Day: January 1, 2023

I mentioned in a previous post that I was bringing 10-year-old running shoes for the water. I was nervous that the adhesive would fail since the shoes would be wet for 4 days straight. The adhesive failed. In fact, a lot of things have failed.

Mr Mosquito Says Hello

I always bring earplugs when I’m hiking to drown out the sounds of nature. The sounds of nature are very welcome during the daytime but not at night when I am trying to sleep.

If you hear a mouse at night it sounds like it’s as big as a fox. And if you hear a raccoon at night it sounds as big as a bear. The slightest critter noise will keep me awake all night.

Tonight the earplugs were keeping the mosquitoes from sounding like a formation of bombers. When I woke in the morning there were about 200 swarming at the top of my tent. The few that rode on me when I got in the tent did not bother me too badly all night.

I purposely waited until sunrise before I started getting up just because I knew the blood suckers would eat me alive if I dared get out of the tent. So most of the morning activities were done inside the tent.

It was a very dewy morning and the inside of the tent had lots of condensation from my breath and the grasses all around the tent. So I had to be careful moving around because if I hit the wall of the tent I would get soaking wet. I only hit it a few times which was pretty good.

Cold Shoes, Cold Water

Putting on dirty clothes is not too bad unless it’s really cold outside. But putting on wet socks and shoes is never pleasant. I did not wear my gaiters yesterday and did not think about digging them out of my pack until everything was all tidy and ready to go.

The worst part about wading yesterday was all the sand the managed to get inside of my socks. I don’t mind saying between the socks and the shoes because that is inevitable. But sand inside your socks just balls up into big gobs of itchy goop. If not for the coolness of the water I would be concerned about getting blisters. I would try it again today without them and see if today was any different than yesterday.

Let’s Get Going

Because I was purposely going slower this morning I did not break camp and start hiking until about 10 minutes after 7:00. The temperature definitely was not what I would call cool but it wasn’t really hot yet. I was actually concerned about being too cold on this part of the trip. But it is the usual Florida problems too much heat and humidity.

It was a similar mix of wading, mud, and palmetto’s compared to yesterday. I guess this is what the Everglades is all about.

By 10:00 a.m. I hadn’t gone very far and I was already getting tired. The Sun was not up very high but I had to use my hat and sunglasses toward off the heat. I managed to find some bushes to hide behind in a dry spot to take a break. I ate the pastry that I picked up in Miami and it was fantastic. Someone needs to make freeze dried pastries.

I knew I would be hitting another campsite around 1:00 so that was my goal to stop for lunch. But at around noon I noticed my left shoe looked a little weird under the water. I stopped and pulled my foot out of the water and saw a massive twigs and weeds in the front of the toe area. The front sole of the shoe was coming unglued.

Wardrobe Malfunction

I am literally halfway between the only two roads that access the Everglades and my shoe is failing. Did I mention that I was worried about the adhesive failing on constantly wet shoes? Let me mention it again.

I cleared out the debris and took a closer look at the shoe. The sole had already delaminated about two and a half inches of the front of the shoe. This is not good.

I have an hour before finding a place that will be comfortable to try and repair the shoe. I try all sorts of different foot motions in the water to try and keep the sole from flapping down. Nothing is very effective and every five or ten minutes I have to stop to clear more debris.

For the next hour my mind is conjuring up all sorts of possible fixes. I have tape with me but tape is not effective on wet things. I have rope with me and can probably tie some crazy knot to keep the front of the shoe together. But then I finally realized that I purchased a new sewing repair kit a few weeks ago that is strong enough to fix shoes. I think I have needed some sort of sewing kit on every long distance hike I have ever done.

Gil the Cobbler

As soon as I get to the campsite I unload the pack and grab the water reservoir to go get some fresh water. As soon as I get back to the picnic bench I immediately take my shoes off and wash out my socks.

I had already stopped earlier this morning to rinse sand out of my socks and a mere 3 hours later they are just as full. I think I need to dig out the Dirty Girl gaiters and give them a try this afternoon.

After cooking a burrito that I could hardly choke down, I managed to find some other food items to snack on. Dried fruit is really hard to beat. Parmesan crackers are pretty top notch too.

After my feet have dried and I’ve eaten enough, it’s time to try to fix the shoes. The sewing kit has a really strong curved needle and I am surprised at the heft and strength of the thread that comes with it. It is definitely strong enough for shoes.

After threading about two feet of thread I tried jabbing the needle into the toe of the shoe. It is very difficult to do but I do manage to get it all the way inside the shoe. The idea is to curve over to the mesh of the shoe, then come outside and tie the tip of the shoe down with the cord.

It took about 15 minutes to make four ties of the toe to the shoe. After a quick inspection it looks like it might work quite well and last for the rest of the trip. Let’s hope it does.

Swamp Buggies

Within the first 5 minutes after hiking away from the campsite it looks like my repair is working well. The toe is not moving and it is not catching any debris.

A few minutes later I can hear an engine approaching. It is very slow and low not like a boat or a motorcycle or an ATV. But it also doesn’t sound like a truck.

The trail crosses a buggy road and then I realized that’s what I’m hearing. I swamp buggy is headed my way. I think I will stand here and wait for it.

Within a minute the buggy approaches. It is sort of like a pontoon boat welded to the top of a truck chassis. They are sitting at least six feet off the ground and just mozzying down the road at about 5 miles an hour.

When they see I am taking pictures of them they stopped to chat. Apparently two of them have just flown in by private plane to a small airport perhaps a quarter mile away. They are having a boys weekend in the swamp.

They ask if I have seen any creatures and I tell them I have only seen one snake about an hour ago that I think was a timber rattler. It acted like a cotton mouth but it looked like a rattlesnake. It did not rattle but it had its mouth wide open. It was also in the water which is unusual for rattlesnake.

I realize I had taken a picture of it so I show it to them and they identify it as a juvenile cotton mouth not a rattlesnake. I have never seen one that color before.

They offer me a beer before they leave but I decline. I am still nursing a very small caffeine withdrawal headache which I am trying to fix with Chinese tea. Even though a beer would be very refreshing it would probably not help my headache.

Fear Mongering

The next official campsite is about 6 miles away maybe 7. It’s about all the miles I have left in me for today so I am hoping I can get to it at least an hour and before dark.

As the day wears on the terrain is a bit rough and I am not going as fast as I had hoped. When I stopped to check the map I see that they say the last 2 miles before the campsite are very wet and have zero dry ground. As long as I can get there by 3:30 I should have plenty of time to make the water crossing to the campsite.

But as the day wears on 3:30 comes and goes and I am not at the beginning of the water crossing yet. Now is where your mind starts playing tricks on you. You start playing what if scenarios in your head as to the latest possible time that you can start the crossing.

The couple who wrote the guide for this trail have a habit of warning people about ordinary things. Earlier in the day they noted a solution hole that was protected by an alligator and should be avoided. When I get there it is a whole only about 3 or 4 feet across way too small for any kind of an alligator of any consequence to still be there after 5 years.

The current water crossing ahead of me is no exception. They warn that you shouldn’t start unless you are positive that you have at least two hours to cross it before the sun starts going down. For me that limit would be about 4:00 p.m.

Since I am down to one headlamp it is warning I take more seriously than I normally would. But the last campsite before the water crossing is not very good and stopping for the day at 4:00 p.m. sounds like hours upon hours avoiding mosquitoes.

I get to the beginning of the water crossing at 4:03 so I decide to go for it. I had stopped about 10 minutes earlier to switch all of my water into the one bottle I drink out of while I hiked. I also ate a quick snack and put two other snacks in my belt pocket so that I could still drink and eat in the water.

With just the short break to switch around the supplies I have regained enough energy to start out at a really good pace. In addition to that the water is not very deep and doesn’t really slow me down much at all.

I keep an eye on the GPS and notice that only 45 minutes in I am already halfway across. Piece of cake. The only problem is the northern mile is definitely deeper and slower than this other mile so my pace does low do around 1 mi an hour.

As long as I can keep up one mile an hour and don’t have any situations to slow me down I should be able to make it before dark. I am also looking at the treetops trying to identify the species I know are on dry land in case it gets too dark too fast and I have to bush whack to an unknown island camp.

Camp at Last

Luckily I make the campsite well before 6:00 p.m. I go back to the Cypress swamps to collect water first. I have a lot of things to wash and I am now completely out of water. So water is my number one priority.

After that is done, I immediately set up the tent because the mosquitoes are already circling me but not biting too bad yet. The next priority is food so I begin cooking dinner and grab a few snacks while the water is boiling. Just as soon as the water is ready I pour it into the dehydrated dinner and zip it up to rehydrate.

Next comes unpacking. Everything not involved with washing my feet or eating my dinner goes in the tent. Mosquitoes are starting to bite now.

The last thing to do is wash my socks out to remove all the sand and then wash and dry my feet. When I get the socks off I am relieved to see that the gaiters have done a fantastic job of keeping the sand out of my socks. There is still the same amount on the outside of the socks but less than 5% inside the socks as compared to yesterday and this morning.

I deem Dirty Girl gaiters to be effective. I am glad I brought them but I wish I had used them since the first day.

The second to the last thing to go in the tent is me, and the very last thing is my food. I will eat inside the tent to be safe from the mosquitoes. I do not have the sleeping pad or sleeping bag rolled out yet so spilling food would not be a disaster. You don’t normally want to eat inside your tent and you surely don’t want to spill food inside your tent but at least Dyneema is very easy to clean.

The last thing to do is to change into dry clothes and get the sleeping bag set up. I notice that on this tiny little 1/8-in thick foam pad that I am not very uncomfortable. I could possibly use this as my only pad.

I am also glad that I only have a torso length inflatable pad so it does not take so many breaths to inflate. I also only inflate it about halfway so that it just gives me enough support under my back but doesn’t feel like I’m on a water bed.

Once I get it inflated, I realize that it is way more comfortable than just the thin pad alone. It is only a few ounces so I am glad to have it. Without it I would have to be shoving things under the small of my back to prevent back issues while sleeping on firm ground.

Emotion of the Day

The strongest word for today has to be Relief. Once I realized my left shoe was failing and that it was failing because of my own stupidity, I was feeling dread and guilt at that time.

But after seeing the repair was working well and likely to last a very long time I was definitely relieved. After inspecting it again tonight I really do think it is going to last. But I am noticing the other shoe is starting to delaminate in exactly the same place. Though it is only at the very beginning stages.

I have only seven more miles to cross I-75 and that is supposed to be the end of the wading. As long as the other shoe can last seven more miles shouldn’t need to have to stop and repair it. And my feeling lucky? Maybe that can be tomorrow’s emotion.

No surprises today, which is an excellent way to begin a two month long journey. It’s an excellent start so far.

Fuelling up

The hotel was busy this morning, but I noticed a huge pile of mail at the front desk, so I felt relieved and decided to go grab some breakfast nearby. I had spotted a French bakery nearby on maps and so I headed out. The bakery was only two blocks away but I started out in the wrong direction at first, so it took a while to get there.

Upon arrival, I knew I had made the right choice. There were two counters full of pastries and sandwiches. I had eggs Benedict and fried potatoes that came with it. It was the first potatoes I have had in nearly two years and worth every carb.

After a refill of Americano, I hit the counters to grab a sandwich and a pastry to pack out. The Cuban sandwich I ate for lunch, but the pistachio pastry I am saving for tomorrow.

Back at the hotel, I was able to pick up all of my packages and head to the room to pack up. Now the excitement is building.

You pack differently for travelling by transit versus hiking, but I got everything set for hiking even though I knew I had at least two Uber trips coming. This is a decision I would later regret.

I need to go buy an isobutane cylinder before I can head out, so I call for an Uber since the mall area is six miles away. I love walking in cities, but not that much.

I headed for Dick’s Sporting goods first, even though I know they probably do not have any. As expected, they didn’t.

But across the highway is a Bass Pro Shops that does have them. It is less than a quarter mile away, but the highway is the Turnpike and you can’t just go straight across. I have to walk up nearly a mile to cross, then back another mile. Time to get hoofing.

I was able to get what I needed right away, so now I am finally set to take off Leaving Miami. I did not try to prearrange a ride to the trailhead with a local Miami trail angel because I was unsure of my schedule.

I saw on Facebook that at least two other hikers we’re also starting today, but much later in the day. Uber is not so bad.

In just five minutes, I had an Uber driver pull up and I am finally off. Time for a one hour drive to the middle of the Everglades.

The driver was from Nicaragua and his English was good, but a few times we had trouble understanding each other. My Spanish is horrible, and we were too far from Miami to ask Siri or Google to translate. We both did the best we could.

He had never been to the Oasis Visitor Center, so I think he was excited when we got there. We took pictures, then a quick bathroom break and he was off.

Time to Begin

The moment to begin had finally come. I filled my water bottles and took more pictures and took some videos. I wanted to over-capture the moment at the start of this hike.

Other big hikes like the Pacific Crest Trail, I only took a few pictures at the beginning and end and always regretted that I did not take more. I took plenty this time.

The trail starts out as crushed shells but quickly turns to grass as it heads along the air strip. Now I am finally truly hiking. I am elated.

The Peaceful Everglades

Within minutes, I left the crowds at the visitor center behind. I saw fewer than six people on the trail past the visitor center to where I camped. I am not sure why, but I think I was expecting more.

That’s one reason why I like to do these hikes. Each time I hike, it is my own unique experience and not someone else’s internet post or book. This trip is mine, and mine alone. The time of year, day of the week, weather, and time of day all make a hike a unique thing from anyone else’s.

The Everglades are Wet

I don’t think I was a half mile into the hike before it turned to wading through water time. I could see beaten paths around the water, but there is no point in trying to avoid it. It is better to embrace it right up front, as this is what the hiking will be like for the next few days.

By the second or third mile, it was full blown knee to thigh deep water among the cypress and it was beautiful. When the water was only a few inches deep, it was often warm. But when it was flowing, or more than six inches deep, it was quite cool and very refreshing.

The only thing that made the hiking difficult was the hidden limestone under the mud. The limestone dissolves and erodes uniformly as the density of the rocks vary. This means it is easy to step into a foot deep hole, so the going is slow.

But one discovery I did make that seemed to reduce the effort was to keep my toes up and pretend I was skiing. Just not having water push down on the tops of your feet makes up for the effort of pulling your toes up. It feels like cross country skiing. You just glide through the water. As long as the rocks are not bad, the wading does not slow you down much.

I did not see any wildlife today other than a few birds and little fish in the water. But one thing there is an abundance of is bromeliads. They are in every cypress tree and some of them are huge.

Another discovery today is that pine trees prefer dry land and cypress trees love water. Sounds obvious, I know. But it makes a difference when you can look at the trees a half mile ahead and know what the next section of trail is going to be like. It helps to figure out when you will even be able to stop and take your pack off. There is nowhere to set a pack down in the water.

Seven Mile Camp

As the name indicates, seven Mile Camp is right near mile 7 from the southern terminus. It is on a large pine island and has a picnic table.

Picnic tables are one thing I take for granted when hiking in the east. The Appalachian Trail has hundreds of them, and they are frequently found at official campsites on the Florida Trail. But the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail has just a dozen or so that I can recall.

Besides cooking, picnic tables are also a great place to wash your feet. I waded out Into a Cypress dome to get water to wash my feet with. Back at the picnic table, I used probably a full liter of water just to wash my feet, socks, and shoes. They will still be wet in the morning, but they will no longer be filled with sand.

I knew the mosquitoes were going to be bad on this section of the trip so I decided to set the tent up immediately so that I would have a place to hide from them. There are a few small clearings at the campsite so I selected one off to the side.

The next chore was to start cooking dinner. The sun was nearly down and the mosquitoes were out in full force. Since I had eaten a nice sandwich for a late lunch, I decided just to make a burrito for dinner and not cook a full meal. The mosquitoes were biting me even before I finished cooking.

Remember earlier that I said I regretted configuring my pack for hiking before taking my Uber trips? This is the part of the story where the regret begins.

I always carry two flashlights when hiking. It is too easy for one to malfunction or run out of power. So I always carry a second small one as a backup.

This is when I discovered that my primary light, which hangs from my pack strap, was now missing. I am guessing that an Uber driver has a really good flashlight now.

This is the first time I have ever lost one, but I guess this counts as a malfunction. I will have to figure out when and where to get a replacement.

Emotion of the Day

Relief is probably the first word that comes to mind. This section of Florida is new to me and no matter how many times you read about it, you have to experience it to really figure out what it’s like.

Everyone makes a big deal about the wading through water, having to deal with the solution holes, and not to mention the threat of alligators or other swamp monsters. The mud is supposed to suck the shoes right off your feet.

But I actually enjoyed wading through the cool water. The solution holes did not gobble me up, although one of them did make me slip and fall to my knee in the water. I have not been eaten by an alligator and I still have both of my shoes. So I guess I am relieved that none of these bad things actually happened.

But it’s also relief that the trip has finally started. Flying to Miami and getting my supplies this morning was not really hiking, even though it is a necessary part of the trip. But now I am actually hiking and that is why I am out here. Even if only 7 miles today, there will be more tomorrow and many more in the days, weeks, and months to come.

I guess I am also relieved that I can’t hike after dark with only one light. I like to find a campsite before dark when the terrain is difficult. And swamps definitely count as difficult. So I guess I am relieved that I will not be tempted to try and hike in the dark until I get a second light.

But I am not relieved that I no longer have my favorite light. That part makes me sad. But now there is anticipation to getting a new one.