Date: 2005-12-28
To: Walking with fish
Miles today: 0.0

During the night I have a good view of the starry sky and also of the airplanes flying by. Lots of lights. It rains a little in the morning but not much. It's nothing compared to the humidity in the tent. I hate condensation.I should have about twelve miles left to Salt Springs where UG is going to pick me up so I'm late getting up. I'm hoping the sun will hit my tent and get rid of that wretched condensation. That doesn't happen and I give up around nine.The hiking is easy until I hit road 86 (if I remember correctly). The trail is flooded and some trail has been flagged around thatpart. Not bad. It's slower but I've had to deal with that yesterday too. The reroute stops though and I follow a use trail until that stops too. I bushwack close to the shoreline of Hopkins Prairie (I didn't know prairies were wet) until I don't see any blazes next to what I think is the trail. I walk back and forth a few times but don't go too far out since I don't have a map, compass, or GPS. Finally I give up and decide to return to the road and walk that instead.I take a slightly different route back however and notice that I missed a turn. No wonder, the trail turns in the middle of the water. A wooden post stands alone in the pond. Nice! (not). Do I want to get wet feet or not? I assume there won't be too much wading so decide to chance it. The weather is nice out and the water isn't too cold. Unfortunately the wading lasts much longer than I had anticipated (like a few hours or so) and it gets really tiring. Every once in a while there is a few feet of dry trail but that's about it. It gets so bad that at times I'm up to my crotch in the water. Why I am doing this? It's crazy.I'm thinking of good titles to go with this part of the hike. Something like 'walking with fish' or 'don't forget your life vest'. I'm thinking tall rubber boots would have been mighty handy or maybe a machette, or how about a canoe?I have lunch on one of the few dry spots and then push on again. This wading thing ain't no fun no more! The first chance I get to escape(which is almost at the end of the 'prairie') I take. I walk about a quarter mile on an abandoned dirt road and hit forest road 90. I'm not sure it's 90 though so I assume goingeast is the safest way to go since that will surely get me to Hwy 19. FR 65 is faster to Salt Springs but I don't want to risk walking out of my way to find out that this road doesn't connect to FR65 (which leads north straight to Salt Springs).Hunters tell me that this is indeed FR90 and give me a ride back to FR65.I'm guessing it's still about six miles or so. I could probably pick up the trail again too since I've left the prairie behind but I'm tired and want the easy way out. No cars are going my way, there are hardly any cars at all. But there is that one police car that stops and offers me a ride. He says he has to frisk me before I can enter the car though and I think he's enjoying it a little too much. I don't know what to think about that. There's a fine line and he was walking it.I was happy not to have to walk though and he dropped me off right at a phone booth. The one phone didn't work because the coin slot was blocked and I managed to lose a quarter in the other since it was a little less blocked but blocked none the less. Luckily there is a grocery store across the street which has a working phone and I leave a message for UG to pick me up. Then I go grocery shopping. The store has a sign telling people to leave their big bags or backpacks at the front of the store. Absolutely no exceptions! Sounds friendly. I'm thinking about buying a donut but you have to wait for service and the lady is helping someone else all the while eyeing me. This sort of makes sense since the cop had told me about the rainbow people being around. The original rainbow people are apparently good people but lately more and more transients have 'joined' and started stealing from the local stores.I've been asked earlier by a ranger if I was a 'rainbow' but I don't think I smoke enough pot to be one (okay, I don't smoke any). Apparently I do look like one because when I'm waiting for UG a car pulls up and the driver and his toothless buddy ask me if I am one and if I'd like to join them for lunch. The different reactions from people when I'm sitting in the grass in front of the grocery store are interesting. An elderly couple drives by in their golf cart saying how nice the weather is, I agree. Next there are some pick up trucks honking at me and the multitude of suspicious people checking me out. I guess this is what it feels like to be a transient.When UG arrives that means the end of my brief stint on the Florida Trail. It was a fun little hike but I don't think I'll ever thru-hike this trail.I'm more of a mountain girl. I miss my sweeping vistas.