FT2018 Day 32: Etoniah Creek (mile 503.5) to Turkey Oak Campground (mile 519.3)

16.8 FT miles

I woke up way before dawn and wanted it to get light out quickly. I just wanted to get out of my sad looking bivy and leave yesterday behind. I managed to write my trail journal for the previous day on my notepad (because I couldn't afford to waste the cell battery), but it was probably the longest entry I have ever written. It was a long day.

Looking up at my bivy.

When I finally packed up, I headed to the trail. I looked around the area in the daylight and there was nowhere to camp. I looked back to where I had put my tent and was impressed that I had managed to fit my tent into the only tiny, flat, clear space in the area.

I walked down the trail, checking  for signal every once in a while. It was draining the battery of my phone again, but I knew I had several messages that needed responses. I also needed to put out a feeler to the FT Facebook page to see if anyone had happened to see my poles. Additionally, I needed to reactivate my inReach.

I walked past Etoniah Creek for a while. I'm sure it was usually pretty, but in the morning shadows, it looked black. One cool thing was that I had a little elevation gain, so at one point, I was looking down into a ravine.

Etoniah Creek in the early morning.

The forest later in the morning.

When I had enough elevation “gain" I checked for cell service and finally got it. My dad had the tracking number for the package, so I relayed that to Janie, the trail angel, and apologized for the delay. I tried to reactivate my inReach, but it was taking too long so I had to stop trying until I had an electrical outlet. I put out a message on FB about looking for my poles.

Almost immediately after I posted I had someone tell me to “adapt and overcome.” Well, yeah, I kind of did that with my sad bivy, but if there is a chance to recover my poles I'd like to take it. If nothing else, simply so that they are not lying around like trash.

I made my way through Etoniah Creek,  not fully able to enjoy my surroundings as I was stressing about the aftermath of yesterday. I kept checking the FB page for any miracle regarding my tent poles, but all I was doing was wasting battery.

Eventually, I checked my water supply and made a plan to refill it. There was a sinkhole before  the roadwalk that looked like it would be a good stop, so I made my way there.

It was a nice stop. It was an old enough sinkhole that it practically looked like a pond, complete with lily pads. The sinkhole was surrounded by large oaks. I found a flat spot under one of the oaks to set up for lunch. I had 4G LTE for long enough to check for updates online and send a few texts out, but not long enough to make the phone calls to arrange camping the next few days.

Sinkhole.

Lunch spot next to the sinkhole.

After lunch, I climbed up the sinkhole for better cell reception. I was able to get a campsite for Gold Head Branch State Park for the night and, to my relief, the woman on the phone told me there was electricity there to charge my electronics. That took a huge amount of stress off my shoulders.

I also called City Hall of the town of Lake Butler to arrange for camping. They told me they don't allow camping in the park anymore, but they do give hikers a building to sleep in. Since you need a key to get in, they told me to contact a woman named Janie and offered to give me her number. I told them I already had it.

Vlog 1

Afterwards, I started my 8 mile road walk to Gold Head Branch State Park. I was really not looking forward to it. However, it wasn't  too bad. The roads were not busy, and the speed limit was significantly less than other road walks. I also felt some relief knowing that I had a place to stay for  the night and electricity, so I could not only make it to Lake Butler without my phone dying, but also have the electricity to recharge and reactivate my inReach.

I hit the back entrance for the state park and headed north. The state park was very park-like. There was lots of open space, picnic tables and oaks near a lake. I walked around the lake until I got to the spur  that led to the campground.

Gold Head Branch State Park .

Little Lake Johnson in Gold Head Branch State Park .

When I got to my site I was excited to see that each tenting site had outlets right at the site. No hanging out in the bathroom for me. I also set up my bivy and was able to make it more tent-like by staking it out and attaching some of the clips on the head end to the picnic table, lifting the mesh up.

An improvement from this morning.

Afterwards, I sat at the table charging my electronics, taking care of some things online, and returning my inReach to functioning form. Later, Janie came by with the package she had picked up from the post office for me. She also brought me some candy bars, combos, and a liter of fresh SmartWater. Janie is the best. We chatted for a while, then she gave me the key to get into the depot at Lake Butler for Sunday night.

Vlog 2

I then worked on my phone some more, ate some more, then took a long, hot shower. It would have been a great night except that my campsite neighbors were up until at least midnight talking and playing music. They didn't  have it very loud, but I could hear it perfectly. I had to remember that normal campgrounds don't keep hiker hours.