Category: Florida Trail

Today was a record-breaking day for me. Today I lost more items on trail than I ever have in my entire hiking career. Not exactly a champagne worthy event.

Resume the Canal Walk

My right shin was hurting last night as I tried to go to sleep, so I took a Motrin PM. I slept more soundly than all the previous nights so far on this trip. And my shin no longer hurts. I don’t want to take them too often, but when I need them they really do work for me.

The Motrin had me sleeping until 6:15 in the morning. I wanted to get an early start to give me the option of making it into Clewiston today. But a 7:00 a.m. start is not as early as I was hoping for.

Oddly enough, at 7:00 a.m. the mosquitoes were almost gone. I would have expected them to hang around much longer in the morning. The sun isn’t even up yet but it is bright enough to do anything you want to do without a flashlight.Since the official trail is on the grassy embankment and the dew is in full force at 7:00 a.m., I decide to jump down to the road. It will probably take two hours for the grass to dry.

I can see the footprints of another hiker in the sand. I can’t tell if they were made last night or this morning but they look quite fresh so I’m guessing this morning. Maybe the other hiker is close by.

Cattle and Sugarcane

Once the grass is dry enough, I hop back up onto the embankment and notice that the left side of the canal is all cattle and the right side of the canal is all sugarcane.

I can hear a crop duster approaching in the distance. This one is yellow and sprays a field on the left side of the canal.

But only 30 minutes later another white crop duster shows up and he is spraying a field on the right side. The wind is coming from the right side and I suddenly get a sinking feeling that he is about to spray me with some horrible chemical.

But he only makes two passes and the plane is flying towards me, so I’m sure he can see me with my shiny umbrella. After his two passes he leaves. I am wondering did he see me and decide maybe he better come back to this field later, or did he run out of juice?

My answer comes twenty minutes later when he shows up to resume the same field. But this time he starts from the other side. So both guesses are correct. The end result is I could never smell anything funny so I didn’t get doused with anything horrible.

But less than 30 minutes later I can see sugarcane operations up ahead. They are harvesting a field with about eight combines near me. But two Fields further they are burning the leaves off the sugar cane for harvesting in a few days.

Thick Black Smoke

There is a massive thick black cloud blowing right across the trail. It is 11:00 a.m. and I spot a single palm tree so I decide to take a little break and have a snack under the tree to wait the smoke out to see if it will thin.

It is nice and breezy, so I also decide to pull the tent out and dry it out. Since I had camped in grass last night, it was totally soaking inside and out. Now is a perfect time to let it dry.

I put the single pole up and rig only three lines facing into the wind so it acts like a giant pillow case filling up with air. It should dry in less than 5 minutes.

I turned to munching on some snacks which includes Tapatio ramen noodles. It says they are chicken flavor but I can’t really tell. It just tastes like hot Mexican flavor. I am almost done when I realized that adding some of my refried beans to it would have been a good idea to jazz it up. If I ever find this brand again I might try that.

About the time I finish eating and decide to pack up, I noticed that the tent is blowing funny. One of the stakes has come out of the ground. I go to look for it but it is not where I put it.

The wind must have pulled it up and slung it across the field. I only have one spare, but I really want to find this one. After 10 minutes of searching, I finally give up.

The smoke had started to thin but by the time I get packed up and ready to go, it looks like it’s thickened up a little bit more. This field is probably going to burn all day and I can’t wait all day. I decide to walk through it.

If the smoke gets too thick, I can always go on the far side next to the water and it should not be nearly as thick there. I put on my covid mask to see if it will help.

As I start walking through it, the sugar cane smells just like palmettos do when they burn. I can smell the smoke but I can’t really taste it through the mask, so I think the mask is doing a pretty good job. It’s not thick enough to make my eyes water either. Crisis averted.

Just as I am about to exit the smoke cloud I realize that I’m coming upon the campsite that I was supposed to stay at tonight. The canal here makes a 90° turn to the right which keeps it along the same field that they are burning. So I get to walk through the smoke again.

This time the smoke is much thicker and it does start to burn my eyes. My breathing is still not affected so I’m glad to have the mask. I exit more forcefully than inhale and that helps flush my eyes with smoke free breath . Masks are bad for wearing glasses, but good for eye flush.

It takes about 15 minutes to get through all the smoke and my eyes and nose are running by then. It was probably close to the limit of what is safe to actually hike through.

More Canals

Today is still early, and I still have a lot of hiking to do. And they are nearly all along more canals. But as they progress the trail gets rougher and rougher to the point where I’m basically just walking through coarsely mowed grass and weeds.

These embankments don’t have a road option, so I have no choice but to stumble through the weed stubble. It slows me down and makes me step in funny ways. Maybe it will simulate mountains and spread some of the abuse over a more parts of my body and end up being a good thing

When it is time for second lunch, I find another palm tree. This one is pretty short and it feels like I have a little fort once I crawl under the fronds.

I take off my shoes like I did at the first stop just to make sure my feet can dry out a little bit. Letting your feet dry out a few times a day really makes a difference.

Water Jugs by the Side of the Road

There were two more water caches today. One was in the morning at about 10:00 a.m. and the last one is at about 3:00. The canals here are so polluted with agricultural runoff, that volunteers stage these water caches of 30 gallons of water about 15 miles apart.

I am carrying three liters with me when I fill up. I usually go through at least two between the cashes. They really do make a big difference, especially in the hot weather. Thank you volunteers.

As you pass by each cache, it is courtesy to count the number of gallons remaining and either notify the volunteers or post updates in the app. Or at least I hope they are reading the updates in the app, but maybe they are not.

I can see from previous posts that even with the few number of hikers going through right now, that a gallon a day is being consumed. Once the main bubble of hikers comes through, these cashes will empty fast.

It’s a Jungle Out There

As I am making my update as to the count of bottles, I read the previous commenter’s entry. He mentioned that the next five miles were in grass up to five feet tall and that the road on the other side of the canal would be an easier hike.

The dike looks freshly mowed like most of the previous ones, so I decide just to stay on the dike. About a mile along this canal I can see that a tractor is actively mowing.

Right about where he is mowing, there’s also a bridge over to the road. I think this means the report that the grass is 5 ft tall is probably accurate for the next 4 miles. I decided to hop over to the road.

The bridge wasn’t marked on the app. And neither are two railroad tracks and another bridge further down. Usually there are too many waypoints in the app for this trail, but in this case there are several important ones that are missing.

Having that info about the bridges to the other side would give people more information as to whether the embankment or the road was the best choice for each section. Regardless, I am on the road for the next 4 miles.

At the end of that section, the trail turns along another canal that is another embankment road canal combination. I am getting tired, so I decide to take the road because the embankment is just too rough on my feet.

Where to Camp

It is starting to get late and I need to decide how far I think I can go today. I am still several miles away from the park that is right at lake Okeechobee. I know I need to make it at least to that point because there are restrooms and water.

From the park it is nine more miles into Clewiston. There is one campsite about four and a half miles away. But but there is only about an hour of daylight left, so neither destination is solid option.

I conjure up a hairbrain idea that starts to gain traction in my head. If I go to the campsite and then walk into Clewiston tomorrow it will be too early to check into a motel. Clewiston is a fairly big town and I don’t relish the thought of walking around for several hours in sweaty clothes.

I decide the best option is to Uber from the park into Clewiston to a motel and stay there two nights instead of one. In the morning I can Uber back to the park and hike 9 miles back into town to a hotel that I have already checked into. This allows me to leave some of my heavier items behind.

This is called slack packing. I will be walking the exact route with my backpack, but with less of a burden. I should be able to do the nine miles in about three hours. This is beginning to sound like an awesome idea.

When I get to the park, I check to see if I can get an Uber ride and one acknowledges within seconds. The decision has been made. While the driver is arriving, I call one of the hotels to make sure they have availability and they do.

I only have eight minutes before the driver arrives, so there is no time to go to the bathroom to clean up. I take a sponge bath right there at the picnic table to wipe off the dirt and change into my sleeping clothes. They are still dirty but they don’t smell like a sewer.

The driver pulls up right as I am packing the last of the items. A quick ten minute ride and we were at the hotel. I check in and shower and decide that dinner is first on the agenda since it is after 6:00 p.m. now.

A Cuban restaurant is three blocks east of the hotel so I go there and have a big dinner that I can’t even finish. Chunks of chicken with beans and rice and maduros (ripe plantains).

I drop off my leftovers at the hotel and head five blocks to the west to go to Walmart.

Lost and Found

As it turns out, I lost a record-breaking three items today. The tent stake flew across the field at first lunch. Somewhere in the last 5 miles my Gilligan hat disappeared. And when I went to check into the hotel, I realized my reading glasses were gone.

But I did have a plus one for the day. During mid-morning I found a pair of sunglasses in the trail. I picked them up and meant to leave them at the park but forgot to leave them when the driver arrived since he got there so quickly. When I go back in the morning I will leave them there and then post in the app in the app where I left them.

I remember losing my sunglasses in the desert on the Pacific Crest Trail. They were prescription sunglasses and irreplaceable on the trail. I had been fortunate to find a pair on the ground while backtracking to go retrieve them, and ended up using that pair for the next 1500 miles.

The pair that I found today were not prescription, but they were nice enough that someone would want them back. I doubt the owner will ever get them back, but at least I tried.

I only lost two total items on the PCT. But on this trip I have already racked up five if you count the first pair of glasses that I broke. Maybe six I am beginning to lose count. But three in one day is a record I never want to break again.

Wally mart

The major task at the Walmart trip is going to be to buy some new reading glasses. But I also need to buy another short sleeve shirt and some new shorts. I was expecting colder weather and need one more shirt. And I should have known better than to think white shorts were a good idea. They look like they have seen more than a thousand Miles already and I’m only at Mile 90 something.

I also need to buy some tools to repair the threaded attachment I put on my tent pole to act like a selfie stick. Apparently the ground where I pitched the tent on last night was so hard that it shoved the threaded rod pretty far into the tent pole. Since the selfie stick is the only good way to use the 360° camera I would like to repair it if I can.

While I am there, I also see shoe adhesive that I have bought before and I know works well. I was looking for some alternate shoes to use as water shoes but didn’t find anything. So I will try and put some adhesive in the front toes that are falling apart to see if that will make them hold up a little bit better. I doubt it will but it’s worth a try.

After I get back from Walmart, I immediately start working on the tent pole.$1 tweezers are not doing the job at all. I don’t think the cuticle pushers are going to work either. So I’m down to the small needle nose pliers.

There is just enough thread showing that I can get the needle nose pliers on the stud and end up getting it out after a few minutes. I am able to get everything back in the proper place and am very relieved that the repair has worked.

I made a small piece of plexiglass to use to protect the thread for this exact reason, but I could not find it in the dark last night and was in such a rush to get away from the mosquitoes. Lesson learned: use the special base because I’m not carrying needle nose pliers with me for the rest of the trip.

Emotion of the day

I think today’s emotion has to be self-loathing.

How do you lose three items on the trail in one day? Not only do I no longer have the use of these items, but I have littered the trail with them.

The tent stake no one will find because it is so small. That one does not bother me other than I am missing a tent stake.

The glasses I’m not sure if I lost them on the trail or in the Uber trunk. So maybe I did not litter the trail with them. That would be good.

But the hat. A big giant floppy white hat that you keep attached right on your chest the entire time you hike. How do you not notice that falling? And it makes you wonder if the person behind me is brave enough to pick up a sweaty hat or not.

I need to be more careful so that I don’t become the actual person that I hate on the trail.

A cool morning a cool breeze and a cool deli make for a perfect departure of the Seminole Indian Reservation

Leaving town

The convenience store and deli that I’m planning to resupply at opens at 6:00 a.m. That’s still a little too dark for me but I get up at 6:00 a.m. and I’m leaving the church at 6:45 just before the sun rises.

The morning is cool but it is still very misty. It’s not really fog, it’s just how Florida is in the mornings. I walk through the east part of town and get to see the reservation schools, hospitals, and other buildings. They are building new buildings everywhere.

I can also see driveways with all sorts of crazy black marks and trash in them which explains where the fireworks I heard last night came from. New Year’s Eve was the day before not last night.

It doesn’t take very long before I finally hit the convenience store that I am wanting to stop at. As I find a chickee outside to take my pack off one of the tribal police pulls up to where I am unloading my pack.

She is interested in the Florida Trail and wants to get into backpacking herself. So I direct her to the Florida Trail Association because she is looking for a group to get started with and not to start out on her own. I let her know that she can probably find a group trip through the Everglades which would be an excellent trip. I hope she looks into it.

When I get inside the store it looks just like the pictures in the app. A large convenience store selection with a deli in the back. I head straight for the deli and check out the menu of breakfast items. A breakfast bowl with eggs, potatoes, ham, onions, and peppers and a side of Cuban toast please.

I do my resupply shopping while it is cooking and pick up about two and a half days worth of food. The breakfast bowl is good but the Cuban bread with butter and smashed on a hot press is even better.

Exit Stage Right

The road out of town starts on a sidewalk but very quickly turns to a dirt road on the other side of the canal leaving town. This is much better hiking than either being in the road or right next to it.

On the other side of the road from the canal are cow pastures and some of the cows are curious as to the big silver object I have circling my head. For this part of the trip I will definitely need the umbrella a lot.

They have the same breeds of cows we have up around Gainesville. I can identify Brangus, Brahma mixed bred, and I can tell there’s even some Charlais blood in there with all the curly hair cuts. The ones with Brahma blood in them are easy to identify because of all the neck skin they have.

By 9:30 it is already getting a bit warm but under the umbrella and the strong breeze I’m not very hot. Without the breeze today I know I would be miserable. The temperature is only supposed to be 85 but 85 under the full sun down here might as well be a hundred.

Don’t Panic

After about five miles of walking out of town on the road next to the canal, the road comes to a sudden intersection where I can no longer be paralleling the main road. I don’t see any blazes at first, so I panic thinking that I should have moved out to the road off of the dirt road at one of the crossings back behind me.

But I check the app and it says this is where I am supposed to turn 90° to the north. And after looking around very quickly I do spot the blazes telling me to turn north here. Crisis averted.

At this point I know I am getting near the end of the reservation. It should be within the next two miles.I spot the water structure that is supposed to be right near the gate. But as I cross it I keep looking for a gate but can’t find one. The trail just keeps on going.

After about a quarter of a mile I stopped and checked the app. Sure enough I am a quarter mile outside the reservation already. There was no gate. I guess there was just a sign.

The Long Canal Walk Begins

Even though the last eight miles out of the reservation were along canals, to me this seems like the beginning of the canal walks. I guess just because it’s outside the reservation.

It is now 45 and a half miles to Clewiston. I have only eight and a half miles to go to the campsite I have reserved from the Southwest Florida Water Management District for tonight. It’s not even noon yet to do no way that’s where I’m camping tonight.

Along the canal there is absolutely no shade from tree cover. But there are water control structures about every mile. Since the Sun is to the south in January, the entire and north side of each structure has a large amount of shade.

I pull off behind the second one I see to have first lunch. First lunch is basically just a bag of potato chips and some beef jerky. But I begin cold soaking some ramen noodles for second lunch when I get to the campsite sometime between 2:00 and 3:00.

Aerial Photography

Now that I am no longer in the National Preserve nor on the Indian Reservation, I can legally use my drone. And walking along the canal gives a nice linear backdrop for some of the maneuvers that it can do.

I stop and get out the drone and power everything up. Now I have to put on my backpacking gear so that it looks like I’m just hiking along.

After sending the drone about 150 ft away from me, I begin a sweep about 40 feet over my head. Because I am using my umbrella you can’t see my head and I can look down at the controller while it flies overhead recording me. That’s one of the hardest things to do is to control the drone while walking and not looking like you are controlling a drone.

I take five or six shots of various maneuvers, some of them performed manually and some of them using the automatic modes. The whole recording session takes less than 10 minutes and when I land the drone I am delighted to see I have only used about 25% of the power. I want to save power to be able to take similar shots at sunset later today.

Station 5/6 Campsite

The comments on the app all mentioned the sulfur smell and taste of the water at the pitcher pump where the campsite is. When I get there that’s one of the first things I do because I am nearly out of water at this point.

I begin pumping the well and feeling the water with my hand to see how cold it is. After four or five pumps the water gets pretty cold. This is a good sign.

I smell my hand and it is indeed sulfury but not too bad. These folks have never had true Florida sulfur water. They are in for a real treat.

I pump them out three liters and let it begin filtering. The next order of business is taking off my shoes to let my feet air out.

Then it’s time to eat my cold soaked noodles. Ramen noodles taste pretty good cold soaked if you use only half of the spice packet. A few other snacks are devoured and I pull out a protein bar to eat while I’m hiking on the next stretch.

I dump a Propel packet into my drinking bottle to mask the taste and it does a very good job of hiding the sulfur. I drink nearly two liters there just to make sure I am well hydrated before I leave. I am filled up with three liters even though two miles up the road is a water cache. My plan is to down another liter and then replenish with the liter from the cache.

By the time I leave the campsite it is a little after 3:30. I know there is no way I can make the 16 plus miles to the campsite I have reserved for tomorrow night. There are no other official campsites between this one and that one. In fact these are the only two campsites officially designated by the South West Florida Water Management District for this 40-ish mile stretch of canal.

So I guess the plan for tonight is to stealth camp somewhere between the two campsites. Two miles after the previous campsite and right at the water cache, I meet two local fisherman and chat with them for about ten minutes. They let me know there is another hiker about 30 minutes ahead of me.

Where to Camp

There are supposedly some old farm buildings about 10 miles ahead. They are not any sort of official campsite but people are commenting that they have stopped there. I am assuming there aren’t any no trespassing signs, but you never know.

But even at 10 miles away that is still pretty far for me to go today. I know at least an hour if not 90 minutes of today will be hiking under moonlight. The moon is 3/4 full and already 45° up into the sky so it is pretty ideal for night hiking without a headlamp.

I just head northward and will see what might come up that looks interesting. After about an hour of hiking the sun is finally set and the sky is a very beautiful red and orange color.

I decide to stop again and take another drone session. I do the similar sequence as before but try and get the sunset in most of the shots. After this session the drone is down to 50% power. This lets me know that with one battery I can probably get three sessions safely before having to recharge it.

I have two more batteries and a charging station but it weighs a half a pound and I decided to leave it at home. Now I see that that was probably a sound decision.

I put the drone away and begin hiking with renewed energy. It is getting dark pretty quickly, but the moon is nice and bright and the trail is easy to see and follow.

On the right side of the trail is the main road. But unlike the middle of the day this part of the road has lots of traffic because there are working farms all around. So camping on the right side is out.

On the left side is the canal. Most of the bank is very sloped but in most places there’s a 20-foot ledge at the bottom that is flat before it goes to the water. I am not sure 20 ft is enough space between me and a pool of alligators.

Just as the last ten minutes of Twilight are burning away, I spotted section on the left of the canal that is much wider than normal. It is maybe 80 ft wide. I think I will camp here tonight.

For the last 20 minutes the mosquitoes were buzzing around my head. But since I was walking briskly and there was a good breeze they were not actually able to bite me.

But as I head down to the water to set the tent up, they find me within seconds. I put my bug net on but it is a race between me and the mosquitoes to see how fast I can put the tent up. The answer is about 4 minutes.

Avoiding the Blood Suckers

Instead of my usual take everything out of the pack and throw it in the tent routine, this time I just throw the whole pack into the tent and then rub myself down thoroughly and jump in as quickly as I can. If you don’t brush off before you get in you can carry 20 or 30 mosquitoes in the tent with you.

Once inside, I unpack only enough to begin eating my empanada that I packed out from the deli. It is cold and completely saturated with grease. It would have been much better warmed but it is good enough cold. I am careful to not spill any crumbs and police the area I am eating over afterwards. I do spot a few that need the human vacuum treatment. I am not too worried about critters tonight.

I don’t think the alligators will attack me to get my cinnamon buns. But I will let you know in the morning. Or maybe I won’t. But if I don’t, then you have your answer anyway.

It is well past dark and I can’t see anything other than the moon, but I can still hear all sorts of creatures. Most of them I assume our birds and they have really strange calls at night. I know they are not alligators or frogs.

The other thing I realize while I lay here is that there’s not a cloud in the sky. The 360 degree camera has a starlapse mode so I decide this is about the best night to try it out. I set it up at the foot of my tent pointing north. I will probably let it record for about 4 hours. I hope the results turn out well with such a bright moon. It will be okay if it uses the entire battery because I probably won’t use that camera too much between here and Clewiston.

Emotion of the Day

I think I will choose disappointment for today’s emotion. But it’s just a lowercase disappointment not an upper case one.

Not having a gate or a giant sign at the exit of the reservation was a little disappointing. The one at the other end was a giant 8-foot high fence and a big heavy gate with really big signs.

I do remember seeing a reservation sign about the size of a speed limit sign. But it looked just like the 100 others I have seen over the last two days. I guess I was just expecting something different.

Having only two official campsites in this area long stretch is also disappointing. It forces you to either have really long days or really short days. I don’t like short days unless they are town days when I’m doing chores.I am also disappointed that even though I got up earlier than any other day this trip that I was still only able to do 24 miles. It is still early in the trip and the days are still short so I don’t want to push things too hard. But Clewiston is still 31 miles away and there’s no way I can make that tomorrow. I had planned for two and a half days and two and a half days it shall be.

Those are all minorly disappointing things. I will take disappointment over a catastrophe any day. That alone is something to be grateful for.

Addendum

I just heard an alligator eat something that didn’t want to be eaten. Is it too late to choose fear?

Road walks are hot. The first four miles were among trees. The last eight miles were in the hot sun. I need a break.

Heading to the Reservation

I got up a little earlier than the other days so I could get into town before it got too hot. The downside to that is there is more dew on the ground earlier in the day.

The first 2 miles to get to the gate of the reservation were double track overgrown with grass. The grass can hold a lot of moisture. I was wearing dry shoes and socks because I did not trust my water shoes. Even though I knew they would get wet.

My rationale was to change into dry socks as soon as I got to a road without grass. And as soon as I entered the gate into the reservation that wish came true.

My feet were slightly damp but not really wet so I decided to hike on a little bit further before changing. The road progressively became more and more open with less shade. My umbrella came out by 8:30 in the morning.

Just before 10:00 I was already getting hot and tired. So when I passed by a very large oak tree I just had to stop and sit a while. I had picked up a therma rest pad that someone had dropped just outside of the gate. It came in handy for this little stop.

I drink quite a bit of water and ate a little snack while I was stopped. The shoes and socks were the first thing to come off though. I put a fresh pair on before leaving because my toes were a little bit tender from being so wet the last several days.

By the map I only had four miles to the center of the reservation. But by my feet it was a full 8-hour day in the Sun. I stopped at the cemetery about a mile outside of town because they had water and a chickee for shade.

The bathrooms were open, so I washed my face and could see that I was pretty sunburned even though I had been using the umbrella all day. I also washed my sunglasses which were filthy. They had a bottle filling station which was very convenient.

Arriving into Town

The last building before getting to the Baptist Church was the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole museum. I had looked up their website while I was sitting at the cemetery and found out that they were closed both today and tomorrow.

I was sad because that was one of the reasons I wanted to stop at the Baptist Church. I wanted to have time to really explore the museum. It looks incredible from the outside and all the reviews are very positive.

I finally arrived at the church at 12:30 and asked one of the parishioners where I can find the Reverend. She pointed me towards the kitchen.

I was actually planning on telling him that since the museum was closed I was probably just going to hike through town. But now I was having second thoughts.

It turns out they were just starting their Sunday supper and they invited me to join them. You never have to ask a hiker more than once if they would like to eat.

I washed my hands and face and put on a clean shirt so that I wouldn’t offend anyone too badly. But I still had my filthy white shorts on. The mule was an assortment of home cooked foods, all of which were fantastic.

They have water spigots, electricity, and a shower that the hikers can use. They also have a hiker box and a little goodie bag they give to all hikers. It is a very welcoming environment.

This is the first year they have publicly advertised their services to hikers. I hope some inconsiderate hiker doesn’t make them change their minds.

Hiker Hunger

Normally this early in a hiking trip, I would not be very hungry yet. But this trip has been different. It seems I already have full hiker hunger even only 4 days in.

This is one of the rare times that I am coming into a resupply point and have almost no food left. I frequently stumble into town with one or one and a half days worth of food. By the time I hit the store tomorrow I will be down to maybe just a few pieces of dried fruit and a little bit of granola.

Normally I would be overjoyed at the thought of arriving in town with no food. This is because usually when you have no food your pack is really light. But I have so much camera gear with me that my pack doesn’t feel that light at all. And the fact that I am about to do 40 plus miles on canals that have undrinkable water means that I will be carrying a lot of water.

A Day of Chores

Since I had been given a full course dinner, there was very little I needed to do except for all my chores. And in this case it meant posting 3 days worth of blog entries that have been queued up since I did not have cell signal.

I would interleave other chores in between the postings. First up was take a shower and rinse the filth out of my hiking clothes. The shirt looks good and smells good. But the white pants still look awful.

The second chore was to take inventory of my food. I have to resupply at a gas station tomorrow and I need to try and figure out exactly how much I need to buy for the long canal walks I have ahead of me.

Emotion of the Day

Today would be a toss up between exhaustion and gratitude. But I know there will be many exhausting days to come so I am not going to use that one just yet.

Gratitude is the better word for today. I really was planning on passing through today. But after I met them I just couldn’t leave. I have literally been doing chores all day long. If I had skipped the stop and pressed on I would not be doing those chores until I got to Clewiston which is still 55 miles away.

I am grateful that I was encouraged to stop and do my chores.

Today I really saw the big Cypress. A mere seven miles on the map, but it was a nine hour journey.

Will the real Big Cypress please stand up

I found out today that what I was hiking through over the previous two days was only a taste of what the Big Cypress has to offer. I ended the last two miles of yesterday with a continuous water walk and the first seven of today were exactly the same. There were two small islands to stop and eat and take a break but that was the only dry land until the last mile before the interstate.

The first stretch from where I camped at Oak Hill Camp was 3.6 miles. It took me four hours to get there. There were two other smaller pine islands along the way, but they were very densely vegetated, which made them inaccessible.

The first two miles were great. I was having a fantastic time. But by the last one and a half I was looking for a place to rest.

I had started out with my coffee in the drinking position on my pack. But within thirty minutes I had completely emptied that bottle. An hour later I realized it was going to be a long trip without water. I had to figure out something.

Since there was nowhere to stop and take off my pack, I ended up loosening the straps as far as they would go to get the pack as low on my body as I possibly could. The pocket where I had my drinking water was the highest pocket I have and the one farthest away from my body. I needed to let the pack droop as much as possible just to be able to reach it.

With a little contortion I was able to fetch the bottle and switch it with the coffee bottle. That one liter of water lasted me the rest of the trip to the next island.

Island Hopping

Since it was almost noon and I had run out of pocket snacks, I decided to stop at Thank God Island. That is literally the name of the island. Ivy Camp was supposed to be better and only a half a mile further. But I was ready to stop.

The island was very small and as far as camping goes, could probably fit three tents in there. But there was no picnic table or fire ring and I was hoping for a picnic table.

I sprawled out on the ground and leaned up against a tree as I made another bean burrito. This time I used my fresh commercial refried beans instead of the bulk ones that were several years old hoping they would taste better.

They were thicker flakes and took longer to rehydrate and they didn’t really taste any better. But I managed to eat the whole burrito. Other various snacks rounded out lunch.

When I moved on after lunch, it was only about 30 minutes before I hit Ivy camp. I decided to stop to check it out and was amazed to see a bench there. If I had known about the bench earlier, I might have pushed onto Ivy camp instead of stopping at Thank God Island.I just had a quick drink and kept pushing on. I am only a few miles from I-75 and I am looking forward to an endless supply of water, a bathroom, and vending machines.

The entire day was either wading, or slogging through mud. What would have been a pine island twenty miles ago was now just a place that got almost dry, but not dry.

They say if the water levels are low, that more of the trip is soul sucking mud like this. I am grateful for a high water year.

The last mile to I-75 was following a buggy road where there were deep puddles followed by long stretches of slippery mud. It wasn’t very fun hiking but it was faster than wading.

Interstate 75

I knew that once I got to the interstate rest areas, that I would have to go some distance to the underpass to be able to cross. On the map it looked very tiny. In front of me it looked like it would take forever.

I was still wearing my water shoes because I didn’t want to switch until I could clean my feet. The last quarter mile to the North side of the interstate I could feel the toes on my left foot getting sore. There must be enough sand in that sock to be wanting to cause a blister.

I get to the north side rest area and there are a ton of picnic benches and a spicket by each picnic bench. This is Nirvana. I can wash my feet with as much water as I want.

I find one that has the most shade and drop my pack. I tried the spicket but it is dry. So I try another one and it is also dry. I tried four spickets before I finally realized… hey dummy, they’re all off. So I grabbed my water bladder and immediately headed for the restrooms.

To be able to use actual facilities for a change was very nice. But when I went to fill up my water bladder, the water flow was barely a trickle. I filled it for ten minutes and ended up with about two liters. This will have to be enough.

Back at the picnic table I immediately strip off my shoes and socks. There was way more sand in my socks than yesterday, so maybe the Dirty Girl gaiters are not as effective as I once thought. Even though there is a lot of sand, it is far less than the day before. I still deem them a success.

With so little water, I decided to filter it so I can use the hose to trickle water on my feet and not try and splash it. Whatever water I don’t use for washing my feet I need to filter for drinking tonight. I only shake out the socks but I wash my feet and legs thoroughly. I want them to be clean and dry.

After ten minutes of walking around barefoot, my feet are dry so I put on my dry socks and shoes. In the meantime, I have found an outlet where I can begin charging my battery bank.

Next on the agenda is the vending machine. I purchased a Gatorade, an ice cream sandwich, and vegetable chips to munch on. I also buy another bag of vegetable chips and a cinnamon bun for tomorrow.

Making Plans for Tomorrow

I am only seven plus miles from the Seminole Indian reservation. The reservation is over 20 miles of trail, and you are not allowed to hike at night or stop to camp. The only exception is a Baptist church in the middle of the reservation that will allow you to camp behind the church. If I can get a hold of the reverend and get permission, I think this needs to be the plan for tomorrow.

I look up his number and text him to ask if I can camp behind his church tomorrow night. I wait for ten minutes but no response. By this time I am rejuvenated and start packing my gear to head out. Whether I stay at the Baptist Church tomorrow or not, I need to make a few more miles tonight before it gets too dark.

As I begin hiking out, I decide to call Karen. But when I try to call her I realized I am still in airplane mode. I think I know why I have not heard back from the reverend yet.

I switch out of airplane mode and immediately make sure that the texts go out first thing. After I see that they have all been sent, I then call Karen. We talked for about 5 minutes. I am sweating and she is watching football. Sounds like we are both in our own Paradises.

After I finished my call, I check messages and have heard back from the reverend. He would be delighted to have me camp behind his church tomorrow. This is good news.Now to decide how far to go tonight. There was supposed to be a camping area near the I-75 exit but it did not look very inviting, so I moved on. The next official campsite is 5 miles up the road and I think that is where I’m going to try to head tonight. But I only have 3 miles worth of daylight so the last 2 miles will be in the dark.

If I was super motivated I could go another 2 miles to the gate of the reservation and camp there. If I camped at the gate and left camp by 6:00 a.m. then I could make it to the church in time to go to Sunday service. They serve a meal afterwards, so this is a motivating factor.

Night Hiking

But as I hiked along in the early evening, the sun was setting quickly. I will definitely be hiking in the dark tonight. But 2 miles or 4 miles in the dark is still not decided.

The sun had set about two miles from Nobles Camp. The last mile I was walking in moonlight. I did not need a flashlight at all. But as I approached the campsite, the clouds began obscuring the moon. With less moonlight it was harder to hike even though on a double track dirt road.

I made the decision to check out Nobles Camp and if there was space, I would stop here. No one was at the campsite. It was completely empty.

With less moonlight and an empty camp site my decision was made. Let’s make camp here.The usual routine ensued. Put up the tent. Get dinner cooked. Then throw everything in the tent.

During my nearly one hour stop at the rest area, I had gotten dry and cool. After rushing five miles to get here, I was hot and sweaty again. The entire walk here was mosquito free, but they found me within one minute.

I ate my dinner while walking around in the field where there was a slight breeze just to get away from the mosquitoes. Bears are in this area so I did not want to eat in my tent tonight.

Emotion of the Day

I think today’s emotion has to be amazement. I was amazed at how many miles this morning were 100% in the water. I am also amazed that I am ahead of schedule this early in the trip.

I think part of me is also amazed that I never saw a single alligator in the Everglades. Not that I am disappointed or anything. I only saw two snakes and only one of those I am sure it was a water moccasin. I guess I am amazed that the only wildlife I saw was either birds or fish and very little else. And by fish I mean minnows.

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.

Sometimes the hardest part of a hike is getting there. This travel day went much smoother than most. On time flights, good weather and Uber save the day.

Packing and Preparing

I have been working on the gear list for several weeks now. In fact I have had more time to prepare for this hike than most hikes. But there have been many points of indecision such as which stove to take.

I prefer using the isobutane stove because it is fast and convenient but there is a shortage of being able to purchase the canisters in Miami. The alcohol stove burns ethanol or methanol which is easy to find at gas stations Walmart and many other stores.

The day before I left, I checked Dick’s sporting goods and Walmart to see what the availability was in Gainesville. Walmart had both heet and denatured alcohol and Dick’s sporting goods still had some isobutane cylinders.

I spent the morning before the flight testing both methanol and ethanol in the alcohol stove. The methanol had a definite odor to it and being toxic I decided I will probably never use that in the future. Both fuels took about 4 minutes to boil a cup of water.

The isobutane stove takes just over a minute to boil the same amount of water. Decision made – isobutane it is, even if it is going to be harder to find them on the trail.

I still also had not decided which camera gear to take. The drone weighs two and a half pounds with three batteries but takes awesome video. The 360° camera is only a half a pound and the video quality is not great but the pictures that it takes are clearly unique. The pocket osmo also takes excellent video and is probably what I will be using most of the trip. In the end it all matters how heavy the pack is as to how many cameras I bring.

So when I finally packed everything up with 5 days of food but no cameras and no water it ended up weighing 22 lb. That was lower than I was expecting so I have decided to bring all three cameras since I should be able to keep the total weight under 30 lb even with water.

Travel Day

Having a late flight at 7:30 p.m. instead of a.m. means that I have plenty of time to do chores. And one of those chores is getting my haircut for the last time for the next 2 months.

Karen used the same stylist many years ago, so she went with me to my appointment. It was like a small family reunion. But we were very early so we ran out for a quick beer before arriving.

After the haircut, we went to the local food court. They have a satellite location of one of our favorite pizza shops so it was a great decision. I have a feeling that Karen will be going there without me quite a bit.

We also got to the airport early. Early is beginning to become a theme for this trip which is perfectly fine for me. TSA even opened up the screening line early for me. And that’s a good thing because they wanted to open my pack and inspect a few things which took time.

Did you know that you can’t take peanut butter on an airplane? I know that now. They were super nice about it and even offered to let me go leave it in my car if I had a car in the parking lot. No car, not for a while. I had to sacrifice a new jar of Trader Joe’s peanut butter to the landfill gods.

The Flight

I had just read an article that morning about Southwest airlines canceling nearly all their flights. I was hoping that American airlines was not in a similar situation. The flight was on time and maybe even a little early. When there are only 30 people on the plane, and you are the only plane leaving the airport, nice things like that can happen when the weather is good.

The flight was perfect. Fifty minutes to Miami. But the Miami airport is so big that it took 25 minutes just to get to ground transportation.

I got on the shuttle bus to the Courtyard and even asked the driver if this was going to the Courtyard on the northwest corner of the airport and he said yes. After getting to the Courtyard I realized it was the one on the Southeast corner of the airport instead. Uber time

Once I finally got to the correct hotel, the check in went very quickly. I had shipped three last minute Amazon packages to the hotel and they were delivered earlier today, so I inquired about them. They said they would go get them and then ring my room when they had them. No phone calls.

Thinking about the packages and a travel day on an airplane, means that the brain is going 100 mph. I arrived at the hotel at 11:00 p.m. and waited for the packages until 12:00 but could not get to sleep until about 1:00 a.m.

Emotion of the Day

It is hard to pick a single word to describe the emotions of the day. But releif has to be the strongest one.

I have been preparing for this hike for approximately two months. To not have made a decision on either stove or cameras until the day of the flight is very unusual for me.

But with such an easy travel day, a lighter than expected pack, and less worry about purchasing fuel in Miami, means that there are no more decisions. Other than tracking down my packages, finding a place to eat breakfast, and getting an isobutane cylinder for the stove, there is nothing left to do except hike.

I have been blessed with another opportunity for hiking, this time much closer to home on the Florida Trail. Join me as I hike from the everglades to just short of the Alabama border in the west panhandle of Florida.

This will be an 1100 mile journey, and I have a mere eight weeks to complete it. Florida, being flat, is normally not a problem to do this kind of daily mileage. But most hiking is done in the Summer or shoulder seasons where there is plenty of daylight. This hike will be in January and February where I will have several hours less daylight than I am accustomed to.

Although I love night hiking, I am not a fan of finding a campsite in the dark, so I do not plan on doing much hiking after sunset. I am not averse to night hiking in the morning, so I will probably get up before sunrise to begin the day. There is nothing better than be hiking for 20 or 30 minutes before the sun even makes its presence known. I want to be the first one to see sunrise, even at the expense of clearing every spider web with my face. Take one for the team.

I am unsure how many hikers I will see on this trip. I will be leaving a week before the official kick-off weekend, where a dozen or more FTA trail angels will shuttle hikers to Big Cypress from both coasts and have some informational seminars on what to expect and Leave no Trace (LNT) principles.

If I see one, or see a hundred, it makes no difference to me. In previous section hikes during the hiking season, I have tended to see only one thru hiker a day at most. many other hikers have already started from both ends. So I know I should at least see plenty of south-bounders for at least the first half of the trip as they finish their hikes.

I have section hiked maybe a quarter of the trial over the years. I have been an FTA member on and off since 1990. The only areas I have never ventured to are the southern 300 miles in the sugar cane fields and swamps of Big Cypress, and the center section of the panhandle near Eglin AFB. I am looking forward to new experiences.

One thing that will be different about this hike, is that I have decided to hike in “costume.” The trail name that I acquired on the AT in 2016 was Gilligan, from the 60’s TV show Gilligan’s Island. later that same year, it was transformed into Dirty Gil, as the desert of California is very dusty and a white shirt and cream pants get dirty very quickly. I have white pants and shite shorts, a red long sleeve shirt and a short sleeve one, and a white bucket hat. I have also shaved clean for the first time in 30+ years. Perhaps I should dye my hair brown, too? I am also bringing an orange hat and orange shirt, because I will still be in active hunting areas for the first few weeks. We shall see how long the coconut lasts… it’s heavy.

I have changed out much of my gear, too. I am going with a Gossamer Gear pack that is lighter than I am used to. I will be using my 40 degree down bag, but switching up the insulation layer to a super thin 1/8″ foam pad more for prickly protection, and a torso length inflatable pad. I have a back issue that requires me to elevate my lumbar when sleeping on the ground, and the torso length pad eliminates the need for that and actually improves my sleep significantly. The combo is lighter than my normal Z-lite or Ridge-rest setup. But the biggest change is I will not be using my hammock this year, I have opted for a Zpacks solo plex. It’s just soooo darned light and still has great rain and bug protection. I have only spent a few nights in it so far, but think I am going to love it.

I have selected five locations to mail myself packages of harder-to-find items, but will be buying most of my food along the trail. I prefer to buy locally as the palette changes over a period of weeks on the trail and you get sensitized to the flavors of some of your food items. I doubt I will ever be able to put a Clif bar in my mouth ever again. Tuna packed in oil? Still love it and will have a dozen in each box. Once I discovered (by accident) to eat it cold and not hot, I just cannot get enough tuna fish even to this day. I probably have enough mercury in my body by now to make a thermometer.

I am upping the camera game on this trip, too. I will be bringing the DJI Pocket Osmo again. It takes great video. But I am also considering bringing a drone. I know I cannot use it in the national lands, but there are hundreds and hundreds of miles of the trail where they are permitted. I have a tiny 450g drone that takes great video, but I am unsure if I want to lug the weight of the entire kit with batteries, controller, case, etc. It’s over 2 lbs, and that is a ton of weight for a hiker. I must make my final decision soon. I also have a 360 degree camera, but early tests show that the editing software on the phone is just too cumbersome to try to post anything on the trail. it is also nearly half a pound, so this one will stay on the gear shelf for this trip.

I will not bother with a complete gear list because up until the time I board the airplane, I probably will not know exactly what I want to take. On our 2016 Appalachian Trail hike, I had brought a small bluetooth keyboard to assist with blogging. But as we entered the train station in Washington DC, there was a USPS post office on the ground floor, and I mailed it back home before ever setting foot on the trail. I hope to not have any last minute moments like that any more.