Originally Posted by
Great White
My trip was different of course. I wanted to get some distance during this trip and actually hike during the weekend not just to a particular point and setup camp. Also, my arrival was pushed off until Saturday so I decided to walk along the orange trail from the bridge all the way to the blue trail junction. There I would walk up the ridge to Goodwin Lake and then proceed to the Isabell Creek campsite.
I arrived around 10:30 in the am and saw a large horde of Boy Scouts getting ready to travel in the opposite direction from my hike. Grateful is an understatement, I was not sure if they where going out to camp at Isabell Creek or not, but later Samsara confirmed they where doing the opposite loop from me and ending up at Lake Side. As I was paying the fee, I saw Tuck approaching from School Bus Road. He informed me that family was coming in to town for a visit and he could not stay any longer. Since I was so late in my arrival, the trail head was full of vehicles so I drove down to the next option, some 300 feet or so down the road. Samsara drove up and made sure I had enough water and wished me luck. I thanked him for his concern and finished lathering my sunscreen on. At 10:40 I was on the trail.
As I walked along the creek, I could not help but notice how amazing it was. The water appeared to be near bank full stage. With a dark brown hue from the tanning. At a few spots along the trail, where a view allowed me to observe the creek, all I could think of was how awesome it would be to take a boat trip down. Every meander must present a new and unique stretch of the creek. It looked primordial from my vantage point. My hike continued and soon I was away from the riparian zone and into an upland zone. The change was drastic and like night and day in the ecology. Another feature I love about Florida and particularly the Lake Wales Ridge.
At 12:00pm sharp, I arrived at the Lake Side campsite. It was empty of course, the rest of the group had left long before I arrived. I sat down at the picnic table and extracted my lunch from my pack. I eat and observed the wonderful view of Lake Arbuckle. In the distance I could see a few skiffs with fishermen on them, I did not notice any airboats at the time. The sun was shinning the waves where breaking through the reeds and the day was looking hot. I finished my lunch and gathered some water from the nearby stream and filtered it. I filled a 2 liter bladder and my 1 liter water bottle. The trail once again called for me to continue.
The walk along the lake was great, as usual. The lake was low and the trail was mostly a beach walk with plenty of tree coverage to keep the sun at away. Spanish moss hanged from the numerous cypress trees and through them an incredible view of the undeveloped far shore. Truly a site to behold. Along the shore I encountered a couple of hikers taking some photos of the lake. They informed me of a large collection of bees up the trail from me. I told them I would watch out for them. A half of a mile later I could hear the distinctive hum of bees.
I looked up into the trees and saw a huge ball, probably 3 feet in diameter, of bees perched below a tree branch 60 feet above me. Surrounding this ball a cloud of bees circled as if they where electrons orbiting an atomic nucleus. It was great sight to behold. Unfortunately I hiked without my camera, I wanted to save weight. But I regretted that decision when I saw the bees.
A short time later the trail began its rise away from the lake and onto the ridge. Soon the junction with the blue blazed trail was in sight and I began my long walk across the forest to Isabell Creek on the opposite side. The blue trail went through the Cabin Loop trail and the cabin area itself. I soon heard the sounds of cars and people. As I came out of the brush I saw a large collection of people appearing to picnic near the cabin. They made no appearance of noticing me and I continued on the trail.
When I reached Godwin Lake, my 3 liters of water was down to half a liter. The walk from Lake Side to Godwin Lake was 2 hours. The Boy Scouts where resting and exploring around the lake. Twenty minutes later they left traveling in the opposite direction to me. I was fortunate that an encounter on the trail did not occur, passing by a column of 20 or so people does not sound fun. Three additional liters of water was obtained from the lake and I continued my trek across the forest.
The walk felt surprisingly fast, but I arrived after about an 1 hour and 15 or so minutes. As I approached the Isabell Creek campsite, I heard the familiar sound of the bee swarm from the lake. Looking around for a few minutes yielded no swam, so I continued my walk in.
After greeting everyone, I was talked me into resting my feet in the creek. I of course went ahead and found the experience relaxing. The water was cold to the touch and felt great after a day of hiking. After dinner I setup the hammock. Unfortunately I mis-measured the trees I selected and they where two feet too short. But I made the best of it and had no issue sleeping that night. Everyone spent the night around the fire and Olddog told stories of his days in the Navy and Mad777 sailing experiences in the Bahamas. The next morning we all eat breakfast, posed for the group photo and hiked out.
I want to thank everyone whom came out. It was a blast for sure. I am grateful for the photos since I did not capture any on my own. See everyone in the fall!
before they have fun without you
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