February 20
End: SR 20
Miles: 33.7
Total: 1123.9
My spot just off of Scott Road was stealthy enough that passing cars in the morning did not see me. I packed up and headed off down the road in search of the Econfina Creek area. Upon arriving at the unremarkable entrance in a rural neighborhood I walked alongside the creek the whole morning.
Oddly, Econfina Creek was much nicer than the Econfina River that I had crossed several times in the desolate and demoralizing ‘connector trail’ between the Suwanee and Aucilla Rivers. Econfina Creek is a fast flowing and large creek with plenty of little feeder streams with clear, tasty water. My favorite aspect of the area was the number of small waterfalls from the feeder streams into the creek.
Walking along this well-maintained portion of the trail was a great way to spend the morning. Eventually it was over and I was back on the road, headed west. I stopped at the convenience store at a major intersection to take a quick break and grab some junk food. The store clerks said they did not see hikers very often.
The road walk continued a few hours more, and I patiently endured it, glad to be getting it over with. As darkness approached I was not quite done, but knew that I was close. Finally I left the road to move under the power lines just after dark, and found a good spot to camp right there.