Florida Trail - First 30 Miles
(Big Cypress Oasis to I-75 Rest Area)
(One Year Anniversary)
Hello my fellow readers.
Hope everyone had a great start of the new year, I know I certainly did.
The first weekend of 2020 my friend Hector and I decided to get back to the Florida Trail
after stopping back in May of 2019 and in a complete halt for the rest of the year.
As the new year came around so did our one year anniversary of the Florida trail,
so we needed to plan a reunion with the boys and go back to the first 30-miles of the Florida Trail.
As we planned ahead of the weekend we decided to go on Martin Luther King weekend since
it was a long weekend and everybody had an extra day off from their calendar.
Once again, the gang was back at Saturday morning at Oasis Visitor Center to start hiking
together for the weekend and spend the night inside the Big Cypress, and how excited we were!
This time around we wanted to complete the 30-miles especially for very friend Miguel,
last time Miguel only hike up to 7-mile campsite and turned back the next day
while we continue to 15-mile campsite to complete the 30-miles.
For this hiking trip we took things easier and try not to sweat it too much,
I packed as light as I possibly could, packed only my hammock to sleep,
my hiking basic items and the most important thing a whiskey bottle!
As mentioned a few moments ago, this trip it was all about having fun and enjoyable
but with the set mind that we needed to complete this 30-miles for Miguel.
Our friend Alexis brought some meat for this trip because we wanted to eat a good meal this time,
a little bit of steak, rib eye, and pork loin wrapped inside aluminum paper and with
some ice kept the meat fresh for a few hours until we arrived to the campsite.
A few hours after passing 10-mile camp we took a short break and decided to have lunch here,
we took a while since we were already tired and kind of lazy but we moved forward to the next camp.
Arriving to 15-mile campsite or Pine Island Campsite what it is usually called or at least we think,
this campsite it's not assigned or has a sign whatsoever, however, if you are using a GPS app on your phone or following Google Maps offline you might be able to spot this campsite,
most likely you'll see the name Pine Island or just a campsite sign on the map.
I believe this was done in purpose by previous hikers or visitors that have hike through this
section as I have read other blogs and done research on this specific campsite.
We all brought hammocks on this trip to sleep and it was time to start set them up,
we got lucky this camp had several pine trees close to each other so it made it easier
to attach each hammock together while still having some room and privacy,
it was a pretty good set up for our first time using the hammocks.
At night we had to come up with a fire ring as the campsite didn't have any,
and of course always making sure the next day before leaving to cover the hole where
the fire was made just for precautions and to not leave any trails behind.
While everyone was doing a little bit of everything it was time to bring out those steaks!
I honestly can't remember the last time I had such a great and delicious meal on any of my trips,
these steaks were so good that we ended up eating the rest of the food for that night.
Later that night the temperature started dropping to high 60s which it was pretty good for us,
in that matter it was time to bring out the whisky bottle to enjoy the night.
The next morning we had some pancakes for breakfast and our favorite coffee shot made on
our portable mini-espresso machine which it is always a satisfying morning routine.
The next couple of hours we stumble across flooded sections of the trail,
this is usually normal as this is kind of the swamp zone of Big Cypress,
difficult and annoying to step on the mud but we tried to make it as fun as possible.
I should say that this section of the trail went for hours as it was completely flooded,
it slows you down and your boots get soaked making super tough to walk.
As always short breaks were taken here and there because we are not robots guys,
sometimes we needed to hydrate and eat our snacks in order to gain some strength to keep going.
On the last couple of miles the night started coming down, meaning, those swamp
zones took the best of us and we were going at a really slow pace.
In the last 2-miles of this hike there is what its called an alternative trail which splits from
the assigned Florida Trail and gives you a more straight route to the exit gate of I-75, this time I took it;
I know it sounds selfish from my part to split from the group and again you should never ever do that
especially if you are coming with a great group of friends/hikers as I was and also in case something
bad happens to you, you are by yourself which it is never a good scenario to be, however,
that afternoon I was really drained and I couldn't wait to finish so I took the easy way out,
at the moment I don't remember feeling anything about it but later on I felt like I betrayed myself
and my friends as well, it is something you think about long enough and learn from it to not commit
the same error next time and for sure I won't split from a group as we all need to stick together.
I arrived first to the gate obviously since this route it's pretty easy, and about 35-40 minutes later
the guys arrived with all their headlamps on since it was really dark and we couldn't be
happier for Miguel that had accomplished the 30-miles of the Florida Trail!
Miguel's wife was already waiting for all of us with bottles of water, and snacks,
so here we got to relax and relish the great weekend we had just experience and the
accomplishment of doing the first 30-miles of the Florida Trail once again!
Well people this is where this story ends, you guys couldn't imagine how much we had,
every time we get together we can have a hell of an adventure and great memories.
I just hope you guys enjoy these photos and this blog of our one year anniversary.
As always, catch you on the next blog!
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