Day 25
Miles today:  15.8 on trail / 1ish off trail
Miles so far: 392 miles
Campsite: Sulfur Campsite

Waking in a hotel bed is nice. I don’t have to worry about condensation on my tent, nor the dew or if my down quilt has gotten wet…

I got up and went in the lobby to get breakfast. The BBQ that was dropped off the night before was in the bathroom sink with ice but Alex had used the bathroom and I got a bit weirded out by eating meat that was sitting next to someone who was pooping. Who can blame me!?! I instead got the bagel, muffin, banana, boiled egg and coffee and went back to bed. Ahhh breakfast in bed.

I wasn’t in a hurry to leave the room since I had plan a low mileage day. I just wanted to be done with the road walking before the church folks was out. I did skip about 8 miles of the trail by starting from the hotel instead of cabing back to where Sandra had picked me up. Although the bike trail is better than the road walk, I still don’t find it an important part of my hike. On the paved trail, there was an area where someone had painted their fence and it was really beautiful artwork and a cool sight.

My foot had started to bother on Friday’s hike. I had knocked it hard against a few roots and now it is unpleasant to bend it certain ways. I hope the pain goes away soon. It made for a slower hike today.

I entered the Seminole State Forest and a sign before the entrance had warned about bears in the area. The bulletin board had mentions of snakes and to alert the park if there was any sightings. Hope I don’t see one again on my journey. There was a mailbox on the trail today! In the beginning of my hike, in Big Cypress, there was a mailbox and I left it alone. FrontPage thought it would be funny to see if he had gotten mail, afterall we were in the middle of nowhere. Little did I know then, is it where the FTA keeps their trail registers. Ever since that, I have been opening mailbox I find on the trail.

I made it to camp and used some of the leftover rubbing alcohol I had been using for fuel. I had my cookpot set up in the fire in case of a spillage. Once my water was boiling, I just tipped the stoves over and started a fire effortlessly.

The evening is cool and still over cast. The fire was a nice addition that kept me outside my tent for an extra 30min! Ha. I typically eat dinner and jump in my sleeping bag away from the bugs. It’s kinda unbelievable that it’s January and I am wearing shorts and getting a farmer’s tan. I am so used to be bundled up and freezing in Winter. It feels strange and surreal. I am not complaining, mind you.

The trail got a tad wet today in the State Forest. I took my shoes off and wore my dollar store crocks to walk through ankle deep puddles. It kept my shoes and socks dry, yet another day. The trail also went through a burned area which is always interesting. We’re almost at 400 miles! Happy Trails!