Day 5, Saturday Jan 28, 2023


 

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 Reservation the next day, I wanted to be right next to the South Gate.  A quick set up of my tent, a bite to eat, and I was snug as a bug by 10 pm.  My plan from there was to average 25 mile days for the next four days, and then a short day into Okeechobee to catch the Amtrak home on Thursday.  Ultimately the plan was overly ambitious, as I was to find out, but many miles lay ahead.

Until next time…




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