I was in no big rush to get going on what would be my final day on the Florida Trail. I only had eight miles to go and knew it would be a quick, easy walk. While I waited for Steve to show signs of being awake, I looked at maps to figure out my steps once I finished the trail. There were a number of people I wanted to visit on my drive north and I wanted to see how many of them I could fit in without driving too far out of my way.

I was aware that in the past, I would have tried to figure this out further ahead of time. But hiking the Florida Trail with a broken foot had changed me and increased my ability to live in the moment. It was so much work every day to find someone to shuttle me so that I could continue to walk on crutches without my backpack, that I often had to let go of feeling in charge of plans for my future. If I had one day planned with a shuttle that was within driving distance, I accepted it, trusting the rest would fall into place. And thanks to the kindness of Trail Angels, the help of the Internet and my persistence I was able to make it happen. Remembering that helped me stay in the moment and work on planning what I would do for just one or two days after I finished the Florida Trail. I wasn’t going to worry about what to do. I knew the rest would fall into place as I went along.

When I returned from using the bathroom at the campground, Steve was up. We didn’t waste much time setting out. We dropped my car at the end of the trail and drove his to where I needed to begin that day.

Once again, I enjoyed walking along the beach, watching the sanderlings do their funny walk. We were both surprised when we had a flyover by the famous Blue Angels. This US Navy squadron, which performs precision flight demonstrations around the country, is based at Pensacola. As much as I am aware of the fossil fuel taken to fly these planes, I did feel a thrill at seeing them so close to me, flying in such a tight formation. I voiced a prayer for the continuation of democracy and freedom for all that so many men and women have fought for.

At one point Steve and I noticed there were quite a few pelicans flying just off shore. We watched them fishing for a while and then, to my utter joy, we saw a pod of dolphins jumping in the surf. It was a perfect ending for my trek on the Florida Trail. The day before I started the trail in the south, Steve had taken me on a boat ride through the Everglades. Then, we had enjoyed watching dolphins jumping in the wake of the boat. And now, here we were once again hiking together on my final day, watching dolphins gracefully arc in the waves.

As we walked, I combed the beach hoping to find an intact sand dollar among the many pieces of broken ones littering the sand. I never did find one, but it seemed I was going to have a perfect ending to my Florida Trail hike. Brushy Bert had taken off in the morning when I was in the bathroom. I had been sorry not to say goodbye to him. Then, in the distance, I saw him coming towards us as we walked up the beach. I was glad to say goodbye to him and thrilled when he held a small sand dollar out to me. He had laced it onto a ribbon I could wear around my neck. This was even better than finding one myself. I was touched by his kind gesture.

As we neared the end, Steve and I passed a sign that said we had .75 miles to the end of the trail. A little farther on we passed another sign that said we had .8 miles! According to those signs, even though we had moved forward, we had lost mileage. I thought about when I first broke my foot and felt I might never reach the end. Yet once again, I determined to keep putting one foot in front of the other, one crutch at a time. I learned I could trust myself and my belief that I could do this. I learned to recognize I was making forward progress, no matter what others said, or how it appeared at times.

Soon we approached a bridge with a family standing on it looking out over the water. I was curious what they were looking at and stared off across the water. If it wasn’t for Steve’s pointing it out to me, I would have totally missed the monument tucked inconspicuously next to the far corner of the bridge. This informed me I had reached the northern terminus of the Florida Trail! My journey was officially over.

We took photos and visited with T who had driven up from the campground to celebrate with me. I drove Steve back to his car before returning to spend another night in the campground with T. She fed me a delicious dinner and I enjoyed getting to know her more. When we parted I told her she was welcome to camp on my land in Vermont anytime she wanted to. I hope someday she takes me up on the offer.

As I drove away early the next morning, heading to North Carolina to visit a young friend I first met when hiking the continental divide trail five years prior, I thought how lucky I was to have made so many friends from so many parts of the country. As difficult as going through a messy, unwanted and cruel divorce had been, my life was richer for the experiences I’ve had as a result of setting off adventuring in order to save myself from suicide during the dark days right after my exhusband walked out on me. While I will never condone the way he left, I can now be grateful for the ways my life is richer because he is no longer in it.

As I drove, I furthered my resolve to take the lessons I’ve learned during these last five years of adventuring to lean into all of my feelings. I would embrace my strength. I did not yet know what would meet me when I returned to my house in Vermont. I knew I would have to deal with the pole barn that had fallen down under the weight of snow and buried my tractor. I worried that once again entering the house I built with my ex might cause me grief, but I was determined to embrace whatever I found, and to view it as my next adventure. And like all adventures, I knew if I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, I would move into a new place, eventually covering over 20,000 miles. I was going to do everything I could to avoid falling into post hike depression. I was ready to fully live as the Mary Badass I had become.

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