Little Tent on the Prairie

This post was written on January 12th, but not posted until today due to service - I will be sure to post another update asap. We have presently hiked through Forever Florida and begun the Orlando portion of the trail...

Bot walking prairie

We are over one quarter of the way through our 1,100 trek along this stunning if at times, arduous, Florida Trail. This past week we traveled through the heart of the Kissimmee prairie lands, a place blanketed with tall grasses and patched with Live Oak and Palm hammocks, inhabited by herds of cattle, yipping coyotes, and wild boar, and speckled with wildflowers galore. Our entry into them was by deep sand roads and rugged footpaths that coated us in more dirt than I ever thought possible…and given the number of trails that I have hiked that is saying a lot.

Just a few of the many cows with whom we crossed paths

Wise Man loving the Live Oak and Palm Hammocks

Walking a nearly 20 mile hypnotizing road-walk, we left the town of Okeechobee behind, met the Kissimmee river and finally stumbled through sandy woods, setting up camp beneath the outstretched branches of a Live Oak. Here we spotted our first wild boar – a mama with two youngin’s – and then banged on a tin mug to scare them off from our camp as they rooted in the sandy soil and grasses surrounding us. Typically they are of no harm to people, but it is a little unnerving when they are right outside your tent door.

A wild boar track in the sand road in Kissimmee Prairie

Chandler Slough Cypress strand

The next morning we wandered into a Cypress strand in the dark waters of Chandler Slough – the first that we have encountered since the swamps of Big Cypress. Although we did get our feet wet, this place was enchanting and I spied the first large patches of large-leaved Wood Sorrel that we have seen yet along our trek- these here have deep purple flowers, very different than we have up north. The leaves are edible and have a lemony zing.

Wood Sorrel (Oxalis violacea)

On day three we had the pleasure of meandering through a maze of Cabbage Palms in a newly cut tract from Micco Landing. Not only was the shade a dream to start off in during the early morning hours but the trail was filled with low-hanging wild oranges from orange trees now gone wild. We couldn’t help but slip a few in our pack and we sampled each one throughout the day – one of many was bearable to actually eat as they grow more and more sour without cultivation.

Wise Man diving into the orange tree, picking out only the best!

We spent the day walking beside grassy farmfields in the hot sun and welcomed the shade of the Oak hammocks, the trees of which were laced with Spanish Moss. Beautiful as it was, by day three we were already craving the luxuries that we had encountered along Lake Okeechobee. Thankfully, Florida Trail trail angel, Mike Gormley came to our rescue with two orange sodas and snacks from the Cracker General Store. He was already in the area caching water for us thirsty hikers. Better yet, we got to sit and talk trail with Mike until the sun was nearly setting. Thank you, Mike! What an incredible service you offer to the hikers and you lifted our spirits more than you know!!

Mike Gormley, Wise Man, and Bot

Finally we re-entered known turf that we had walked last March, hiking through some of most beautiful scenery we have encountered yet. Live Oak trees had littered their edible acorns upon the forest floor. Above our heads we admired the Wild Pine epiphytes and Resurrection Fern that call these tree’s wide- spreading branches home and stopped for awhile beside a pond surrounded by Beautyberry shrubs bearing ripe edible fruit. At our feet was a virtual carpet of Sundews – a carnivorous plant – which look as if they surely must be from another planet.

Beautyberry (Callicarpa Americana)

Sundew (Drosera sp.)

Hitting the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve, the botanicals continued to abound and repeatedly we had to stop to admire the Candyweed, Bachelor Buttons, and Long-leaved Violets dotting the grasses. Saint John’s Wort and Musky Mint were also on the scene.

Candyweed (Polygala lutea) - called Candy Weed for a reason, give its roots a sniff!

Bachelor Button (Polygala nana)

Long Leaf Violet (Viola lanceolata)

Later in the day we crossed the green abyss of Duck Slough and then walked the much dreaded Military Road – a miles long stretch of sand road with nothing in sight. Thankfully we enjoyed the reprieve that evening of a campsite with a pitcher pump and the more stars in the sky than we would ever see up north amidst the light pollution. Kissimmee Prairie Preserve is known for its absence of light and its profusion of stars as well as its vast prairies of Saw Palmetto which we encountered the following day.

Duck Slough

Wise Man walking the long Military Road

Saw Palmetto - an effective adaptogen

Miles of sand road which was hard on the feet, as well as a prescribed burn that we came all too close too on this next day made our miles tough, covering our bodies in dirt and soot and my feet in blisters.

Approaching the prescribed burn which we hoped would not halt us in our tracks

You can imagine our joy at meeting up with our trail pal and dear friend, Star Left. If you’ve been reading my blog, you have seen her name pop up a number of times on both the Long Path and on the Finger Lakes Trail where we met. She and her husband, Ed, and son, Andrew were in a town about 90 minutes away for a wedding this past weekend. She thought it a fine idea to come meet us on the trail with goodies and then bring us back to her hotel for a shower and dinner out. My God…the Hampton Inn has probably never seen towels so black…sorry about that. Time spent with friends and a clean-up amidst a stretch of miles in which we thought for over two weeks we wouldn’t see a shower or laundry was beyond words. Thank you so much Star Left, Ed, and Andrew for being our trail angels!!!

Andrew, Star Left, and Bot

The prairie lands have continued and into Forever Florida we go, which from what we hear has lions, tigers, and panthers…behind fences! It is a privately-owned preserve and really this is all we know of it, so hopefully they won’t be roaming around our camp like the boar! And to tell you the truth, we know little about the environment and trail conditions we will be walking into on the coming miles…we are sure more adventure to come!

Lake Okeechobee - Hiking the Big "O"!

Wise Man at start of Florida Trail on western edge of Lake Okeechobee

Well, well Lake Okeechobee, you were good to us, providing easy paved path for most of our hike and views of your watery expanses filled with marsh grasses, birds of every color, and of course them gators! For the last 5 days we have walked around the western edge of Lake Okeechobee, covering roughly 60 miles. Despite it's name, Lake Okeechobee is considered Florida's Inland Sea, covering 730 square miles. It's name derives from the Native American words "oki" which means "water", and "chubi" which means "big". And that it is. Although we often walked beside the rim canal which was formed when the dike was created to protect the surrounding communities from flooding, this canal regularly connected with the larger lake itself, which then almost convinced us we were walking oceanside.

Lake Okeechobee near town of Okeechobee

Opposite the lake we walked beside gradually changing scenery from the idyllic settings of small towns, each home with a its own waterway and dock between its neighboring home, sugarcane fields, which were gorgeous in the setting sun, cow pastures big and small and the way the cows lift their gaze to stare at us as we passed, I imagined we were as exciting to them as they were to us. Oh and back to those birds - so many of them - if I knew my birds better, I would tell you what they were!

A cow wading and watching us from the other side of the trail

Sunset over the sugarcane fields

Birds showing Wise Man the way - also an example of the trail when not paved, a sandy gravel road dotted with seashells

Our days continued to be nearly as hot as they were the week before and our nights nearly as mosquito-filled. But we've got 'em figured out! Rise early at 6:00 am, get out of camp sometime after 7:00 am, which is when the mosquitoes go back to sleep, then get to the evening's camp by 5:00 pm, to be certain to be finished cooking and inside our tent by 6:00 pm. Then hope you don't have to pee. But thankfully, we had a cooler night last night and it does seem as long as our temps drop, which they are predicted to do today, the squeeters should be lesser. And then there were the miles of roadwalk when we had a detour off the dike. However, despite these challenges we had some luxuries. Nearly every day we entered into a small town - Clewiston, Moore Haven, Lakeport, and Buckhead Ridge - where we were able to take a rest in the shade of a building and enjoy a cold drink. 

View from trail atop dike, looking at Lakeport

We also have been surprised to run into a number of Florida Trail folks out here! Firstly, we crossed paths with Tigger and Chuck Norris - I wish we had taken your picture! - in the town of Moore Haven. Turns out we all thought Café 27 was the best place to have lunch. Tigger and Chuck Norris spotted us in our gear and struck up a conversation. Tigger and Chuck Norris are founding members of the Florida Trail Hikers Alliance and have hiked numerous long-distance trails. In fact, both of them were out thru-hiking the AT in 2007, the same year that I did my 1,000 miles. I believe I even remember seeing their names in the trail journals and hikers saying, "There's a guy out here that looks just like Chuck Norris!" Tigger is presently working on completing the Florida Trail for the first time and Chuck Norris is working on his third and fourth as her support, hiking portions when he can. After we enjoyed lunch together, they were so kind as to drop us a jug of water at our next campsite and the next morning, greet us with yet another icy cold bottle of water. Thank you for the trail magic, Tigger and Chuck Norris!

Trucker Bob, Bot and Wise Man - our chance meeting - he had passed us while we were road-walking across a bridge heading for Okee-tantie

Then yesterday as we made our way into Okee-tantie park, Trucker Bob, who I was acquainted with through Facebook, pulled up alongside us and almost got us to hop in and travel back to the terminus of the trail for the annual Florida Trail Kick-Off event. This is a gathering at Trail Lakes Campground (home to the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters) for the year's thru-hikers, giving them a grand send-off. We sure were tempted, Trucker Bob and kind-of kicked ourselves later for not taking your offer! But we could not bear the thought of seeing the beginning of the trail again and what a good groove we are in - northward bound! Trucker Bob has hiked over 500 miles of the Florida Trail and has also visited nearly every county in the country - literally - 77% of them. We look forward to seeing you up the trail, Trucker Bob!

View from camp (not the illegal one) - Liberty Point Campsite

We also had some trail magic of an very unexpected kind and honestly hope that we do not need it again anytime soon. See, there was this one night we were camped kinda-sorta illegally at Fisheating Creek Ramp. There was a no camping sign and all, but word on the trail was to give the local sheriff a call, explain our circumstances that we couldn't make it to the next campsite, and they would look the other way. Well...we called the local sheriff who didn't seem to know a whole lot about that little ramp and explained it wasn't his jurisdiction. We shrugged our shoulders and settled in for the night. About 8:00 pm we had high beams shining on our tent. Wiseman hastily got dressed and popped out from the tent, only to be told in an official sounding voice, "Stay where you are." Turns out that boat ramp is the Florida Wildlife Commission's turf. Thankfully, once the officer could see we were truly hikers and ran our licenses for outstanding warrants which came up clean, he was nice as could be. He did indeed issue us official warnings but he also shared with us that he wished he were out doing a hike like ours and that he admired us for doing it...most importantly he let us stay the night. So thank you Florida Wildlife Commission officer, for being so very cool.

Spanish Needles (Bidens alba) - speckled the grass to either side of the trail atop the dike

And along the way, there were, even amidst the paved walkways and grassy paths, the botanical stars. Spanish Needles (Bidens alba), was a regular on the scene. Considered a common weed, Bidens has an edible flower as well as leaves. Flowers can be eaten raw and leaves can be cooked and eaten as a green. I recently learned that Bidens makes an excellent poultice for bug bites and stings...wish we had known that sooner! I think we may be using this from here on our instead of our Benedryl ointment. It has also been used to treat malaria, snakebites, and as a general antimicrobial.

Pulsey (Richardia sp.) - these seem to dapple the grass wherever we are

Pulsey (Richardia sp.) was another regular sight along our stroll. Also known as Florida Snow because of the way it can blanket a grassy area, these little beauties opened only during the day, and closed tight at night as if taking a snooze. Pulsey is also considered a medicinal but mostly for its emetic properties...so hopefully not one that we will be needing along this journey.

Bot and Wise Man 

So now it's a day of rest in the town of Okeechobee and tomorrow we venture towards the prairie lands, where we will leave all traces of civilization behind and walk wilderness path between the Saw Palmetto and beneath the Live Oaks spreading their branches wide. Thank you for following our journey, will tune back in soon as we can!

Emerging from the Black Lagoon

The trail through Big Cypress National Preserve

The beginning of the Florida Trail proved to be truly trial by swamp! I am talkin' shoe-sucking, calf-deep, limestone-cratered swamp. Big Cypress National Preserve was all that we hoped it would be and more, given its unexpected otherworldly beauty. But before I dive into that, let me start you off at the beginning.

Us at the Florida Trail southern terminus at Oasis Visitor Center, Ochopee.

Us with Kurt at the southern terminus of Florida Trail

We hit the trail on December 21st in strong winds that gusted at 30 mph. Thanks to Scott's long-time friend Kurt Aibel, we had much laughter the night before our journey and a ride to the trailhead in the Everglades swamps. The sun shone bright, so the winds were welcome and we made good time even as we clawed periodically through overgrown high grasses and straddled fallen trees. Wax Myrtle, a medicinal shrub whose root bark is both astringent and warming when simmered in a tea, was a regular inhabitant trailside, its bare branches lined with frosty blue berries. At times the trail opened up, revealing wide meadows dotted with Cabbage Palm and tall skinny Slash Pines. I met my first new plant of the trail on this day, a pretty purple gal named Glades Lobelia. We camped that evening at Ten-Mile Camp, all the prairie around us illuminated by the light of the full moon.

Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera)

Glade Lobelia (Lobelia glandulosa)

On our second day, our pace was slowed due to our having to navigate many a burned-out forest. Fire naturally sweeps through this habitat and so trees that had been blazed the previous year to mark our way had were now charred black. Thanks to the Guthook app, which provided our GPS location of the Florida Trail even without cell signal, we were able to bushwhack our own path through a landscape that was ever-changing. At one moment we would be whisking through open prairie and the next, picking our way through heaps of blonde grasses that hid blackened fallen Palm trunks and craters in the limestone rock that laid beneath the thin soil, ever searching for the next blaze. Suddenly we would find ourselves in a strand of Cypress trees with white trunks broad at the base but skinny and straggly as they spread their branches, and then just like that, we would return to the prairie. And on this day we met crossed paths many a time with Florida's state wildflower: Tickseed.

Tickseed (Coreopsis)

These first two days were mostly dry, so dry in fact, that we almost resorted to what we have come to term the "Green Lagoon", near our second night's stay at Thirteen Mile Campsite. We wandered a way up the trail and found a collection of tall Cypress trees clustered together in a dome-like shape - we have learned that in the center of these there is often water to be found - and indeed spotted an oasis, however it was just as green as the Alligator Flag and Duck Potato plants that surrounded it and it bubbled like a hot cauldron. Just as we were eyeing our surroundings for gators, a single broad lobster-like claw pierced its filmy surface. We looked about us and saw enormous dead craw-dad bodies laying about. Nonetheless we filled our bottles and just minutes later, gleefully dumped them out, when we spied a puddle of water in a tire track on a swamp buggy road instead. Puddle water never tasted so good! 

a much smaller craw-dad than the one we saw!

The third day our waterless woes vanished when we reached the swamps. It began with crossing flooded swamp buggy roads and soon transformed into a trail that was more water than earth, as we weaved our way between scratchy Cypress trees. Overhead the sun shone bright and below us the waters were surprisingly clear, so much that we could see the fern-like leaves of the aquatic plants and the tiny slivers of fish swimming about in a frenzy as our feet plunged in, spreading a mud cloud in their wake. In the wet soil surrounding the stream that was the trail, we spotted a single Ten-Petaled Sabatia, bright pink against the dark soil and many gleaming yellow Horned Bladderworts.

Ten-Petaled Sabatia (Sabatia dodecandra)

Horned Bladderwort (Utricularia cornuta)

We ended this day's hike in knee-deep water as far as the eye could see, out of which arose yet more Cypress trees. Taking shelter on a little wooded island, we ducked beneath the thick vegetation, walked a tunnel of green, and emerged in a clearing for Oak Hill Campsite. There we called it a day early, spending the afternoon peering up at the branches of a Live Oak tree adorned in air plants. 

 

Scott in more shallow swamp

Myself hanging in the shallow swamp

Our fourth day was by far the most strenuous as well as the most magical. We began the morning with a wade in the Black Lagoon, some of the deepest water on the trail – and believe me, that water is cold when the sun has just risen! Then sloshed, for miles through water that varied between ankle deep to high calf. The cratered limestone continued. At times it seemed as if every other step would land us in a hole and we struggled to wrestle our feet from the mud. We were keen to keep an eye out for water moccasins and alligators which we had been extensively warned, lurked in these waters. Nonetheless, we were also careful to remember that despite our trials, we had never been graced with such beauty all around and just when would we be again? Did I mention the bouquets of Quill Plant adorning every Cypress tree? And the Purple Bladderworts peeking from the waters?

Purple Bladderwort (Utricularia purpurea)

Quill Plant (Tillandsia fasciculata)

After the water, came the miles of mud which neither of us did care much for, hence why there are no pictures, and by Christmas Eve, we had emerged from the swamps of Cypress!

muddy crocs and festive socks after the swamp walking (and Sandra Friend's amazing trail guide!)

We took the holiday off with Scott's Uncle Jim who found us walking under an overpass near I-75, wet but happy. He whisked us away to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, where we kicked up our feet on his balcony overlooking the ocean, dined on fresh veggies galore - Uncle Jim knows how to cook! - shared stories and laughter and simply enjoyed being together. It was a lovely Christmas. We all then set our sights on the trail on the 26th and reluctantly said our goodbyes. Uncle Jim, you expressed that you wished you were joining us for some miles - you are welcome anytime! 

Us with Uncle Jim

Since the swamps, we have spent the night in a chickee hut - a traditional Seminole style home with a thatched roof at a lil place called Billie Swamp Safari...

Chickee Hut at Billie Swamp Safari

Seen the biggest, fattest, alligators I have ever seen in my life, one after another just sunbathing alongside a slough on the trail...

Gator along the canal

And walked endless miles of sandy gravel road beside canals and atop levees and camped with more mosquitoes than I thought possible...Thank you Ari and Chris Bell for those water caches!! I don’t know what we would have done without them!

the long white sandy gravel roads along the levees that go on for miles and miles

We have now begun our long walk around the western side of Lake Okeechobee and are spending a much needed night in the town of Clewiston. Thank you to Julio at John Stretch Park for starting our Okeechobee experience off on such a high note with a gift of  two Sprites and even a Corona to enjoy at camp that evening! 

Florida Trail, you are truly another world.

Big Cypress, here we come!

The eve of our Florida Trail thru-hike is finally upon us...tomorrow morning we will hoist our backpacks and tug on our hiking shoes and step into the swamps of Big Cypress National Preserve...well kind of. From what we have learned from Captain Blue, a hiker that is a few days ahead of us, as well as some official folks at the preserve's visitor center, the terrain is much drier than usual. Unless today's storm makes a big impact, likely the waters will be no more than calf deep and the first day's miles should be completely dry. All the better to see the Cottonmouths! I wonder what the infamous Skunk Ape thinks of these rather dry conditions?

We couldn't help ourselves from taking a sneak peak at the Everglades while we were making preparations for the hike in Sarasota this past week. Although tempted, we didn't steal a glance at the trailhead, but we did visit the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters just down the road in the lil' town of Ochopee. Just before we left, we learned from our friend, Robert, who knows everything there is to know about sasquatch that the Skunk Ape was a close relative and was said to inhabit the very wilds through which we would be walking. Therefore when we learned this informational center was near to the trail, we thought we had better educate ourselves. And to think we were only wary of the panthers, gators, and snakes before...now we have a whole new creature for which to look! It was worth our while though, as we got a Skunk Ape Field Guide, and learned that they are particularly fond of lima beans...we will be sure to keep a few in our pocket to appease the Everglades beast if we encounter him.

But really in all seriousness...we are beyond excited to start our journey tomorrow. Our foray into Big Cypress earlier in the week has only further ignited our inner sparks to hike this trail. I have been rereading portions of John Muir's journals, A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf, and would like to close this post with some feelings of his that deeply resound with our own:

But in Florida came the greatest change of all, for here grows the palmetto, and here blow the winds so strangely toned by them. These palms and these winds severed the last strands of the cord that united me with home. Now I was a stranger, indeed. I was delighted, astonished, confounded, and gazed in wonderment blank and overwhelming as if I had fallen upon another star.

Thank you for following us on our journey...we will share an update as soon as we can!