HIKE DIARY
Backpacking & thru-hiking
is not always blissful
March Forth
Six years ago today, I completed a walk of the entire length of New Zealand. What got me there were three words from the positive mental attitude world, “Do it now!”
The Clarity of a Fuzzy Mind
The long, relentless walks along the canals on the Florida Trail gave me an opportunity for some of my very best thinking and problem solving.
Kissimmee: Long Hammock to SR 60, 6 miles
It’s a short day to the highway where I’ll meet my friend, so I hang out at my campsite all morning in the hammock, then visit the chaos of River Ranch.
Kissimmee: Cowboy Crossing to Long Hammock, 20 miles
I luck out with the weather and an overcast sky on a hot day, plus I’m able to take a shortcut through normally an alligator-infested cypress strand because it’s so dry.
Kissimmee: Oak Creek Hammock to Cowboy Crossing, 17 miles
It’s another beautiful day in the hammocks and prairie, where I watch a downpour from a safe distance.
Kissimmee: Chandler Slough East to Oak Creek Hammock, 20 miles
It’s an extraordinary day in the Kissimmee through palm and oak hammocks ending with a full moon.
Kissimmee: Okeechobee to Chandler Slough East, 20 miles
Leaving lake Okeechobee, I follow the Kissimmee River and miles of mystical oak hammocks.
Okeechobee: S-135 campsite to Okeechobee, 15 miles
It’s not much further to town and a shower/rest! The lake enchants as well as a cool sculpture park in Okeechobee.
Lake Okeechobee: Canal Point to S-135 campsite, 17 miles
The trail goes up and over Port Mayaca on a vertiginous bridge, then hits a beautiful section along a canal where I camp with my high school friend.
Lake Okeechobee: Torry Island to Canal Point, 17 miles
It’s a shorter day to Pahokee where I eat wonderful Mexican food, then walk a few more miles before camping on Cindy’s lawn.
Canals/Okeechobee: L1-E to Torry Island, 20 miles
The trail is now through mowed grass and heads towards the lake where a lovely couple offers me lunch and I get a much-needed shower at an RV park.
Canals: STA 5/6 campsite to L1-E campsite, 16 miles
The second day on the canals is mostly on a road away from the water until finally popping back onto the levee and a gorgeous campsite.
