Waymaker on the Florida Trail

  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

   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…