Trail Miles 105 to 160
On the Road Again from Clewiston to Moorehaven:
Lesson learned: Friends make the journey light.
On the Road Again from Clewiston to Moorehaven:
We mail our resupply forward from the nearby post office this morning. They open at 8:30. We stayed at the Best Western across from Wal -Mart last night and it was a good location to get stuff done. We follow the blue line on the Guthook app to get back to the Florida Trail and don’t enjoy the road walk alongside the highway very much. (The official trail is red on the app and the alternate or re-route is blue) Although the friendly waves and honks are encouraging. At least I think they were encouraging! Usually Hawkeye picks up the litter, but there was too much along this stretch of highway.
Turning onto a country road the walking is much more pleasant. We talk to a commercial net fisherman and he has caught 8000 lbs. last night. It seems like a load of Biblical proportions. We see tilapia, blue gill, catfish and bream. He says it is a really big haul, as he sweats in the Florida sun shoveling them onto a conveyor belt. His whole boat is completely full. We have never seen such a sight. If I was walking by myself I would miss so much, because I am shyer that my counterpart. Everyday I find new reasons to be thankful for him.
When we were young adults we enjoyed reading, “A Walk Across America” and we liken our walk across Florida a bit to it. We try to be friendly and talk to folks along the way as it is very interesting and also remember that at the kickoff Chris Bell reminded us that we are ambassadors of this trail. We hope to be a positive experience to those we meet along the way.
Getting back on the dike we meet up with our trail friends Sunset and Songbird. The afternoon quickly slips away as we talk. We stop at the Joe's Crab Shack and grab a Gatorade and visit with Camperdan who is waiting for his brother. Being part of this trail family is the most community we have felt in a long time and it is amazing how normal societal constraints fall away and we talk openly and transparently right from the get go. This is one of my favorite things of the hiking community.
Right before Moore Haven we stop and talk to a couple fishing and I tell him my biggest fear out here is snakes and the man tells me to not worry about snakes, just always look where my feet are stepping and I and the snakes will be fine He also smilingly likens us to hippies as we depart.
So far on this trip, we've been called seniors, sojourners and now hippies. I feel a bit more like a hobo again tonight though, as we are camped right before the town of Moorehaven, near the lock. We are worried we will get kicked out later in the night, but a peace officer just drove by and waved at us, so I guess it is Okay. (Camping in non traditional spots one was thing I had to quickly get used to on the Florida Trail. Embrace it early and it will make for a better trip).
Right before Moore Haven we stop and talk to a couple fishing and I tell him my biggest fear out here is snakes and the man tells me to not worry about snakes, just always look where my feet are stepping and I and the snakes will be fine He also smilingly likens us to hippies as we depart.
So far on this trip, we've been called seniors, sojourners and now hippies. I feel a bit more like a hobo again tonight though, as we are camped right before the town of Moorehaven, near the lock. We are worried we will get kicked out later in the night, but a peace officer just drove by and waved at us, so I guess it is Okay. (Camping in non traditional spots one was thing I had to quickly get used to on the Florida Trail. Embrace it early and it will make for a better trip).
Morehaven to Lakeport Area:
I limp into Lakeport. I take a fall early in the day while I am trying to eat a snickers and walk. I think my hip is now not quite aligned. It happens all too frequently for me. I’ve been told my ligaments are stretched out a bit. Lots of things stretch out a bit when you age.
Sunset shares some anti inflammatory, muscle cream with me and Hawkeye gives me a firm massage while applying it, so I guess we will see how I do tomorrow. We are camping early on a noisy intersection across from the Big Water Bait and Tackle shop because of my injury. They are very accommodating to us and the grill is good. The nearby pub’s pizza is good too. It is a weird place to camp and I have never done anything like this before, but with all of us camped here together it feels just right and as I rest I think back on our day.
We did not follow the re-route today, but instead walk the dike until the land bridge at mile 120, then we hike through the sugarcane to SR 78. This saved us from a longer road walk. This route includes a scenic tour of a hog trap. We then have the road walk around Mount Trashmore and the construction up on the dike, but it is cloudy and we are a fun group, so we enjoy it. We like how there are nest poles set up for the osprey and enjoy watching them. The truckers seem to toot their horn a lot. I hope that just means hi and not get out of my way.
We also found out today that we are walking with hiking royalty. As I looked in Sunset’s Florida Trail data book I see a label that states he is a double triple crowner. In case you don’t know what that means, it means he has hiked the AT, CDT and the PCT twice each! He’s also hiked this trail before too. Upon further questioning of this humble, very southern, 71 year old man, we learn he’s hiked the AT three times and that this Florida walk is just a warm up for an attempt on the PCT or CDT later in the year. He’s thinking he might like to be a triple triple crowner. We are inspired!
Loving the Levee from the Big Water Deli:
We start our day at the Big Water Deli and Bait shop drinking coffee and eating delicious croissant breakfast sandwiches. Our stealth camp under the billboard behind some bushes across the road turned out to be a perfect spot. I slept like a log even with all the traffic noise, maybe I am a hippie hobo sojourner at heart!
We continue along the dike, but it is a dirt path now. My hip is still sore, so Camperdan keeps my pack in the car for the day and will meet up with us later. The sweet joys of having our own trail angel. It’s a cloudy and cool day and is perfect for walking. We are a bit melancholy though, as Songbird is meeting up with some friends later today and leaving the trail for a few days. Hopefully she flies back soon, as she keeps things lively and makes us laugh. Laughter is such sweet medicine.
We meet Betty, a local trail angel and she’s the sweetheart putting water at the Indian Prairie Primitive Camping. She’s also been helping other hikers through this section. The trail angels in Florida are very kind and generous.
We also see lots of cattle along the way who watch us curiously and we watch the never ending supply of birds curiously. We love the birds. I sit often and stretch and take ibuprofen. We watch a boat come through the Buckhead lock and watch a man catch a turtle on a fishing pole. It’s a big snapping turtle that he puts into a bag to eat later. This is kind of disturbing to me somehow.
Right when we enter the next town some sand hill cranes walk up and flirt with us. At least I think they are flirting. They are cute! They are right beside me walking and flying lightly off the ground as we walk along. What a great ending to an 18 mile day.
Right when we enter the next town some sand hill cranes walk up and flirt with us. At least I think they are flirting. They are cute! They are right beside me walking and flying lightly off the ground as we walk along. What a great ending to an 18 mile day.
Camperdan picks us up and we are back camping under the billboard behind some bushes, while Sunset opted to camp along the trail. Groundhog Day tomorrow with good hot coffee and croissant sandwiches at the bait shop across the street!
Onward to Okeechobee Town:
We take off where we ended yesterday with the help of a ride from Camperdan. Thanks Dan. It’s a glorious sunrise over Lake Okeechobee. Hallelujah! Donuts and coffee at the Dunkin’ Donut, where we meet up with Sunset, then we drop our packs at the Scottish Inn and walk quite a bit of the blue line re-route through town. We walk back to the Scottish Inn, so we actually end up walking over 15 miles today. It’s old home week too, as we see other hikers we’ve met along the way. Shout out to Mowgli, who is laid up with a hurt back, and Mayor, Schweppes and Parks. Let’s not forget Mayor’s sweet, blind dog Katana. We also get an Asian massage and Dr. Stephens works his chiropractic magic on my hip. Hip hip horray! One gentle push and I’m pain free. Tomorrow we will hit the trail again.
Lesson learned: Friends make the journey light.
Miles hiked: 60 ish
Total miles: 160
A 3 minute slideshow of this hike:
https://youtu.be/n9ryX-mxdPY
(The re-route through Okeechobee is no longer necessary as we were told that the regular trail opened after we passed. Although, if we were to do it again, we might still hitchhike or UBER or call a trail angel and go into Okeechobee as it is a full resupply town. One does not need to carry food for this section as it would be easy to just walk from town to town, eating as you go. We really enjoyed the levee walk, due to the big views and diversity of birds. It is helpful to have some leukotape to put on any little hotspots that develop on your feet. The paved section of dike is hard on the feet and many hikers got blisters.)
(The re-route through Okeechobee is no longer necessary as we were told that the regular trail opened after we passed. Although, if we were to do it again, we might still hitchhike or UBER or call a trail angel and go into Okeechobee as it is a full resupply town. One does not need to carry food for this section as it would be easy to just walk from town to town, eating as you go. We really enjoyed the levee walk, due to the big views and diversity of birds. It is helpful to have some leukotape to put on any little hotspots that develop on your feet. The paved section of dike is hard on the feet and many hikers got blisters.)
Sounds like you are hiking my service area now.
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