On Friday, Rob, K.C., and I drove over to the Florida Trail Trailhead that's near Econfina Creek and from there we hiked about 5 miles in to Rattlesnake Lake. We started about noon and the first part of the hike was across dry and dusty pine plantations and it was hot! I was happy when we finally got into more dense forest and shade! At least the trail was flat so the hiking wasn't hard. We saw several species of wildflowers blooming under the pine forest canopy including prickly pear cactus. We didn't see much wildlife but we did see a gopher tortoise burrow and Rob warned me to be on the lookout for snakes and alligators near the lakes. Once we got to the campsite Rob realized he'd forgotten his medication. So he had to hike all the way back out to his Jeep but then drove the Jeep to a trailhead closer to the lake. So in the morning we only had a short 1 mile hike out.
While K.C. and I were waiting for Rob to return that afternoon, I set up my tent at the campsite that was on a low ridge between Rattlesnake Lake and another smaller lake. I then ate a snack, cautiously waded out into the clear and warm waters of the lake to get some water to filter, then K.C. and I napped in the shade of the oak trees. Late in the day K.C. and I started walking towards the trailhead. I was getting a little worried about Rob hiking alone but soon enough we found him walking down the trail towards us.
That night we watched the full moon rise over Rattlesnake Lake and heard coyotes calling in the distance. It was a warm and peaceful night and in the morning I awoke to fog. We ate breakfast and packed up as the fog burned off then hiked out to the Jeep.
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