Waymaker on the Florida Trail

  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 …

  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...

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...

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...