FT2018 Day 38: White Springs B&B (mile 622.3) to Swift Creek (mile 630.1)

7.8 FT miles

The majority of the morning was spent uploading trail journals, photos, and videos to the internet. I should have done at least some of them the night before, but I had stayed up pretty late having a nice conversation with my host.  Now, I had 7 or 8 days still to upload.

Luckily, the network was pretty fast. It was a lot to upload, but I made pretty good time with it. I even took a blanket out onto the porch to do some uploading out there. I ended up getting most of the pictures up by lunchtime.

The sun had just poked out too, so I decided to do a side trip to the ruins of the old sulfur springs pool, which brought the town its fame. It was only a couple blocks away. There used to be a 3 tiered wooden structure down to the spring pool, but it burned down. Now, there is just a reconstruction of the top tier. There are pictures to show what it looked like in its hay day on the signs around the ruin.

Old pictures of the spa.

The spa today.

Walking the reconstructed top tier.

After that, I started heading back to the B&B. I stopped by the country store, which was located in a very old building. Supposedly it had drinks and snacks, but I didn't see them. I saw just about everything else in there. It was full of antiques, old photographs/postcards, knick knacks, handmade items, etc. It was pretty cluttered and I didn't see anything that interested me, so I kept heading back.

The country store.

I stopped at the “food truck.” Technically, but it wasn’t exactly mobile. It looked like it was permanently parked on a lot. It was the only other food option in town besides Fat Belly's. Unlike Fat Belly’s, the truck only had one beverage option: sweet tea. I usually don't drink iced tea, sweetened or not, but it was the only option. It was sort of a “when in Rome" moment. Just replace “Rome" with “White Springs.”

The food truck.

Vlog 1

I headed back to the B&B and had my burger and tea on the porch, then went back inside to finish my uploading. I was shocked when I finished it by 2 pm. I thought I was going to have to stay another night.  I could actually get some miles in today. It was a good thing too because the weather was perfect for it. That was going to change in a few days.

B&B porch.

Entry way.

Dining room.

Kitchen.

I packed my bag, paid for my room (less than I've paid for some campsites), and headed out on the trail and into Stephen Foster Folk State Park. The park was supposedly huge and had an antebellum museum, but the trail stuck the the river.

The trail went up and down the river bluffs, even getting a little steep in some places. Needless to say, I had plenty of good views of the river throughout the rest of the day, despite the thick tangle of vegetation along the banks.

Suwannee River.

The trail next to the river.

There were a lot of private houses along the river as well. To get from the state park lands to the WMA, I walked through a grassy lawn area separating two houses. I have to imagine it is annoying to have a hiking trail running through your yard, but I am thankful that those property owners put up with us. Otherwise it would probably mean a long, annoying, out of the way road walk detour.

Golden hour on the trail.

Vlog 2

I hiked until the sun had set and set up my tent near the bridge at Swift Creek. I had hiked over 7 miles today. Considering I wasn't sure I would even get out if town today, I think that was pretty good.

My campsite for the night.