Day 3, Monday Dec 5, 2022

 

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 my mind as I approached it as the sun was setting.

I set up camp and fell asleep, knowing I only had 4 more miles to get to the I-75 rest stop, and out of the swamp.  I would decide by then if I’d continue or suspend my hike until I could resupply and recover.

Until next time …








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