The original plan was to leave Friday night and do a bit of night hiking and to make our hike longer. The logistics of this didn't really work out, as Chase and his dad had to work late. So we set our alarms for 3:45am and tried our damnedest to get a good night sleep. Of course that night we were up until 11:30pm packing and getting things together, so when 4am came and went, we were still sleeping. I finally coaxed Chase out of bed at 4:15am and we started loading the car and making our finally adjustments. Chase remembered at the last minute to pack our mess kit, so we spent 45 minutes searching every nook and cranny in the house. When we finally found it, it was just after 5am and we knew we had to book it to St. Augustine to meet Mason, Chase's dad. We left St. Augustine at just about 7:00am and checked in at Juniper Springs around 9 to claim our campsite and drop off one of the cars. We then drove to the trailhead at Pat's Island and set off!
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| Chase leads and Sheila follows. |
I first thought I would keep Sheila on the leash and just attach it to my pack. That got old really fast and by the time we got to Hidden Pond, I was letting Sheila run free. She learned very quickly that she was not permitted to go first, so she tended to run back and forth between the leader and whoever was in the middle. She probably hiked twice as far as the rest of us!
At Hidden Pond (mile 3.5), we took a welcome break to cool off and eat a light snack. I dipped by Buff and my Patagonia Capilene 1 shirt in the cool waters and relished the sensation of 72 degree water on my forehead and back. Sheila took a dip as well and seemed grateful for the opportunity to cool down. Feeling energized, we set off again through the soft sugar sand. We stopped to lunch on bagels, cheese, and apples just past Whisky Creek (mile 6). Again, it was great to take a break and sit in the shade for a moment or two. I always feel crappy after eating a heavy lunch, and this was no exception. As we packed up and set off again, my spirits were dampened as we heading into the most exposed patch yet.
It was a hot day with no cloud cover. The high was 91 at 2pm, which put us in the hottest part of the day on the most exposed section of trail. This was absolutely miserable. With feet starting to swell and my shoulder beginning to ache, I longed for road that would lead us into Juniper Springs. We ended up stopping for a break at about mile 8 in the middle of a desert. There was no shade, but we were thirsty and needed to rest our feet. Sheila found the only patch of shade and drank a few gulps a water before wanting to set off again. The clouds were beginning to roll in, so we pressed on and made it back to the campsite at about 3:30pm.
Sheila did absolutely wonderful. She pushed on harder than we did and STILL had energy left at the end of the day. I couldn't be more proud of her.
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| Sheila, Mason, and Chase after the hike. |
Chase and his dad went to pick up the car back at Pat's Island, and I hung about camp with the dog. We both laid on top of the picnic table and relaxed. I began searching Sheila over for ticks when all of a sudden it started to get darker. I checked the radar, and sure enough, a great globule of rain was heading my way. I was prepared to throw Chase's rain jacket on Sheila and to hunker down, but thankfully none of that was necessary as the guys pulled up just in time.
They were both skeptical about the rain, even though the radar clearly indicated that it was going to be more than a brief shower. Chase and Mason began setting up the tents and right on cue the sky opened up. We were able to get the rainfly on the tent within a minute and Sheila hunkered down in the vestibule to wait it out. We waited out the rain under an umbrella (me in my rain gear, being the only reasonable one) and as soon as the rain quit, we wiped down the inside of the tent and pat down the dog.
Mason wasn't as fortunate. His old MSR Hubba Hubba has had it! The rainfly is no longer waterproof, so he ended up with a couple of gallons of water in his tent. We shook it out the best we could and rigged up a set up to help the rain fly do its job. We used some guy line and some hiking poles to keep the rain fly off of the mesh, which would hopefully help if it decided to rain in the middle of the night.
We decided to make a trip down to the spring to take a dip before sunset. Dogs aren't allowed in the day use area of Juniper Springs, so we took a trail from behind the campsite down to the boardwalk that leads to the spring swimming area, hoping Sheila would be quiet. She was very well behaved and we didn't meet anyone on the trail, so Chase held her while Mason and I went for a quick dip. Mason chickened out when he was only in up to his knees, but I was brave enough to submerge myself in the refreshing 72 degree water. I sat content while the minnows nibbled at my legs and feet. It felt so amazing. If you've never been in a Florida spring, I highly suggest you make a trip, before these ecological wonders are ruined or disappear.
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| Copyright SunyFLx4 Photography |
We took a walk along the boardwalk that parallels Juniper Creek as the sun was setting and enjoyed a nice night "hike" back to camp. After a dinner of Ramen noodles and carrots, we cleaned up and got ready for bed. This would be the true test to see if Sheila could be trusted to actually sleep in the tent. She did great. She only woke up a few times throughout the night and only kicked me off of my sleeping pad for about an hour. The weather was nice and cool after the sunset, so we weren't kept awake by her incessant panting.
All in all, I think we've got ourselves a trail dog!
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