After a few hours of early morning hiking, the pain returned and settled in for the long haul. It didn't help that once again the trail(ie. roads) we were on today were very boring so my mind had no where to wander and instead settled on being overly attentive to the growing pain in my feet.
We reached Hampton in the early morning and had to wait since I needed to make use of the post office. Once open I was able to grab my new phone(the old one had dropped and shattered the screen) and a new sleeping bag(30F(-1C)). I also mailed Sweep back his mummy bag I'd been carrying and then my old sleeping bag and a bunch of knick-knacks back home to my mom in Canada.
The majority of the day was on paved bike path as we headed to Lake Butler which was the midpoint of the FT. Along the way we met and chatted with two German hikers, Walkabout and Skipper. Arriving at an IGA we did our resupply and grabbed some hot food from the kitchens. Instead of hiking further as we had originally planned we decided to just camp in Lake Butler, which I greatly appreciated so I could have more rest time for my foot.
Starting early and on a road walk was a bit worrisome. We managed and soon spent the majority of the day walking along dirt roads through pine forests. At one point we exited to cross a highway and took a small detour to a shop called Roger's Sandwich. I had a pulled pork sandwich and drank maybe half a gallon of soda.
Continuing forward we had now entered Osceola National Forest. The sights continued to be the same with large shrub like palmettos and slash pine decorating the sides of the hiking trail. About an hour before reaching camp I saw a black bear. A large rustling in the distance caught my attention so I stopped and waited. Sure enough a medium sized black bear raised up on their hind legs, leaning on a tree, to survey the area as it suspected I was around as well. As soon as it spotted me it dropped to all four and bolted away.
A few more miles are we arrived at a pavilion shelter where we camped for the night. I had at this point a very prominent shin pain starting to creep up my leg. We had done a great day with 32mi(51.2km) behind us but the stretching and rest at night were not staving off the damage I was doing.
Leaving Osceola behind us and taking a short detour around a prescribed burn notice we headed towards the Suwannee river. We had finally began turning west towards Pensacola and along the panhandle. It was almost too surreal to contemplate. The trail was fairly muddy and wet on the approach and we caught glimpse of a shy skink and armadillo.
Upon reaching the first series of rapids of the Suwannee I was star struck. It was absolutely gorgeous and the sun began to peak out as well so we took out lunch break right by the surging river. For lunch I had cold-soaked ramen. It was the first time I'd "cooked" a meal on any backcountry trip. It was a religious experience almost.
As we continued on the trail weaved up and down, left and right, with the river flowing westward alongside us. At one point we came into a small clearing that was just on fire. A local was burning down a field right next to trail with no regard. I asked him if it was okay to cross and he just shrugged at me. Goose and I kept our heads down and ran about 0.2mi(0.3km) along side this burning field. it was hard to keep my eyes open due to the smoke but we made it through coughing.
Eventually after the long beautiful section of river the FT freaks out and throw us back on the road for a good while. We walk into the town of White Springs and stop at this restaurant called Fat Belly's. AMAZING. The server was very cute and polite as we ordered almost everything on the menu. I got a whole plate of shredded pork and two slices of white toast, which the menu called a sandwich. I got hush puppies for the first time, yum. A large salad with boiled eggs, important. Waffle fries, more vegetables. And Goose and I split a bunch of dollar-a-wing, chicken wings. We were in heaven!
Receiving a tip from a trail angel at Billy Goat Day we knew there was a super cheap place to stay in town. A local was running a B&B and would charge only 25USD a night to stay in a private room. There was no way we could say no to that. We found the house, warmed up to the two little guard dogs and made ourselves at home. Showers and laundry were prioritized. There was another hiker already there, Yazzie. He had pushed a bike through the beginning swamp section before Big Cypress. He gave that bike to Byron, then he bought another bike and rode it through the hiking trails of Ocala. Crazy dude.
Goose discovers he has a tick on the back of right leg behind his knee. I try and help pull it out with his flimsy Swiss Army Knife tweezers. Unfortunately the head remained stuck under the skin. Goose went down to enlist the help of Yazzie who claims to be a doctor and proceeds to dig the tick dig out of Goose's leg with the small knife. After that ordeal I become super paranoid that I may have ticks on me but thankfully nothing comes of it.
We wind down for the night and plan to leave in the early morning.
Waking early, as planned, I take a peek outside my door before packing up. Goose is up and quickly says he doesn't want to hike. Within a minute I'm back in bed and we are on our way to taking our third zero day of the trip. I sleep a few extra hours before rallying the crew to go eat breakfast at Fat Belly's.
The day passes quietly. I spend time chatting with Yazzie and playing with the dogs. In the afternoon it starts pouring rain as we go to the Dollar General to get our resupply. Walkabout and Skipper caught us as we left the store and we told them to go the B&B but they insisted on camping out in the rain.
I take the time shave off all the facial hair I'd been growing for the last month and we finished out the day by eating dinner once more at Fat Belly's.
Today we both are eager to get back to the trail and leave the house well before sunrise. The day is cloudy and we again continue alongside the Suwannee. It's a big hiking day clocking in at 37.7mi(60.3km) and again the pain begins to flare up in the same spot of my foot. We arrive just as the sun is setting at this gorgeous camping spot that is a little finger of land reaching out onto the Suwannee river.
From the moment we start hiking I am managing pain in my left foot. Even though I carry ibuprofen I hold off from taking any. We take a short stop at a gas station called Jay Veer to grab breakfast. There is a hiker there named Ed who is hiking with a tiny beagle dog. He buys many tins of food and plenty of smokes and alcohol.
The rest of the day is on road as per usual and all I can focus on is the pain in my leg. Goose ends up hiking ahead of me as I begin to slow down. To make matters worse the temperature begins to drop and it starts to rain as we walk past large cattle operations. Our destination for tonight is a church that supposedly lets hikers stay on their property and may even offer a meal.
By the time we approach the church we are completely soaked and near shivering. We walk in and there is an evening service that had just started. We quietly take off our rain gear and sit at the back to take the opporunity to warm ourselves up. As the service finished up the pastor, Matt Thompson, came over to introduce himself. There is another hiker already there, Forest, and Matt offers us the use of the community centre to sleep in. He mentioned that his wife would also be making us some dinner! We thanked him and set up up in the large community centre hall.
After setting up, Matt's wife came with servings of shrimp and grits. I'd never had grits before but it tasted amazing. She used chicken stock and cream cheese to add this wonderful creamy texture. We were so thankful for the warm meal after the tough day we had. An hour later another hiker showed, Rover, who was hiking SOBO. We exchanged notes on what to except on the coming trail and Rover helped me address the leg/foot pain I was having by lending me a bunch of KT tape.
The following morning we don't exactly leave on time and the sky greets us with another cloudy day. With my leg bandaged up I feel much better and almost all the pain spots are under control. We head out and rush to a highway rest area where we can resupply at a gas station. There just happened to be a Waffle House there as well so we stop in for breakfast.
There is nothing to look forward to today except endless road walking. Another friend of Goose's is in the area and is willing to pick us up to stay a night with them. We rush through the road walk as fast as we can until Bill comes to grab us just as it begins to pour again.
Bill and his wife Kitt are staying at an AirBnb cabin maybe forty minutes away from the trail. The large property is an old plantation ground but has been converted to something like a ranch. There are horses, goats, and pigs roaming around. In an enclosure right next to the cabin there are also two ringed-tail lemurs and two kangaroos! Bill orders us pizza which we pig out on and we spend the night chatting and then watching Flashdance before I pass out on a couch.
With such great hospitality laid before us we decide to take our fourth zero day. I wake up and quickly discover that I have a tick on my upper right thigh. Kitt helps with a pair of tweezers and manages to get it all in one fell swoop. Bill drives us out to eat breakfast and the owner occupies our time by showing us all of her TikToks. We go around town to pick up a dozen massive donuts, some thick slices of ham, lettuce, and boiled peanuts.
Arriving back at the cabin, Goose and I spend a few hours taking advantage of the jacuzzi. We play around with a large pot-belly pig, feed the lemurs some bananas, watch Looney Tunes, The League of Gentlemen, an episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and wrap up the day by watching The Godfather.
Waking a little earlier this time Bill takes us out for a goodbye breakfast in town at Grumpy's. I get my first taste of buttermilk pie and love it. We get back to trail at 0830h and enter the Aucilla sinks. A fairly short section of trail but very unique with massive holes and water flowing above and under ground into the sinks.