Hikers Have a Pizza Party in the Park

This morning I woke up around 6am and began to pack up. The guys were doing the same, then by 6:30am we were out and walking again. We only have about 17 miles to go to get to Scott Driver Recreation area. That’s where most people hitch a ride into Okeechobee. But we’re going to bypass that stop entirely! Which should save us a whole lot of time.

One of the small cabins at the Twin Palms Resort. We stayed in #4.

We were walking along the dirt levee as the sun began to rise. I got to watch birds fly around the canal and the beautiful colors paint the sky. My hives are feeling much better this morning. I’m just hoping that keeps up over the course of the day. If it is just contact dermatitis, then it should improve as we get into the woods. My guess is that it’s due to pesticides being sprayed over the surrounding fields and roads. But we will just have to see.

The beautiful sunrise this morning over the water.

I’ve been loving watching the sun come up everyday once more. That’s something I miss the most when I’m off trail.

Time flew by as we walked through the morning. About 6-7 miles into the day the route takes you out to a road. Then back onto grass and dirt levee walking. I got some videos up and a blog in the early morning. Then around noon we were getting back onto a road. You can stay on the levee as you get toward the recreation area. Or you can get out onto a road and go past a dollar general and a couple of gas stations. We chose to do that so we could grab a few things.

This was delicious and I’ll be looking for more in the future!

At the dollar general I got a sweet tea lemonade which was so refreshing. As well as a ham and cheese sandwich which came with a mustard aioli sauce. I knew we would be eating soon but was too hungry to wait. We had another couple of miles to go to get to the recreation area. Plenty of time for my body to completely digest a sandwich.

Ran into this guy and his dog on the levee. These boats are so cool.

Got to pet this cute little guy today.

When we arrived at Scott Driver we took a long break. Punisher actually had a friend coming out to meet us who was going to bring us pizza! What a delightful surprise. He arrived around 1pm and brought pizza, drinks, and snacks. What a legend! His kids were adorable and hung out around his truck as we ate. I had two huge slices of supreme pizza and a coke. That hit the dang spot. I was so satisfied after and felt full of energy. The coke was so refreshing on a warm day like today.

We hung out there with him for a while before continuing on. Then made our way back up to the dirt path which we would continue along for a while. This also meant we officially finished the Far Out Southern Florida trail map. Now onto Central Florida. We’re making such good time, it feels incredible to be ahead of schedule already.

Punisher and Long Shot up ahead along the road.

It was around 1:45pm when we began walking again. And though it was the hottest part of the day, it was only about 65 degrees out. This will be the test on my hives I suppose. The last couple days they arose between 2-5pm. I reapplied some hydrocortisone cream and then wished that I’d remembered to pick up more at the store. But I’m hoping it won’t be an issue after today.

Within that next hour or two I could already feel the hives coming back though. Such a bummer. I don’t think they are from the sun, but the sun has been irritating them for sure. The only reason I don’t think they are from the sun is because I’ve spent years hiking across the country and I’ve never had an issue with the sun before. Not to say that that matter, but I would imagine it’s just being irritated additionally from the sun.

Around 2-3pm again today the hives flared back up.

By 4pm when we stopped off for our next break they had mostly returned. There is primarily just one area which has been bothering me. Toward my inner thigh around the back of my right knee. Everywhere else they really don’t hurt too much. But because it’s making the skin tight there it just hurts more from walking and bending my knee.

Around this time I turned my phone off of airplane mode and had a voicemail from my mom. I gave her a call back and she was crying. She had been in a really bad car accident, but fortunately was completely fine. Just really shaken up. The other driver didn’t have a license and there’s a good chance the vehicle wasn’t even there’s. Her car is most likely totaled, so that’s an issue as well. Plus the air bag didn’t even deploy, even though she was hit on the from of the drivers side. I’m so glad she’s ok and that was a scary call initially. It’s hard being far from home when things like this happen. But I’m just glad she’s alright and we were able to talk soon after.

Just after that the guys and I passed by a water cache. It was filled with nice cold water and we filled up. This might be the last water source for the day and until some time tomorrow morning. I prefer not to go down to any water sources at night if I can avoid it. Just because of the environment we’re in and the possibility of gators. When we got there I examined my legs. The one spot on my right thigh was super flared up. And the other areas had mostly come back too. At least those sections aren’t causing me any discomfort. It’s more odd than anything.

A sign by a water cache left out for hikers to use.

The water was super nice and cold!

Not long after that though the sun began to go down. And I felt a lot of relief in the sore area behind my knee. It calmed down a little without being exposed directly to the sun. Especially because the sun has been at ours backs for most of the afternoon, so that is the area getting the most exposure.

From there we only had about 6 more miles to go to get to the next designated camp site. The temperature cooled down and we were in the shade as walked along the road. That made the remainder of the day comfortable and pretty easy.

A little bit of hives isn’t gonna bum me out too bad.

We passed by farms with cows and some small baby cows too. Then some houses with cute dogs in the yard that barked at us as we walked past. Guarding their property, as they should.

There wasn’t much more walking to do after that. We continued along just as the sun began to set. Then around 6:30pm we found a nice flat spot by a road which allowed camping. It was nice and quiet and seemed like the perfect spot. I got my tent set up quickly. Then walked off to do a bit of audio recording in case I don’t have good service tomorrow morning. It’s weak here, but doable!

The sun beginning to set.

After that I got comfortable in my tent and did my nightly stretch routine. Around this time Fresh Ground called to check in on us. He was worried about my hives and wanted to know if I need anything. But I’m ok! It’s not ideal, but I’m just fine. It’s mildly uncomfortable and not really “painful”. My tolerance for discomfort is sky high. This doesn’t have much on the 12 weeks I walked with a torn muscle in my calf while I was on the eastern continental trail in 2023. So long as this subsided in the next couple of days I won’t really bat an eye.

When he comes out in a day or so though he’ll bring some more hydrocortisone cream, which is great. I’ll probably be out of it by tomorrow morning. But it isn’t exactly resolving the issue. I can’t say for sure if it’s doing much. It just feels good to try to do something to make this better.

After that I finished getting set up for the night. I ate something and did a bit of writing and video work. Then I got ready to go to bed. Once I put some cream on my legs and put my alpha 90 pants on it was loads better. And I’ve been taking a ton of allergy medicine each day which seems to help. Though, I had absolutely insane nightmares last night which were very vivid and odd. The only explanation I could think of was taking a couple allergy meds at one time before bed. Let’s test the theory though, as I do the same thing tonight.

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Comments 12

  • Snickie : Jan 13th

    I might be too late in saying this as I know these posts go up days and tens of miles after the fact, but I hope you get to do the loops you didn’t get to see in 2023. I would love to read your impressions of them compared to the sides you did last time.

    Reply
    • Jacob : Jan 13th

      These are actually [ for now ] essentially real time – she started the hike Jan 1…

      My question is, how does fresh grounds afford this- do people donate ti keep him afloat and able to buy the food for hikers ?

      Reply
      • Jeff : Jan 14th

        He does run on donations but he doesn’t profit from it. Is his mission field. Fresh Ground LeapFrog Cafe-friend/follow him on FB. Venmo/Zelle/Paypal donation sites. Great guy-fed me well once last year on AT and I donated earlier in year. He is running a donation event right now. Jabez

        Reply
  • Wendy : Jan 13th

    Arnica cream/lotion is a natural topical pain reliever sold in most stores like Walmart & CVS , etc. That might help more with the pain & healing. It’s a flower grown in Montana that I’ve seen out in the wild. Benadryl is probably the best to stick to for ingesting med. I had a med once that caused a weird violent nightmare & didn’t take that again. I don’t normally have nightmares.

    Reply
  • Holly : Jan 13th

    ….of course, I have to add my two bits. 🙂. Generic Claritin (loratadine) is probably what a dermatologist would recommend you take, it’s not sedating, it won’t give you nightmares, it won’t dry you out as much, and it’s far more effective than Benadryl.
    Since the toxins from the plants or pesticides are being activated by UV rays, I don’t understand why you’re not wearing pants during the daylight hours.
    If you get to the point where you want to numb those areas, any cream ointment or spray with 20% benzocaine is the way to go. Dermaplast is excellent. , but there are many brands with 20% benzocaine. (Benzocaine works better for topical numbing than lidocaine)
    Good luck,
    Your personal armchair physician.

    Reply
  • Robin : Jan 13th

    Great post – greater concern….your hives reappeared after the Supreme pizza meal. Another indication of Alpha-gal Syndrome, please seek medical attention & get some blood work done. You don’t want to play with this…
    It’s not the end of the world, but you need to know.

    Sorry to hear about your mom’s accident – glad she’s OK.

    Hope

    Reply
  • Bob : Jan 13th

    Enjoy your posts so very much. Please keep us updated on how your mom is doing. I can speak for all your readers, we are concerned for her.

    Reply
  • Lin : Jan 14th

    Fantastic sunrise shots! What a treat to get some trail magic pizza and that cold water cache

    Really sorry to hear about your mum’s accident – I experienced something similar a few years ago and it rattled me for days. I’m still a tad skittish when anyone gets too close to my driver’s side. Not the sort of news you want to hear on trail ❤️

    Now onto these hives. First of all the cortisone cream can cause hypersensitivity in the sunshine. That’s also true of most skin rashes. I know you’re out in the boonies and don’t have access to anything other than what you’re carrying but if your long pant layer is loose and comfortable, maybe you could try putting those on close to noon and through the heat of the day to see if that helps. Also, if and when you come across any cold fresh water maybe take a little to splash onto your rash to cool it down. Obviously so as not to deprive other hikers of drinking water, but I know you wouldn’t do that 😘. Keep going with the cortisone and Benadryl until you get into a decent sized town, then ask the pharmacist what they would recommend.

    Please be careful about taking anything with Benzocaine (as mentioned in another comment above) because if this is indeed something like poison ivy, that is not a recommended treatment. Claritin would be another option instead of Benadryl but if you’re not familiar with taking something different, you certainly don’t want to give anything new a test run on trail 😂 Just hope these hives are on the way out now.

    Great job PL. I’m gob smacked that you’re heading towards 400 frickin miles already!!! You are killing it xx

    Reply
  • Holly : Jan 14th

    Go to the Mayo clinic page, NIH, PUBMED, ECT….. Benzocaine is often the recommended treatment for the elimination of symptoms of poison ivy. It completely numbs your skin so you can stop scratching and burning and it can heal.

    Reply
  • MATT ARMSTRONG : Jan 14th

    Please note that the flare up came soon after eating a gluten, dairy and sugar jammed meal of pizza and coke. These inflammatory foods could be causing your hives; may be aggravating a gut condition like colitis. A blood test at a Lab Corps might reveal a high white blood cell count. Best wishes to you on your adventures!

    Reply
  • Christina Hayes : Jan 14th

    Hi, maybe Google golfer’s rash or Disney rash. This spring I was training for a long day hike and got it when I went over like 15 miles in the heat. I’m not in near the shape you’re in but basically it seems to be caused when your vasculature hasn’t adapted as much as your cardio/ muscles. For me I just rested and decided not to do a 38 mile hike I the heat.

    Reply
  • Steven : Jan 15th

    In regards to your skin rash, I myself had an outbreak of red itchy rash on my arms undersides while living in Key West. I attribute the condition from a combination of humidity and sun. After trying an ointment from the pharmacy that didn’t bring any relief, I searched the herbal remedies at the library and found a concoction of 3 herbs, and I bought one of the 3 herbs dried marigold flowers at the health food store down the street. I brewed some of the flowers into a tea and let cool, then applied to the rash and the rash was healed within a couple days. The Marigold plant is in the plant family Asteraceae which includes Chamomile, Echinacea, Sunflower and more… So I imagine some similar results by switching out one for the other can benefit. X – herbalsteve

    Reply

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