Today is an impromptu day hike, and I'm joined by friend Deb who is staying a couple of days. We shuttled a car to the SR471 parking lot and set out from the Green Swamp East trailhead.

The trail was a mixture of Cypress swamp, oak and pine forest, and crossed the Withlacoochee river several times. There were several sections of forest road walks. The weather was clear with a light breeze, and temps in the 80's. A couple of places were a little too sun exposed in the middle of the day, but for the most part the trail was nicely shaded.

We passed through several areas that had recently burned, but the new green regrowth of grass and Palmetto shows how quickly the forest begins to recover.   Late in the afternoon we crossed the Withlacoochee River once again at a road bridge. The worst of the day's heat had already passed, but the water still looked cool and inviting. We investigated the river bottom and found it was cool soft moss and firm sand, with no slimy mud. We could not resist the opportunity to strip down and enjoy a refreshing soak. We both wished we had been here for our lunchtime nap, but it was a great rest stop any time of day.

At the end of the day, after a wonderful day's hiking, albeit we reached the road, and the southbound register.  Out onto the highway a short walk across the Withlacoochee bridge took us back to the car.