Directions to the Trailhead:
We started from the Scott Road Trailhead off of US 231 and ended at
the FL 20 trailhead west of the bridge over Econfina Creek. See the
access map.
Special Notice: We
have been recently notified that there are two seperate steel cable
suspension bridges now on this section of the Florida Trail: one at Two
Penny and one at Fender Bridge. Thus, the description below is no longer
fully accurate. For further updated information, contact the Florida
Trail Association at
www.floridatrail.org.
Trail Description:
We had a member of the Florida Trail Association, Captain Richard
Walker and his wife Janet, meet us at the FL20 trailhead,
which is about
3 miles west of the bridge over Econfina Creek. We left our car there,
then Richard and Janet drove us up to the Scott Road parking area.
Richard and Janet joined us for the first couple of miles to the first
bridge over the creek. Richard has
been responsible for the construction and maintenance of almost all of
this section of trail. The trail enters a pine forest and goes about a
mile before it finally comes to the edge of the creek. We then hiked by
Econfina Falls, which is a side creek entering the river over the bluff
from the opposite side of the creek. This is one of the only waterfalls
in Florida. The trail then
follows the west side of the creek downstream in a beautiful little
valley until it crosses to the west side over a log bridge at mile 1.3. The log is
covered with fencing material to improve traction and two steel cable
railings
help you maintain balance. Jake was scared at first, but slowly
crossed while Brenda coaxed him over with a peanut butter cracker (his
favorite treat). The trail then followed the west side of the creek for
several miles, then again crossed over to the east side on a new
suspension bridge called Fender Bridge at mile 4.6. We passed by some 50 foot sand
bluffs overlooking the river at mile 7.8. These were very pretty
with the creek running down in the bottom. We then followed the creek
further downstream to our campsite at Devil's Hole at mile 8.8 (9.5 on
my GPS). This
site is a beautiful campsite between two clear ponds deep in the woods.
The site sported a picnic table and a flat area for our tent. We ate our
supper (potatoes alfredo) which we prepared by pouring boiling water
into ziplock bags and stirring, then let sit for 5 minutes. Very simple.
We used an alcohol stove for boiling the water. No clean up. All very
light. Our packs only weighed about 20 pounds each. We read our books,
then retired for the evening about 10PM. During the day, the temperature
was about 65 degrees, but the night turned quite cold, in the mid 30's.
On Thursday morning we woke around 7AM. Brenda was quite cold
with her thin sleeping bag (we were not expecting such low
temperatures). We ate our oatmeal breakfast, then headed down the trail
around 8AM. It warmed up quickly and we were in T-shirts and shorts by
about 10AM. We crossed the river on the metal Walsingham Road bridge at
mile 9.9, then again went
by some high bluffs over the river at mile 10.7. Shortly south of here, the trail is
detoured around a forest which is being logged. We traveled along the
edge of fields or already logged areas and other areas in deep pine woods. We
also passed by a sinkhole with huge live oaks in the bottom
at mile 16.8 and also a
deep little valley with a creek flowing right out of the head of the
valley. We also passed a few ponds and several nice campsites. We passed
through one particularly pretty area of a young longleaf pine forest
with the very long fluffy needle bunches. Finally the trail exited the
forest into the parking area along FL20, 9.6 miles from Devil's Hole
(9.8 miles by my GPS).
Jake, our Golden Retriever, was great on this trip. We had
him carry his own food in a saddlebag which worked well. He did not
seem to mind carrying the extra weight at all. Each day he would get a
little tired around about mile 8 or so. He would start looking for a
cool soft area to lie down. There is lots of flowing water along this
route, so water was never a problem for Jake or for us.
I agree with Johnny Molloy that this section of trail is very
beautiful, but if I were to choose, I think the Aucilla River section
was prettier. The Econfina is much more conducive to swimming, but the
Aucilla is really cool with its fast flowing deep river which keeps
disappearing and reappearing in the sinks section.
If you are interested in doing this section, you should 1)
join the Florida Trail Association, and 2) contact the FTA to help you
arrange a car shuttle with the local FTA members. This was a great
backpack trip, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. The best time
to go is probably in mid-March, as we did it. Earlier and it is too cold
and there are too many hunters in the woods. Later and it gets to hot
for comfort.
Also, the Florida Trail would make a great wintertime thru-hike. It is
1100 miles. Most people hike from the Big Cypress Swamp on the south end
up to the Blackwater River Forest or the Gulf Islands National Sea Shore
to end the hike. There are 3 places where you must choose which way to
go. I would recommend backpacking the west side of Lake Okeechobee since
it is more remote. I would hike the east route through the Ocala
National Forest, since the trail is better maintained and more remote at
present. And I would suggest ending in the Blackwater River area, again
since this area is more remote. The best time to start is mid to late
January, finishing mid to late March. This avoids the hunters and gives
the best weather and least bugs. Also, this timing allows you also to
hike the Appalachian Trail or the PCT or CDT during the same summer
without overlap, if you are a glutton for punishment.
Length: 19.3 miles
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