ECJ – Florida Panhandle – Joyous Vagaries

Leaving Osceola National Forest, we made our way to the Florida Trail where it passes through St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. After crossing the trail, we moved to St. Marks Lighthouse, where we joined many photographers struggling to get a snap of one Otter that was being very elusive. Most of the photographers stayed, but we moved on to explore the lighthouse and rinse the trail dirt off our hiking shoes for a second time in the Gulf of MEXICO at St. Marks.

We would have liked to spend more time at St. Marks, but we had to move on to Apalachicola National Forest to set up our panhandle base camp at Camel Lake.

After a good night’s rest at Camel Lake we ventured to Torreya State Park where we learned about the dire straits of the Torreya Tree.

From there we went to Britton Hill at Lakewood Park which holds the distinction of being the highest point in Florida as well as the lowest high point of any state in the US. At 345 feet, there is no danger of hypoxia!

We finished off the Florida section of our Eastern Continental Journey at the northern terminus of the Florida Trail, located in Gulf Islands National Seashore at Fort Pickens. We spent some time exploring a couple of white sand beaches and got some lovely photos of an Osprey, which was enjoying its fresh catch of the day.

We ended the day at the National Seashore by washing the trail dirt off our hiking shoes for the third and last time in the Gulf of MEXICO.

A few words about Camel Lake Campground: Glen was a pleasant and helpful host, and the campground met our needs. Gunfire from hunters was a little too close for our comfort. Our final night there gave us a wonderful sunset.

Next up, Alabama.