The Creeks Day (ECT Day 56)

• Hiked Today: 25.3 miles
  • The Florida Trail (952.4 – 975.4)
  • Ebro DG Alt. (2.1 miles)
  • Stevie Beach Alt. (0.2 miles)
• Total Hiked: 1,186.8 miles
• Total Paddled: 99.5 miles

Weather: overcast turned sunny, 52-72°F, very pleasant out today!

Elevation: low = 11 feet, high = 136 feet

Sand Pond Campground to Power Lines Spot

Yesterday, I’d hesitantly accepted that my tooth pain was slowly returning. Very different from when it came on instantaneously that evening along the Suwannee, this pain was dull and further up in my gums. Pretty sure it’s infected. It kept me up some last night, but once I finally took ibuprofen, I got good sleep. I have to deal with it though and have started searching for near trail dentists.

Not so much because of this, but it played a part in my decision making process, I am choosing to “go my own way” again and create another alternate route. Here’s how this came to be…

The Stevie Beach Alternate Route 

On the Florida Trail, there are two “accepted” options as the northern terminus. The first is located at the Fort Pickens Area of Gulf Island National Seashore. This is by far where most hikers start or end and generally is seen as the more official FT route I’d say. Originally, my plan was to go this way, but for ECT’ers it’s really out of the way. Instead of heading north like the Blackwater River State Forest route, the second terminus option, it hugs the coast going west for nearly 30-miles through beautiful white sand beach (or so that’s what I’ve been told).

The other day, chatting with Specs, he asked me why I’m not going to Fort Pickens. I explained that it was out of the way and would take extra time and this and that, but that I would love to have hiked that beach section. My family has a long history of vacationing in this general area and my parents and some siblings still make a yearly “spring break” pilgrimage, so I figured I could come back and do it another time. All that being said, the idea of getting to the Gulf of Mexico one more time on this hike stuck with me.

During my morning walk yesterday, my brain couldn’t let it go and I started actively searching to make it work. In just a few hours time I came up with an idea and as the day progressed, I committed more and more to it. The idea is to bypass most of the Elgin Air Force Base section of the FT and instead head straight south to the coast. I’d then walk for 30+ miles of likely touristy beach town roads and paths and seashore until connecting up with the FT again. Once back on the trail though, I’d actually head “southbound,” although really it’s directionally north, and head up to the Blackwater section. That’s all very confusing, so here’s another child-like marked up map…

Why? My hope is that this will give me a taste of walking along the beach, even if it doesn’t have that pristine feel I imagine Gulf Islands National Seashore to behold. Timing wise, this option keeps me on track (I think it’s pretty similar mileage) and I don’t have to worry about lining up any shuttles or anything. It also maintains a nice continuous path. Lastly, once the whole dentist thing came into the picture, I figured there would be more opportunities along this route.

All that being said, this might be a disaster! I feel a bit absurd for leaving nice trail to go galavanting around in town, choosing to do additional roads and paved paths. It’s what I’m feeling though! I know most won’t understand this. Maybe it’ll be amazing and the photos will tell of my alternate’s greatness… we’ll soon know. Either way, I don’t kick off this mad scheme until tomorrow.

Getting Going Today 

I was up early. Unable to fall back asleep, I packed up quietly so as not to wake the others and snuck away from the pavilion. I was the first to get moving and it was just a little after first light.

Right away I veered off the FT. Rather than continue on it for a bit and then have to do an out and back to the DG, I opted to create a continuous path. It worked out nicely. Having gotten up so early though, the DG wasn’t open yet. Thankfully, I got lucky and the gas station across the street had chairs and a table inside since it had a Subway. It was a chilly morning so I was happy to get warm in there and enjoy a coffee and breakfast sandwich from the convenience store. I was very content with all this.

Around 7:50 am, I packed up and headed on over to do my shopping. I only needed a few items, so it went quick. 

Once going it was a mile and a half of road before cutting into the woods. I bumped into Machine on the way and we went over each other’s plans. I figured we’d see each other later since he’s pretty dang fast. After our meeting, I walked over the Choctawhatchee River (I think I got the spelling right).

The Morning Trail 

The whole day would be pretty awesome stuff in my opinion. Getting off the road, it was a tad soggy at first, but I was able to hop and side step the puddles to stay dry. Then, it was quite pleasant walking! I’ve been noticing a lot more compact white sand as the trail base recently.

And as my title suggests, there were numerous creeks today. This first one resembled more of a lovely Cypress pond, but the rest were beautiful clear flowing water with sandy bottoms.

More piglets! I counted 6 that crossed the trail in front of me 

I’ve been trying for a while to get a butterfly on video. I see them often. There’s one species I’ve seen that is bright light yellow, almost neon, but it’s quite elusive. I just barely got this little orange one on a slow motion…

I suppose this snake was pretty neat too. Even if I dislike these creatures, I can accept they’re compelling. To me, this one seemed long, but quite slim.

I tried to keep my lunch break short since I had the late start and still hoped for a big mileage day. My lunches have been pretty good lately. I grabbed some condiments from the gas station this morning and that really brought it to the next level. And the added crunch of the bugles too, of course…

Moving on, the trail passed by what is up there in the most epic things the Florida Trail has offered thus far…

That’s right folks, a rusted pipe. I guess it’s connected to some sod farm sprinklers or something. On the PCT just north of San Jacinto, there is a famous rusted pipe. Famous to thru-hikers at least. If memory serves me right, the big thing about that rusted pipe was that someone kicked off a slew of nonsensical and outlandish comments about it in the app. My trail family got a kick out of it all and I’ve since revisited to see it again and we even made t shirts about it. Strange, I know.

Some other neat things in the afternoon these ants…

And more creeks…

To top off this already stellar day I bumped into not one, but two trail angels each insisting I partake in their top-notch goodies they provided. First up was Sandblaster, the Florida Trail maintainer for this section, and his dog Lila! A few of us hikers had met him yesterday when he found us along the road walk. Thats why he suspected we might be strolling through and timed his hike intentionally with the goal of trying to meet us. And, he came prepared with his pack full of Jersey Mike’s subs! I couldn’t resist trying both the Italian and the roast beef varieties even though I’d had lunch only an hour before. We chatted for a while and then parted ways. Thanks Sandblaster!

Just a few miles further up the trail, my third Nimblewill meeting! It was nice have energy this time, not feeling sick like before. So I got to chit chat and enjoy another Coca-cola classic while resting in his folding chair. An amazing treat to get the time with him. We vowed to try and bump into each other again near Flagg Mountain. Then I got to hiking, still having a ways to go for the day. 

The evening light was calm and peaceful in the fields and forest surrounding the creeks…

Nearing the end of the day, I still wasn’t sure where I was going to camp. I wanted to get as close as I could to the highway, but I just hadn’t been moving that quickly this afternoon. A little before 6:00 pm though, I came to a cleared swath below some power lines. I’d wondered if this might be a shortcut to the road and decided I’d give it a try. To do so though, I had to ford Magnolia Creek. Not wanting to get my shoes and socks wet right at the end of the day, I took them off and carried… a rare move for me.

After drying off and lacing up the super blue sneaks again, I was off to find my home for the night. Since it was getting dark, I stopped pretty quickly and made something work, nothing fancy. A pretty full day.

A long post… 3 gold stars for making it to the bottom of it. Thanks for following along!

🌟🌟🌟

Album of the Day:

“Wonder” (2024) by Andrew Gialanella

Podcast of the Day:

“Alternate Realities: A Strange Bet” – Embedded