February 21
End: Forgotten Creek Camp
Miles: 26.5
Total: 1150.4
I have gotten used to sleeping with the occasional sounds of the highway in the background, so my spot close to the road was just fine. In the early morning there was a bit of rain, so I did not leave my spot until it had stopped.
I moved back through the Pine Log State Forest, a nice little area. Supposedly I walked along the first American-made road in Florida, which is now just plain forest with no demarcations whatsoever.
The forest was nice but I was looking forward to picking up some mail in Ebro, the metropolis whose perimeter the trail skirts. I got to see a nice campground and several cool little ponds, and then got out on the back roads. Hitting the state road, I went into Ebro.
At first I thought I would be stopping at the Ebro Cafe, but when I saw a Subway that all changed. I’m glad it was there, because the cafe turned out to be closed. After a short break I went to the post office to pick up some Tyvek suits (with hoods!), and finished off another sub before leaving town.
More road walking ensued. I was not thrilled, but I persevered and got to Bruce, but only after crossing Dismal Creek (as opposed to most other creeks in Florida?) and the Choctawhatchee River. Bruce has a cafe and a store, but I just hit the store.
The clerks there said they didn’t get too many hikers either. The last guy they remembered met Lakeland Nidhatak’s description, another ECT hiker who had been through the area a month before me. After another break in Bruce I walked the road once again, this time North.
The trail, once finally off of the road, was nice. I loved the old sod farms, now block forests with the old sprinklers still in place. A few areas had been burnt down, as is the case with all Floridian forests. I crossed a few nice creeks, and was lucky enough to make it to the Forgotten Creek Camp before dark. I set up my tarp in the light and ate the sub that I packed out of Ebro. Got to love that Subway (it’s $5 foot-long subs for all of February!).
