FT2018 Day 21: Christmas (mile 336.0) to Joshua Creek Campsite (mile 346.5)

10.5 FT miles, plus 2.0 miles from Ft. Christmas Baptist Church

It started off as a good morning. I had slept indoors with heat, had fresh water, and my electronics were charged. I had plenty of time to organize my backpack and was even able to backwash my filter. Inside the rec room was a board where people could write their prayer requests and right at the top was “Florida Trail Walkers,” which I thought was sweet.

I leisurely packed up and went to retrieve my resupply box from the post office. The plan was to bring my resupply back to the rec room to sort through it at the table. The post office was only a few steps away from the rec room, but I felt a little uneasy about being away from it unlocked. So, I took the two items that were particularly grabable, my DSLR and my inReach,  and temporarily  put them out of sight in a cabinet.

I retrieved my box from the post office without too much trouble, and brought it back to the rec room. It was nice to be able to spread everything out on the table while I worked on repackaging and organizing. I also had new shoes come in this resupply box. In the past I have only replaced my shoes when they were well past using. This time I got them just as they were starting to lose structure and tread. Every time I replace them I am always shocked at how bright the color seems.

Seen inside the Christmas Post Office.

New shoes for Christmas. 

Refreshed, reloaded, and wearing new shoes, I started out the door with my trash to start my day. I dumped my box of trash in the dumpster and bounced along on my way. However,  I had the nagging feeling that something was missing. Then I realized my inReach and DSLR were not attached at their proper spots.

I knew exactly where they were. They were in the cabinet of the rec room that I just locked. Feeling embarrassed and guilty, I called Pastor Ken. He was 30 minutes away in Titusville getting lumber. I felt even more guilty. I waited on property until he was able to make the trip back to unlock the door for me. I'm so sorry, Pastor Ken.

Now that I officially had everything, I made the 2 mile trip back to where I had left the trail. It was late morning and it was already hot.

I reached the trail junction and headed north until I entered Seminole Ranch WMA. Thankfully, the trail turned and went into a forest pretty quickly. It was still hot and humid, but more manageable in the shade.

Back on the trail. 

It wasn't long before I hit a campground with a covered picnic table. It felt strange to be stopping for a break so soon, but it was just about noon. I took a nice, pleasant lunch in the shade of the trees and the covered table, then continued down the trail.

Lunch spot.

The trail was much easier to follow than the past couple days.  This must be a section that has regular trail crews who come in to do work. The trail was pretty and shaded most of the day. Mostly I was walking through a forest of palms, but occasionally I would pass some oaks or pines.

Palm forest.

Trail bridge.

Oaks and palms.

Vlog 1

I one point I met two day hikers. One had hiked 80 miles of the Appalachian Trail and wrote poems about it. He read them to me and I was impressed, since they captured the essence of long distance hiking and trail life. In his poems, I learned that he would share his poetry with others on the trail which led to the trail name of Shakespeare. After the poems, the warned me that the upcoming part of the trail was overgrown. I knew this nice, maintained section was too nice to last very long.

Soon after, I passed a stile that had no fence, so it was just a couple steps of a ladder in the middle of the forest. After that, the trail started getting fairly muddy and then overgrown with occasional dead falls. I started frequently going over stiles, this time with actual fences. I think I was entering several different WPAs. It seems weird that they would be fenced off from one another, and not join them all together to create one big system.

This area was not only muddy, but flooded in some sections as well. I did a good job of picking my way around the water for a while, but ended up at a section where that was not possible. There go my new shoes. The pair of socks I was wearing had also stayed dry during this last stretch and were still pretty soft. I guess I will have two pairs of cardboard socks until I can do laundry again.

Luckily, this soggy, unmaintained section didn't go on forever.  I hit maintained trail again, with boardwalks over soggy parts and streams with cute little painted sign labels.

Oaks in the afternoon. 

Snake spotting.

Before I knew it, I walked through a pine forest, over a creek, and hit my campsite for the night. I heard some noise in the underbrush and went to check it out. It was an armadillo, the second one I had seen today. I wonder when armadillo took off as an invasive species in Florida. I don't remember them here when I was an undergrad, but I was mostly out in the water at that time, not in the forest.

Golden hour in the pine forest.

Crossing Joshua Creek.

Vlog 2