Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: Central Regional Rail Trail 7
I explored more of the Central Regional Rail Trail. I’m drawing close to the north end of the trail. Exciting stuff.
The last several 8 mile hikes didn’t scare me away from coming back to Central Regional Rail Trail. And while the trail continued its way through Florida’s swamp, there was plenty else to see that wasn’t the norm.
The first major photo area I encountered after the trailhead was a bridge over a local major street. State Road 442 if I am being specific. Its nice to have a bridge over such a busy street. It gave me the opportunity to snap plenty of photos from that bridge. Pretty sure I saw another bike trail down there. I’ll have to look into that.
Beyond the bridge, I was back in swamp land. But really Florida is and was a giant swamp. The places I have lived in the state are the exception, not the norm. I did see more people here including walkers. Probably because its near a trailhead and close to several towns. No more of that out in the wilderness alone. At least for this trail.
Through the Swamp Once More:
I already mentioned swamps and bridges plenty times while hiking the Central Regional Rail Trail. Not just on this post but over and over again on this blog. There is nothing wrong with that of course. Each of these pictures tells a story of what I saw. The issue of course is that I have written extensively about these landforms.
What can I talk about that is different? Well, its been a bit since I was this close to the actual swamp. Plenty of parts of this trail have been separated from the actual water by walls of trees and even some greenspaces. But the water and the green that grows around and on it is in clear view in this part of the trail.
Many parts of this trail have fences and other barriers to keep silly humans away from places we don’t belong. But other parts are missing these barriers. I like these parts most because I can truly look at what Florida looked like before we started changing it to make it more habitable for humans.
World of Green:
This next section of Central Regional Rail Trail took me into a surreal little journey where the trees grow close to the path and created an overhead canopy. I have been told that a lot of upstate New York looks like this and am keen on checking that out.
Whenever I see the trees closing in, I always think about the scene in Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring where the four Hobbits first run into Khâmul, the Ringwraith. The forest moves in an odd way and tells the viewer that something bad is coming. As a dark fantasy writer I love being in places that remind me of my favorite stories.
The next part of Central Regional Rail Trail took me past residential areas. Its still out in the swamp, but just barely. Not far east of me are the towns along US 1 that mark that the ocean is near. And where there are beaches, towns and crowds are right nearby.
But you would be forgiven if you didn’t realize how close I was to all that. The pictures above look like I’m still out in the middle of nowhere. In reality those pictures are located only a couple miles from the city of Edgewater And only a couple more from the more well known New Smyrna Beach.
Anyway, back to the trail. You can tell by the above pictures that housing is nearby since fencing and tree walls are present on both sides. Wouldn’t want the hikers and riff raff to randomly find themselves on private property now would we?
Near the End:
The last section of Central Regional Rail Trail that I explored on this adventure took me almost to Edgewater’s city limits. Once I was past all the housing, which you can still see the fencing keeping me away, the landforms changed.
The swamp slowly changed to forest. And rather than houses, its industrial parks now. I wonder how the last section of the trail will compare to the rest. Most of costal Florida is quite different from the wilderness that makes up most of its center.
Volusia County has two population centers. And this trail mostly travels between them. Makes sense since this was once a railroad. Also explains why for most of its run it is away from crowded places. I can’t wait to finish this series of adventures off next time I hike the trail.
Pokémon Go:
So how was Central Regional Rail Trail in Pokémon Go this time around? The exact same as it has been. Plenty of spawns. No Pokestops. Once more I started running low on items. I even took some time to gather more before I went on this adventure. At least this part of the trail isn’t super isolated like a few prior parts. For that reason I rate it better.
But still, if you want Pokestops and plenty of spawns, I recommend some of the parks that the trail passes instead. Though if you want to hatch eggs, trails are a prime spot to do so.
Speaking of eggs, I hatched a ton of them on this adventure. None were themselves anything outstanding. But at least I got candy for several Pokémon I am powering up. Not to mention each hatch gave valuable stardust. Come to think of it, I should stop complaining about hatching eggs. All hatches give useful resources.
There be Ditto and sludge monsters in these woods. Don’t worry its not a sign of pollution. There just happens to be an event that is making Grimer spawn way more often. No legendary spawns this time though. I should remind everyone reading this that my last walk was the first time I caught a legendary Pokémon from incense.
There is an even to max friendship with 10 buddy Pokémon. Currently I have done so with 3. So you get to see some of my Pokefriends from the past. These are the first 2 I intend to max. But look forward to 5 more in the future.
Wrap Up:
Hey look its me. I needed this walk. It was a stressful week and being able to just be in nature and appreciate the world without being forced to work some menial job does wonders to my mood. If only I could do this more often. There I go dreaming again.