Hiking Dude Blog
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01/03/2016
Night into Night
I traveled about 26 miles today.
Our overnight plane ride got us to Ft. Lauderdale with no trouble and no sleep. Once we found the Avis counter, we got our car with no trouble. Driving down the Keys was an interesting experience. I couldn't help but try to spy out potential camping spots - a very rare item with water and shrubs much more prevalent than firm land. We swapped our car for a crazy pink taxi at the Key West airport and enjoyed a short, expensive ride to the 'southernmost' point of the US. It's pretty amazing how many'southernmost' places there are, from inns to furniture stores. Our hike finally began at the same time as the warm rain. We hiked from key to key until the sun dropped, and then kept going. Our legs were totally exhausted and sore, and I got two bonus blisters. Summerland Key was our destination for the night. I found a couch surfing host who has welcomed us into his home. This is my first couch surfing experience and I'd recommend checking out out. We've been up since yesterday morning so it's time to sign off and hope this night heals the pains for tomorrow's adventure.
01/04/2016
Bridges
I traveled about 23 miles today.
After a wonderful night of rest, we began our day of waking with a light rain and high hopes for long miles. The rain stopped quickly and was replaced by a strong, steady wind and light overcast all day - prefect weather for walking! But, our miles were cut back due to the pounding our feet and legs are getting from the pavement and concrete. It was a great day with amazing views, splitting the Atlantic and Gulf from bridges over channels. Our biggest challenge of three day was the famous Seven Mile Bridge - along the skinny shoulder with over 1000 cars pet hour flying past. Our early schedule was too ambitious so I'm now figuring a couple of shorter days to allow a bit of recovery. The biggest overall challenge with this trail is figuring spots to spend the night without breaking the bank. The campground tonight charged $60 for a flat spot to pitch a tent. Ouch! Besides the views, my highlight of today was a sandwich at 5 Brothers 2 where we got to listen to a bunch of elderly Cuban friends chat with the owner. Couldn't understand a word, but enjoyed the experience.
01/05/2016
Wind, Rain, and a Bonus
I traveled about 20 miles today.
After a night of less than restful rest, we had a great morning of windy, cool walking through Marathon. The first couple miles took forever since we stopped for groceries, and replacement water bottles for me. I had left mine on the picnic table last night and some helpful person the them out as garbage. The trail was away from the road all morning and had benches every mile or so. We saw many bike riders but no other hikers. The afternoon was a different hike. Mist turned to drizzle then to real rain, all driven by a robust headwind. It wasn't much fun on a 3- mile bridge crossing when even all the fishermen were leaving. At least we were not on the road shoulder toss time. We had no spot for tonight since we changed our plan to reach Islamorada. All the state parks are full but we planned to check at Long Key state park. The park ranger got us a ' primitive ' tent spot for just $14. As you can see, this is a VERY cool site. We are on a covered platform only 10 feet from the Atlantic ocean! No tents needed, and we're just hoping the breeze continues to keep any bugs away. Tomorrow calls for rain all day so we'll enjoy what we have now.
01/06/2016
Meeting People
I traveled about 21 miles today.
I could tell you all about the horrendous rain and wind we had all morning across ocean bridges, but I won't. Instead, you can see Josh gazing back longingly towards Robbie's where we had just enjoyed great fish tacos for lunch. Even better than the food was our great chat with our waiter who was quick to share his life stories and plans with us, as well as ask about our trip. Just a great guy Last night at the state park, a young guy that teaches yoga walked by our site and we talked a bit. He had biked through here lady year. When I mentioned we hadn't eaten yet, he insisted we finish his leftover pizza. Tonight, our host drove us to an awesome restaurant so we didn't have to walk the mile. There, Lindsey was so friendly and full of live that we couldn't help but have a wonderful time. The meatballs and pizza helped! After our meal, Lindsey had a cab take us back where we're camping. We've met some wonderful folks here in Florida, these are just a few of them to mention. Our bright orange hats have made is a bit recognizable and known along the Keys. We've had 3 people say that they saw us down the road a day ago and ask about our hike. A handful of others have honked or mentioned or hats as they biked our walked past.
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Posted: 01/06/2016
Posted: 01/06/2016
01/07/2016
Sunny day
As I was starting to write before my phone whacked out, getting an early start on a day with no clouds meant a nice view of the sun coming up over the Atlantic. Sure, we were walking on the shoulder of the road at the time, but I managed to keep cars out of the pic. After this, misty fog covered us for a couple hours, finally burning off into our hottest afternoon so far. We've cut back our miles due to shin and ankle pains, with the hope they will get a little more rest. But, after today, our plan has changed significantly and we'll have only a few more miles of roadways before hitting the swamp. Here's the deal. .. At our lower pace, we'd never make it to, and out of, the swamp on time for Josh to get back to school. We really wanted a continuous line from Key West to Lake Okeechobee, but that is no longer practical. So, hiking the swamp is more important. We had to figure out how to get from Key Largo to the Florida Trail start. After some research, and help from some great hikers on Facebook, we should be able to join the kick off gang tomorrow. We're buying 5 days of food first thing. Then, walking 3.5 miles to a bus stop, catching bus 301, then 38, then 137 which gets us to highway 41. Then, Miss Janet, a well known AT Trail angel will give us a lift to the trailhead. It will take most of the day, but it should work.
01/08/2016
Trailhead
I traveled about 0 miles today.
Check out my current location on the map. As you can see on my tracker, we made it to the southern terminus of the Florida Trail. We found a bus stop, ride three different buses, and then caught a ride with Miss Janet to the campground - where we were warmly welcomed by the most voracious mosquitos I've seen. Mosquitos don't die off in winter - they migrate to the everglades! Our bug suits work pretty well, but it's going to be a challenge. Most folks here are soaked in deet and the smell is obvious. After our ride with miss Janet, Sledge, and Red Beardfield, we met other hikers and supporters here at the kickoff. The couple that wrote the FT Guide, a few that have hiked the whole trail, and some that we'll start hiking with tomorrow. Tomorrow will be our first off into the wild with no potable water, toilets, or cars. A big change from our day today of just riding around! There's a good chance I'll have no coverage the next couple days so don't worry that we've been eaten by a bear, python, panther, or piranha of there's no post.
01/09/2016
Done Hiking Today
I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.
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Posted: 01/09/2016
Posted: 01/09/2016
01/10/2016
Done Hiking Today
I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.
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Posted: 01/10/2016
Posted: 01/10/2016
01/11/2016
Into the Swamp
I traveled about 10 miles today.
Our first day in the swamp was awesome! It started with a great breakfast by the kickoff folks and then a ride to the Big Cypress Oasis Center. We filled out required paperwork, filled water, took pictures, and finally started hiking a bit before 10am. Another hiker named Bennett joined us and will hopefully continue with us. We arrived at camp very early but are taking it easy at the beginning. Joey, who has hiked the PCT and CDT, stopped for a break then continued on. Two other hikers, Handlebar and Carjacker, arrived later. We saw one lone deer way out here, and then ran into a hunter with 3 guns less than a mile later. Run, Bambi, run! Other than that, tiny fish swimming in the Trail and a couple frogs were the wildlife for today. Walking through water up to our knees occasionally, but more often our ankles, was a lot of fun. It certainly slowed us down, but the deeper water was cool and refreshing on this hot day. The trees and shrubs are amazing. Josh said it was like Jurassic Park and I have to agree. The campsite is fine and we collected water to drink just fine. We were even treated to a nice sunset, and the mosquitos didn't get very bad at all. Really looking forward to tomorrow.
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Posted: 01/11/2016
Posted: 01/11/2016
Water Walking day 2
I traveled about 16 miles today.
Here is the entrance to our camp - right from water to jungle. We walked through water nearly the entire 16 miles and you can see our Spot track showing us moving very slowly. It took almost 10 hours to travel this far! I'd like to describe what it's like hiking in the swamp. Imagine you are walking through about 2 feet of fresh snow without snowshoes. Imagine you have 2lb ankle weights for exercising on. Imagine some kid left toys laying all over the floor. Imagine you are blindfolded. Combine all that and it comes close to walking through the swamp! You can't see the holes, roots, and rocks under the water. Silt fills your shoes and socks. The water up to calf or knee just wears down the muscles. But, I'm so glad I got to do this. It's just a spectacular area. Last night, we had owls hooting at each other between the cypress stands. Tonight, in our cramped, jungle campsite there are fireflies and hundreds of chirping insects. There are air plants all over. Tonight, there are 4 of us on the only small dry land around. Bennett hiked with us all day and we leapfrogged Joey a couple times. Us 3 and one other guy are here. We're totally wiped out and could barely put in the effort to eat. I guess that's about it. Oh, Bennett almost ran into a cottonmouth in the water while leading our gang. We really slowed down for awhile after that.
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All Comments:
Feb 13, 2020 - Jason Berklund
Hey hiking dude I have several questions planning my first north to south trip
from 270 all the way down. I kind a know what to wear what to eat all that
important jive. I am in relatively good shape definitely Not concerned about
where in tear. 45 years old going with a 21-year-old nephew. My question is
I have friends in Duluth that I don’t want to burden with driving me what’s the
best way to get up to otter Lake Road that’s not gonna cost a crap ton. We
were thinking 15 miles a day. We were also thinking hammocks. Let me
know what you think please. I have read so much and look at so much and
heard so many opinions but You seem to be very realistic on your
comments. Thank you
Feb 13, 2020 - Hiking Dude
@Jason - Hammocks work fine - most campsites have lots of trees.
15MPD is realistic, and you'll probably do more than that many
days.
Getting to the northern terminus is expensive (in my mind). If you can schedule correctly, Arrowhead Transit is cheapest to Grand Marais, but then Harriet Quarles is the only shuttle I know of. You might find a good ol' boy in Grand Marais willing to drive you the 35 miles to the end for a few $$$.
It's a 3 hour drive from Duluth - that's 6 hours and 300 miles round-trip. Maybe your friend would like to drive up the north shore for a day.
Getting to the northern terminus is expensive (in my mind). If you can schedule correctly, Arrowhead Transit is cheapest to Grand Marais, but then Harriet Quarles is the only shuttle I know of. You might find a good ol' boy in Grand Marais willing to drive you the 35 miles to the end for a few $$$.
It's a 3 hour drive from Duluth - that's 6 hours and 300 miles round-trip. Maybe your friend would like to drive up the north shore for a day.
Feb 04, 2024 - John
Me and my fiance are going to Costa Rica for our honeymoon and we
are so excited!
May 02, 2024 - Zeke Mead
Has anyone cycled this Camiño? Sounds like the trail is a road
and if trucks are able to do it, maybe bikes too?
May 03, 2024 - Hiking Dude
@Zeke - Someone could certainly bike part of the Camino de Costa
Rica, but other parts are simple trail that would not be passable
by bike.
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