Last night it took forever to get comfortable and fall asleep; however, I was up at 06:00. I laid in bed for another 45 minutes listening to the rain and waiting for it to subside some so that I could begin the process of taking down camp. During the entire time I was packing up camp I was praying that I would be able to get out of here and not get stuck on the road with all the this rain. I didn't want to even begin to think how deep the lakes I had driven thru last night were now.
Well I made it to the highway without incidence and began driving to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Upon arriving I drove all the way to the end where the lighthouse was situated. I started to walk on one of the paths when all of a sudden I was being chased down by mosquitoes! I felt like I was that alien that is in the movie Lilo and Stitch who thinks mosquitoes are an endangered species until he is completely covered in them. So at a brisk pace I made it back to my car and doused myself with 100% deet (yes, I know that its' bad for you but I will deal with the consequences), put my rain coat on, and also my bug head net. Take that you pesky bloodsuckers!
While driving down the road I realized I was so hungry that I was eating cold baked beans out of a mason jar with a spork while bird-watching. I think I just entered a whole new stage of desperate. HAHA Anyways, I decided to hike one of the primitive trails within the refuge, a total of 6.8 miles. I did not realize until today how out of "hiking" shape I am. Granted it was raining the entire time, my boots were oozing water and my pants were soaked. Though I was drenched and I think I left my ass and thighs somewhere back on the trail it was overall a decent hike. Throughout the hike I saw the following wildlife:
tri-colored herons 2 downy woodpeckers
green herons heard the "screech" then say a barred owl
common moorhens alligators
american oystercatchers 28 turtle nests
purple gallinules
various shorebirds
Leaving St. Marks I camped at Bayside campground in the Elgin AFB. After setting up camp I took a dip in the bay to rinse off, cooked some ramon noodles and settled in for the night.
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