FT2018 Day 48: Bradwell Bay South Trailhead (mile 817.9) to campsite (mile 835.6)

17.7 FT miles

I waited for it to get light out, then packed up my tent. I was enveloped in a thick fog again and my tent fly was soaked. Luckily the fly took the worst hit from the moisture as everything inside my tent was still dry.

Another foggy morrning.

I wore my water leggings as I headed out in trail. I would be hitting the worst of Bradwell Bay today and I brought them for swamp hiking since they were made for water and offered less drag than my hiking pants.

The trail was dry at first, but soon I started splashing through ankle deep water. Then, I transitioned to a forest area. If this was the swamp, it was much different than I imagined. I thought I would be wading through deep, dark water with the occasional cypress poking out of the fog.

It was more like walking through a flooded forest. There were tangled of trees to navigate through with logs, roots, and mosses everywhere. It was honestly pretty cool and different. The water wasn't too deep either. The tannic water in the area makes the rivers look black, but when it is shallow, it is more reddish.

Not the kind of swamp I was expecting .

More swamp pictures.

I was enjoying the swamp stomp until my first hole. I stepped over a fallen log and into a camouflaged hole on the other side. I was able to grab onto the log to prevent myself from going in, but I still got my butt and maybe the bottom of my pack wet.

I proceeded carefully, but still occasionally fell into a hole. This got more difficult as the swamp got deeper. And, as the swamp got deeper, the bottom got muckier and the number of holes increased. When I did hit one, it took a lot of effort to get out of it.

In the deepest, muckiest, pot-holiest section of the swamp forward movement was very slow. Instead of enjoying the environment and the challenge, I was just starting to wish that it got shallower. I had a time limit. I was meeting a friend from undergrad down the trail during lunchtime, so I had to get there in a timely manner.

As the trees became more spread out, the bay got deeper and siltier.

When it finally did get shallower, I tried to pick up my pace. It was a relief when I hit dry land as I could move forward in a timely manner. Soon after I hit the dry spot, I saw a beautiful black snake on the edge of the trail. It was pretty big too, probably the longest snake I have seen on the trail.

Black racer.

Close up of the head.

Vlog 1

After I left the snake, I hit water again. Damn it. The swamp doesn't really end, I guess. When I got to the Bradwell Bay West trailhead I decided to take a break as I was really hungry. I switched from my water leggings to my hiking pants and from my swamp socks to my damp socks I wore yesterday.

After some food and rest and dry-ish clothes I was ready to do some hiking. The next stretch took me on forest roads then dipped into the forest and back onto the roads. The section that dipped into the forest was flooded. Of course.

My friend (also teammate and roommate) from the University of Tampa, Elysia, was going to meet me at the Langston House. The Langston House was an old homestead and its spring is now a water source for thru-hikers. I had sent Elysia a pin via Google Maps and she was going to meet me and bring me some supplies.

I had been able to text her when I had gotten out of the swamp that I would arrive between 12:30 pm and 1 pm. I got to the trailhead at 12:45 pm. I didn't see anyone there, so I walked to the house itself. There was no one there. I didn't have cell signal to contact her either.

Suddenly I had a bad feeling. The Google Maps pin I had sent her was called Langston Collection, Inc. and not Langston House.  I didn't have signal, but Google Maps will cache a map section on your phone if you have looked at it recently. I pulled it up and saw both the pin for Langston Collection, Inc. and my GPS coordinate. They were similar, but at least a mile apart.

I headed for the pin. It was all I could do, since the house didn't seem to be marked on a map and I couldn't contact Elysia. I walked as fast as I could, hoping she would stay wherever she was. I was definitely going to be late. As I neared the pin, I saw a car pulled to the side on a dirt road. It wasn't exactly the pin location I had accidentally sent, but I thought I would check anyway.

It was her! I was so relieved. We drove back to the homestead to have a picnic on the porch. Nick was there, very unhappy about the depth of the water he had walked through a couple miles back. We shared some food with him and he continued down the trail. Elysia and I chatted (while I stuffed my face) for a couple hours.

The real Langston House.

Finally, it got late enough in the day that I felt like I needed to take off. Elysia had thought to bring a gallon of drinking water, so I put a liter in my hydration bladder and a liter in my SmartWater bottle. It was a lot to carry at once, but it was clean, tannin-free water. Quite the luxury.

Elysia dropped me back off at the intersection I had walked to to find her. Luckily, the trail rejoined that road a little further down to cross a bridge, so I was still keeping continuous steps on the trail, and hadn't done too much of a detour to find her. She dropped me off and I walked down the trail.

When I had almost reached the bridge, I saw smoke. Smoke has been really common between the controlled burns in the forest and the residents of the area burning trash. However, as I got closer I saw flames. I didn't think it looked like a controlled burn. It looked like a fire that had started on the side of the road, and it looked to be spreading.

It was still small as I approached it, so I took the liter of my fresh, new drinking water from my SmartWater bottle and dumped in on the fire. I was able to quench about half of it, but the rest was catching and spreading. It was right next to where the Florida Trail came out of the woods as well. This was bad.

I had no cell signal. I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to be in a place with cell reception for a while. I then grabbed my inReach. I didn't want to press the SOS button, as that might send a helicopter out. I decided to text a trail angel who could then call the fire in to the authorities.

While I was typing, a car came down the road. I waved to get their attention. Luckily, they stopped. I looked pretty dirty and insane. I rambled quickly about the fire and if she could call it in. She just stared at me. We then, a bit more slowly, communicated that there was a small fire just ahead, that I was worried about it spreading and causing damage, and that I had no cell signal to alert anyone. The woman told me that she lived just around the corner and would call it in.

Relieved, I crosses the bridge and rejoined the trail back into the woods. It was much later in the day than I had anticipated. It was also hot and humid. I figured I would walk until I lost daylight, wherever that would be.

The pine forest at the end of the day.

Vlog 2

I mostly walked through pine forest the rest of the day, a large portion of which had been burned recently. I encountered log crossings, boggy/muddy trails, and puddles. I was in a section the app had said was good for random camping as the last of the light faded, so I set up my tent. When I looked at my location, I was surprised to see that I had still gone over 17 miles despite the swamp, the social time, and the fire drama.