Hiking Dude Blog

As I was starting to write before my phone whacked out, getting an early start on a day with no clouds meant a nice view of the sun coming up over the Atlantic. Sure, we were walking on the shoulder of the road at the time, but I managed to keep cars out of the pic. After this, misty fog covered us for a couple hours, finally burning off into our hottest afternoon so far. We've cut back our miles due to shin and ankle pains, with the hope they will get a little more rest. But, after today, our plan has changed significantly and we'll have only a few more miles of roadways before hitting the swamp. Here's the deal. .. At our lower pace, we'd never make it to, and out of, the swamp on time for Josh to get back to school. We really wanted a continuous line from Key West to Lake Okeechobee, but that is no longer practical. So, hiking the swamp is more important. We had to figure out how to get from Key Largo to the Florida Trail start. After some research, and help from some great hikers on Facebook, we should be able to join the kick off gang tomorrow. We're buying 5 days of food first thing. Then, walking 3.5 miles to a bus stop, catching bus 301, then 38, then 137 which gets us to highway 41. Then, Miss Janet, a well known AT Trail angel will give us a lift to the trailhead. It will take most of the day, but it should work.

I traveled about 0 miles today.
Check out my current location on the map. As you can see on my tracker, we made it to the southern terminus of the Florida Trail. We found a bus stop, ride three different buses, and then caught a ride with Miss Janet to the campground - where we were warmly welcomed by the most voracious mosquitos I've seen. Mosquitos don't die off in winter - they migrate to the everglades! Our bug suits work pretty well, but it's going to be a challenge. Most folks here are soaked in deet and the smell is obvious. After our ride with miss Janet, Sledge, and Red Beardfield, we met other hikers and supporters here at the kickoff. The couple that wrote the FT Guide, a few that have hiked the whole trail, and some that we'll start hiking with tomorrow. Tomorrow will be our first off into the wild with no potable water, toilets, or cars. A big change from our day today of just riding around! There's a good chance I'll have no coverage the next couple days so don't worry that we've been eaten by a bear, python, panther, or piranha of there's no post.

I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.

I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.

I traveled about 10 miles today.
Our first day in the swamp was awesome! It started with a great breakfast by the kickoff folks and then a ride to the Big Cypress Oasis Center. We filled out required paperwork, filled water, took pictures, and finally started hiking a bit before 10am. Another hiker named Bennett joined us and will hopefully continue with us. We arrived at camp very early but are taking it easy at the beginning. Joey, who has hiked the PCT and CDT, stopped for a break then continued on. Two other hikers, Handlebar and Carjacker, arrived later. We saw one lone deer way out here, and then ran into a hunter with 3 guns less than a mile later. Run, Bambi, run! Other than that, tiny fish swimming in the Trail and a couple frogs were the wildlife for today. Walking through water up to our knees occasionally, but more often our ankles, was a lot of fun. It certainly slowed us down, but the deeper water was cool and refreshing on this hot day. The trees and shrubs are amazing. Josh said it was like Jurassic Park and I have to agree. The campsite is fine and we collected water to drink just fine. We were even treated to a nice sunset, and the mosquitos didn't get very bad at all. Really looking forward to tomorrow.

I traveled about 16 miles today.
Here is the entrance to our camp - right from water to jungle. We walked through water nearly the entire 16 miles and you can see our Spot track showing us moving very slowly. It took almost 10 hours to travel this far! I'd like to describe what it's like hiking in the swamp. Imagine you are walking through about 2 feet of fresh snow without snowshoes. Imagine you have 2lb ankle weights for exercising on. Imagine some kid left toys laying all over the floor. Imagine you are blindfolded. Combine all that and it comes close to walking through the swamp! You can't see the holes, roots, and rocks under the water. Silt fills your shoes and socks. The water up to calf or knee just wears down the muscles. But, I'm so glad I got to do this. It's just a spectacular area. Last night, we had owls hooting at each other between the cypress stands. Tonight, in our cramped, jungle campsite there are fireflies and hundreds of chirping insects. There are air plants all over. Tonight, there are 4 of us on the only small dry land around. Bennett hiked with us all day and we leapfrogged Joey a couple times. Us 3 and one other guy are here. We're totally wiped out and could barely put in the effort to eat. I guess that's about it. Oh, Bennett almost ran into a cottonmouth in the water while leading our gang. We really slowed down for awhile after that.

Hey, look what we just saw.

I traveled about 20 miles today.
The highlights of today were seeing the alligator and this snake. Now, if I can see a panther, that will be all three I was hoping for. Our 4 miles out of the swamp was much like the last two days but gradually easier as the water changed to mud then dry land when we neared Alligator Ally I75. Wonderful trail angels provided us with snacks and water and a very long rest break in the sunny breeze. All my gear had a chance to dry out so tonight I'm very comfortable in a chill breeze blowing through Big Cypress campground. The 16 miles of walking after the swamp were easy but wearing on legs and feet already fatigued. It was a wonderful day to walk.

I traveled about 16 miles today.
Good evening from atop the levee somewhere out on the drained land of Florida. This was the first night of our trip where we could just stop walking whenever we wanted and set up camp. Didn't need to reach a park, campground, island, or any designated spot. So, we found a wide spot right at the only bend on the levee for 40 miles and called it good. Tomorrow we will walk a line straight north all day. We're low on food and bad weather is coming Thursday night (supposedly) so we'll see how things shake out. Our friend, Bennett, stayed behind while Joey moved on ahead so it's just the two of us now. A great day to be out walking and we saw a few alligators, many birds, a raccoon, and a turtle. Oh, and a few herd of cows. It has been really chilling off at night and my fingers are getting cold entering this, but not cold enough to kill off the mosquitos that still swarm at dusk.

I traveled about 23 miles today.
I watched a documentary about some guys that hiked across a desert. Just sand for days and weeks. This was our view today as we walked due north without a turn for 23 miles. I can't imagine how mind numbing the view of sand would be for days. We did get to visit with some cows, horses, birds, and dogs as we walked. And, the flat miles changed between some sugar crop, cattle range, and swamp. Both yesterday and today, there has been field burning on the horizon. Probably about 20 different fires set which only last a few minutes, creating a huge cloud of smoke and then black bits floating from the sky. Maybe we'll be closer enough to see one tomorrow. A treat today was a chunk of cane from a field. Sweet juice as we walked along for a couple miles. We met Devilfish near the end of the day and walked with him a bit. He's moving farther tonight as we stopped by the 'Lone Palm' spot which actually has two palms, so maybe we're some where else. Anyway, just a spot along the canal for the night.