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Day 5, Saturday Jan 28, 2023

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  I-75 rest area to Seminole Reservation South Gate - 7.8 miles hiked tonight. 38.3 total FT miles I returned to the Florida Trail Saturday for another section hike, picking up where I left off in December.  To get back to the I-75 rest area, I took a Flix bus from downtown Tampa to Naples, arriving early evening at a McDonalds in south Naples.  From there, it was a 30 minute hitch to the rest stop (thanks Jorge). I arrived at the rest area around 7 pm, and headed north on the trail in the dark.  Using my headlamp and the ambient moon light, it was an easy 2 1/2 hour trek for almost 8 miles to the southern gate of the Seminole Indian Reservation.  There had been a recent controlled burn, so the woods on either side of the trail were covered in white ashes.  In the dark, it resembled a moon scape of sorts.  If I wasn’t such a brave and intrepid hiker, I might have been slightly spooked. As my plan was to cover the 20+ miles that encompass the Reservatio...
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Day 4, Tuesday Dec 6, 2022

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  Thank God island campsite to I-75 rest stop.  4.3 miles hiked today, 30.5 total FT miles completed. As I broke camp today, I had pretty much decided that today would be the end of this outing for now.  I would need to update some equipment before venturing further, so it was time to stop. The trail got measurably better as I headed north, and I reached the rest area by about noon.  From there, I called Carolyn to come and get me after she got off of work.  I then settled in at the rest stop and waited.   While there, I cleaned up as best I could in the rest area bathroom, and ended up throwing out my hiking pants.  They’d been destroyed by the swamp, with multiple holes and tears. I changed into my “sleep” clothes (shorts and a tshirt) and relaxed. Carolyn arrived by early evening and we drove home.  Plans are to resume my trek in January, finishing the first 150 miles in the town of Okeechobee. Until then …
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Day 3, Monday Dec 5, 2022

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  Pine island campsite to Thank God Island.  6 miles hiked today, 26.2 total FT miles. Today it got real. I ran out of bug spray this morning while breaking camp, and my sleeping pad sprung a leak overnight. Once I was packed up and got going, I was only able to maintain slightly over a half mile per hour pace through the worst of the bog.  Still, I only made it six miles before it started getting dark.  As far as physical effort, this stretch was as difficult as any 6 miles on the Appalachian Trail.   My day consisted of slogging through the muck hour after hour, with brief stops sitting in the water to rest.  Multiple spills into the water, losing my spare socks and reading glasses at some point.  The scenery barely changed, and I was too tired to take many pictures. After spending most of the day submerged, I came across Thank God island, the first dry spot I’d seen since the morning.  The camp is suitably named, as that thought was foremost on...
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Day 2, Sunday Dec 4, 2022

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Pine Island campsite to another pine island campsite - 8.8 miles today, 20.2 total FT miles. I got an early start this morning, breaking camp before 7 and heading out.  The day was a bit more challenging, partially because of fatigue from the first day, and partially due to the changing trail conditions.  Today was 50% water, 40% mud, and 10% dry ground.  It was the mud that was the toughest.  Yesterday I noted how mud wasn’t much of a concern.  Today it was that and more.  I sunk into the mud constantly on those sections, slowing forward progress to a snails pace.   By noon, I had only covered 5 miles, and wanted to get another 6 miles before  stopping for the night.  That didn’t happen.  After 4 more hours and a measly 3.8 more miles, I called it a day.  I was whipped.  I set up camp in one of the rare high and dry spots and crashed. Although the day was grueling, there were some high points.  Again, the weather was perf...
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Day 1, Saturday Dec 3, 2022

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Southern Terminus to pine island campsite - 11.6 miles hiked. What a day!  I got an early start, getting picked up at the hostel I stayed at in Miami around 6:45, and driven to the  Big Cypress  National Preserve Oasis Visitor Center and southern terminus of the Florida Trail, arriving at 8 am.  After dropping off my permit, I headed north on the trail, just ahead of two other hikers setting out about 30 minutes behind me.  The weather was perfect and I was on my way. Having watched multiple videos on the FT, I pretty much knew what to expect.  Lots of slogging through ankle to thigh deep water as the trail winds its way through the swamp.  I was not disappointed.  Although there were short sections of the trail that were dry, most of this section was under water.  Unlike the AT, where the mud was often sticky and slippery,  the water was clear and cool, and the limestone base was much more secure than I expected.  That sa...
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Update - Wed, Dec 7, 2022

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  It’s Wednesday morning and I’m back home.  After 4 days and 30 miles of swamp hiking, I had to take a pause on my initial Florida Trail section hike.  Due to multiple equipment issues, and bone weary fatigue, I thought it best to stop for now.  I made it through the toughest 30 miles of Florida hiking, and more importantly, all of the swamp, and will be ready to resume from that point early next year.   I will post a record of the four grueling days shortly, but wanted to get this notification out now.  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.   Until next time… Day One Day 4
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Day Zero - Friday Dec 2, 2022

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   Today was the start of my Florida Trail 9 day trek.  Carolyn and I said our goodbyes this afternoon at the Tampa Amtrak station, and after a brief wait, I boarded the Amtrak Silver Star with service to Miami.  The train was very nice, with wide comfortable seats with charging stations.  The ride lasted about five hours, stopping often (Lakeland, Winter Haven, Sebring, Okeechobee, Ft. Lauderdale, and finally Miami).  We arrived in Miami just after dark. A ten minute Uber ride deposited me at Miami’s Cheapest Motel, where I will be picked up first thing in the morning for the ride to the trailhead at Oasis Visitor Center.  From there it’s north through the swamp for the next several days.  Cell coverage is supposed to be spotty for the first few days, but I’ll update my progress as I can.   Until next time…
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