Endless Entertaining Road Walks

This morning we all got to “sleep in” a little bit for once. I still woke up around 4:30am though. Not long after that I headed outside for some coffee and breakfast with Fresh Ground. The scrambled eggs were so cheesy and delicious. Then I had a couple pancakes and some crispy bacon. What a way to start another long day of walking.

Sadly this morning we said goodbye to Long Shot! He’s heading north to grab his truck. Then he’ll get the rest of his gear together and probably come back out to the AT. Potentially a little sooner, just depending. It’s so cool that he’s probably going to do the CYTC as well! Very exciting stuff. We’ve hiking the last almost 500 miles together. It’s going to be weird hiking without him now! What was once 8 hikers starting at Key West together is not just down to Punisher and I. But that other group is still on trail too! Just a little bit behind us.

The sky was so pretty this morning just before sunrise. But the camera hardly did it justice.

After eating breakfast we set out a little after 6am. Another morning began by road walking in the dark. This stretch of trail will be bringing us up through Oviedo toward Lake Mary today. It’s going to be all road all day long. I was feeling good thing morning. It’s just my feet which are a little sore. I have a feeling that my shoes are getting close to the end of their life. But luckily, Fresh Ground is going to an REI today to grab a few things. While he’s there he’s going to pick me up some super feet insoles. Maybe that will help a little bit. I’ve just been under the impression that my feet are sore from the recent mileage. But there’s always a chance that I wore the shoes out quicker due to all of the road walking and the swamp water. I’ve never before used an insole I’m my hiking shoes. But it seems like as good a time as any to give them a whirl.

The types of strange stuff you see along the road. I can only hope it’s an insulin needle!

Made some friends along the road. This cutie came up to smell my hand and was very calm.

We walked along the road for the next handful of miles. I was feeling really good and the weather was perfect. It was cool to start, but warmed up slowly. After a couple hours we past by the first gas station of the day. I grabbed a coconut water and we continued along. Fresh Ground gave us each a bag of bacon to eat today, so I snacked on that. Then talked to my dad for a little bit as I walked.

Passed a house with chickens and ducks which was selling their eggs.

Around this time we were getting further into Oviedo. It was entertaining to be walking past so many buildings and businesses. It gave me a whole lot to look at and occupy my my mind with. Plus we were on a nice paved sidewalk the whole way. Eventually we got off the sidewalk and headed over to the bike path. Which I recalled was really nice.

It was shaded and we were surrounded by big oak trees and palms. The environment almost felt like walking through a rainforest. Fresh Ground called a couple times to check in. He’ll probably come out in a few hours to meet us for lunch. But I wasn’t really that hungry yet after a big breakfast and some road bacon.

The canopy of trees over the road was so beautiful.

While we were on the bike path we went by a nice covered area with some benches. I wanted to do a quick stretch, as we’d been walking for about 5 hours already. We sat there and talked to a cyclist. He asked what we were doing and mentioned him and his son had each hike the AT at one time or another.

As we were sitting there another cyclist rode over and stopped by us. She said she had been looking for the “famous hikers”! That was so cute. She followed Punisher and I on social media and has been following along. Her name was Carrie and she was so sweet. We talked to her for a while before continuing along. She even rode back after she headed off again, just to ask about my hives/rash. What a sweetheart. Luckily, my hives are all gone! Ever since I began using the salve and hydrocortisone together a few days ago it completely cleared up. Some discoloration still remains where the bumps had been. But it isn’t bothering me at all, and is clearly slowly but surely heading out.

Road walking in the amazing Specter 2 shoes from Topo!

After talking with her and finishing our stretching we continued along. We had already gone a little over 18 miles for the day, which was killer. That meant we only had about 12 miles to go. Not too bad! We’ll finish up today before 5pm most likely.

We’re going to end our day around Lake Mary at a running shoe store that Punisher wants to check out. Then Fresh Ground is going to come and pick us up and bring us to Winter Park. A nice guy named Jeff reached out to me and offered to host us tonight. Which is absolutely amazing. There really aren’t a lot of stealth camping options once you’re closer to town. So we probably would have had to get a room. It’s so nice that we can pocket that expense and wait until a rainy day. Quite literally.

Passed this silly mailbox for the bowling alley near Oviedo.

We continued along for another hour or so after that. Staying on the bike path, which made for great walking. My feet were a little sore but felt ok. Then Fresh Ground called us a little later and said he was nearby at a McDonald’s parking lot. It was actually just a street down from us. So we walked over to meet him there. But actually wound up grabbing lunch at Wendy’s, because it’s superior in my opinion.

The bike path was definitely one of my favorite parts of the day.

Fresh Ground got us all lunch and we sat inside to enjoy a nice long break. I got saucy nuggets and cheese fries, with a nice big soda. After we ate we headed outside and I got to try on the new insoles! We only have about 8-9 miles remaining for the day. So it will be a good opportunity to give them a try without worrying about them hurting. You never know how your feet will react to something new. But at this point the soreness in my feet definitely feels like it’s due to me loosing cushion on my shoes.

Crossing over a bridge with a nice side walk.

Once I tried them on I felt almost immediate relief. And over the next hour or so of walking, those feelings basically disappeared. What an amazing surprise! I thought it was the 110 miles in 3 days making me sore. Turns out my old insoles had just worn out and I needed a bit more support. This will extend the life of my shoes a little bit until I can get more in a week or so.

Walking through Oviedo after lunch.

Leaving there we only had 2-3 hours remaining for the day. And my feet practically felt better with every step I took. That is so wonderful. I don’t usually have any foot issues on trail, even with big miles. So I was honestly a bit surprised to be feeling sore. Even doing the 120 miles in 48 hours I felt really good until the last few hours of walking. I’ve never been someone who used insoles, but this might just be a new staple for me. I got the blue super feet which seems to be a mid cushion. Not too flat and not too much of an arch.

Enjoying another big sidewalk/bike path through town.

For a while after that we walked through town along the sidewalk. Then got onto a bike path again for most of the remainder of the day. It was now a bit cloudy out which felt great. And the trail went by a lot of pretty scenery and some cool bridges. You go up and over a highway at one point on this awesome over pass.

The Orlando area when you go east on the trail has some amazing paths for hikers to walk along.

Then around 4pm we were back out on a main road along a sidewalk. We didn’t have far to go now! It’s going to be a fairly early day and a relatively short day too in comparison. 30 miles doesn’t sound so bad after doing 34-40 over the past few days. It’ll be nice to settle back into some more moderate mileage for a few days. So long as bigger days aren’t necessary for camping or lodging.

Going through this tunnel over a highway.

Not long after that we made our way into the outskirts of Lake Mary. Fresh Ground was waiting at the running shoe store, which wound up being a really cool stop. The guy who worked there that we talked to was super knowledgeable. He’s actually running Cocadona this year! A 250 mile ultra marathon. For some reason I spent a lot of last year thinking about that race and the idea of maybe attempting it one day. Even though I’ve never even ran a marathon, let alone an ultra. It’s something that’s always interested me and perhaps I’ll try my hand at one day.

The last stretch of the day was along this long bike path going past a residential area.

Once we got shoes we were about to head to Winter Park to stay for the night. But we realized it was over 40 minutes to the trail angels house, even though it was only 11 miles away. That was just a bit too far to drive tonight and tomorrow morning. So we pivoted around that. Instead, we booked a room down the road which was a bit closer. It just made more sense in the grand scheme of things. Even though I was bummed not to meet Jeff, who had so generously offered to open up his home to us. But these things happen.

It was so nice to end another long day by getting a room.

There was some traffic on the way but we found a way to avoid that too. Then eventually got to the room for the night. It was so nice to take a shower and chill out. We probably could have stopped earlier today and camped somewhere. But because we weren’t planning on doing that, we wound up hiking into an area with zero camping options. I know we just slept inside last night, but I can’t feel bad about it. I’m grateful to be here staying warm tonight.

Pasta in bed for dinner! It doesn’t get much better than this.

At the room we ate leftover spaghetti and garlic bread. Then I showered and relaxed. I even got my writing done and video editing done. Then we called it a night.

 

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Comments 3

  • Jimmy Jenkins : Jan 18th

    I am enjoying your blogs and your vlog on YouTube! I appreciate the hard work you put into documenting your journey!

    Reply
  • thetentman : Jan 18th

    Thank you for the nice post.

    I always preferred green Super Feet. They made my Plantar fasciitis go away.

    Cheers!

    Reply
  • DEB : Jan 18th

    LOL ROAD BACON!!!
    love keeping up with your adventure!
    Stay safe, be well!

    Reply

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