We are now on a bus heading to Savannah, GA, where friends are waiting to hug us. Over 500 miles of trail remain ahead of us, but we will not continue forward. We are not injured, nor sad. We are happy, tired, and ready for a shift in pace as our long and fantastic year of travel draws to a close.
We ended our thru at the banks of the Suwanee River in Northern Florida. The trail was just turning West into the panhandle after a long trek north. The last few days saw some dramatic shifts in the hiking.
The first big shift was the decision to hitch ahead. Catching up to our friends was deemed to be more important than connecting our steps. We ended up skipping about 60 miles trail, most of it unremarkable. Our hitches were magical. First road we came to, first car to show up. His name was Michael and his brother had hiked sections of the trail. He took us about 20 miles out of his way to the town of Starke. From there, we didn't even need to raise our thumbs. We were recognized by a local who was on his way North to start the Appalachian Trail and happened to be going in our direction!
The next day, we found out that we were still about 20 miles behind our friends. Big days were needed. But big days were behind us. I think we left them somewhere back near Stehekin.
A strange thing happens when you skip a chunk of trail: you lose a portion of your commitment along with the continuity. Once we decided that we were no longer willing to do big miles, continuing on the trail would push a finish date well into April. Dreams of home are becoming stronger and it will feel good to be back in Portland before a year has passed. Once we had decided that we weren't willing to hike to the terminus, it turned into a discussion of when to jump off. Sooner won out over later. Our maps indicated that jumping out would only become more difficult as time progressed. Couple that with nearby friends and we knew the time had come.
A cold front had moved in on our last day. Preceded by a night of thunderstorms, we woke to a crisp morning. Both of us were fairly solid on leaving by that point. Once we focused on moving off the trail, the details followed naturally. As we walked, we said our goodbyes. Around noon, we took a luxurious break in a fantastic screened shelter next to a stream. Leaving there, we were completely resolved and excited about our decision. We were planning on walking about 7 miles into White Springs but we didn't even get that far. Just 2 miles past the shelter we were adopted by a local named Rick who fed us soul food, gave us an apartment for the night, and took us to the nearest greyhound station at 6 this morning. Rick had no idea what the FT was or that it ran right past his house. He was so excited to see his property on our little FT map.
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Now we are in Savannah with hugs, and all is good.
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We are not quite done with the FT. Once we get our car, we will cherry pick the best sections of the panhandle, and meet our friends somewhere around there. After that, we will start heading West. Home is calling!
Our experience of Florida has been varied but mostly positive. My only real gripes are the long roadwalks, insanely humid weather, and evil evil ticks. Of the people we have met, there are only positive things to say.
All is good!
