The ride over to Gary’s home would have been about 30 minutes each way. So we would have to be up super early tomorrow to begin hiking early.

Staying right in town meant we could save ourselves the time and start even earlier. It is potentially going to rain tonight and tomorrow. But even still, it made more sense to camp in Paisley tonight. I reached out to Gary to let him know the change of plans. Then invited him to hang out with us at the campground tonight if he would want to. And who knows, maybe it will work out to stay with him tomorrow night or something like that.

When you’re hiking you just have to be flexible. And typically the simplest plan is the easiest and most practical. I’m sure it would have been super nice to stay with Gary though.

After that we continued along the trail. After another half hour or so we could hear loud shooting off in the distance. There were so many shots, not that far off. It was a bit unsettling to hear. But we carried on and were just cautious of where the shots were coming from. The next chance we got from though we got out onto a dirt road. It would just be more open and potentially a little safer.

It was a hot day in the afternoon. But around 3pm some clouds rolled in and light breeze. That made the remainder of the day so much nicer! We were getting pretty close to Paisley at this point. Only a handful of miles remained for the day. Right before we got into Paisley, Fresh Ground called to check in. We were about a half hour out at this point. He had us checked into a camp site for the night, so we were all good to go.

A big bear print on the trail. Unfortunately we haven’t seen a bear yet.

After that we were at the parking area pretty quickly. Fresh Ground was there with a guy who had ran into him. He watched my videos on the CDT and wanted to come say hi. Then we all headed to the campground. Punisher and I got our tents set up in preparation of the possible rain. Then we hung out with Fresh Ground and our new friend.

Large oak trees over the road into Paisley.

Later on in the evening Gary came by to hang out and brought some dessert! Fresh Ground made delicious burritos for dinner. Then I had a hot chocolate and some carrot cake to round out the meal. Gary has been reading the blog since I was in Florida in 2023. He was super nice and it was cool to meet him and talk trail. He’s been bike packing all over the country over the last handful of years.

Around 7pm everybody headed out and the rest of us got ready to call it a night. I was pretty dang tired already. In my tent I did my stretching and then did some blog and video work. And after that I called it a night. Hoping that it didn’t rain too much over night.

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Comments 10

  • thetentman : Jan 19th

    Thx for the post.

    How about a short bio of Punisher?

    Cheers!

    Reply
  • Professor Jellybean : Jan 19th

    One of the few things I remember from Girl Scouts way back in the day is how to tell coral snakes (poisonous) and king snakes (not) apart since they look so much alike: “Red on yellow, kill the fellow; red on black, friend of Jack.” I’m sure lots of your followers have heard it. I’m NOT advocating killing ANY snake, EVER! But it’s a simple way to know which one you’re about to step on. 🙂 It’s been fun following you again (still), Peg Leg! So glad that you are hiking in Florida and brightening our January days with your posts.

    Reply
  • Kurt K : Jan 19th

    That’s funny. I’ve always used a similar mnemonic to differentiate between coral and king snakes. Red touch yellow, kill a fellow. Red touch black, venom lack

    Reply
    • Professor Jellybean : Jan 19th

      I like yours much better, Kurt! No snake-killing involved! 😀

      Reply
      • Chris : Jan 19th

        The non-killing one is the one I remember hearing as well, it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the picture of it. Also, if you’re not following Peg Leg on Instagram, you might want too,.. there’s a video of the snake and it moves FAST! I was surprised.

        Reply
    • Blake : Jan 20th

      Correct. The coral snake can very closely resemble the scarlet kingsnake. The main thing to be concerned with is red touching yellow. Just remember that. The rhyme I learned was red and black won’t hurt Jack, but red and yellow may kill the fellow. There are many variations of the rhyme but the red on yellow part stays true. Also scarlet kingsnakes have red heads.

      Reply
  • Pedantic Semantic : Jan 19th

    Venomous, not poisonous.

    Reply
  • Jenny L : Jan 20th

    Such a cutie that tiny lil snake! I would have sh** myself. I’m in such awe that you didn’t immediately respond with fear. Curiosity, while keeping a respectful distance is such a better reaction.

    Reply
  • Lin : Jan 20th

    Another awesome post. Hope the rain holds off. ❤️

    Reply
  • Marching onward : Jan 21st

    Excellent write up. I truly enjoy your writing style. But I can’t overlook the fact you wanted to eat the snake. If you eat it, it probably would be poisonous. But if it were to bite you, the venomous snake that it is, might have sent you to the hospital. Cheers and happy trails!

    Reply

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