I Left the Florida Trail Early Three Times for Three Different Reasons. I’m Not Going to Let Heat Send Me Home This Time.

So happy to be back on the Florida trail to continue my LASH (Long A** Section Hike)!  I began this trek down in the Everglades in early January, 2023. I intended to make it an annual escape from the cold of Ohio each January for three years to get the job done, meaning arriving at Ft Pickens on Gulf Shores.  Plans are good for backpackers, very good, but sometimes life has its own plans. 

January, 2023:  I headed out solo (my usual style) but occasionally with fellow hikers who intended to thru-hike the full distance.

I made it nearly the full 350 miles I had in mind, but an unfortunate fall due to a little vine across a path, I had severe knee pain and had to go home just a few days earlier than planned,  but disappointed and in pain.

Early January, 2024:  This time I began with two friends  for the first few days.  

I resumed from where I had left off, but only got to the beginning of the Suwannee River section.  This was not nearly as far as I had intended. Due to excessive flooding, I would have to do mostly alternative  road walks through the whole section and more later on.  A friend from the area recommended that I come back another time to fully experience the true beauty of the Suwannee.  I took this advice and headed home again. Of course, once I was home, I second-guessed myself, but not much.  I wanted to get as much as I could out of discovering Florida via the trail.

Early January, 2025:  This time accompanied by my super supportive husband, we were able to hop right on the trail beside the Suwannee, no road walking to avoid floodwaters this time.

As Bill and I progressed, heading NOBO (called north bound, but actually mostly westbound), we left the less damaged eastern section of the trail.  

We entered the area where it appeared that the storms and floods had hit hard. Piles and piles of trunks and limbs were pulled to the side on the trail, and as in this photo, at one camp, piled into a massive wall.

A bitter cold front had moved in, eventually even snowing in northern Florida, where I was to spend all my time. I don’t sleep well in the cold, even with my good cold weather gear. When day five arrived,  Bill was heading back home to Ohio (even colder and snowier!). Based on the local weather predictions, I chose to head home with him and come back in the spring.  Disappointing again, but still the right decision. I really value being a LASHER, being able to hike during seasons when I’ll actually enjoy it and profit from it the most.

April 28, 2025:  I resumed my trek with much happiness.  Those three months of waiting to get back on the Florida trail felt long, and yet short at the same time. Now here I was, backpacking solo again.

And how’s it going? Well, at this point,  I’m four days in and have about 40 miles behind me.  Because I’m hiking in the less popular season, as the temperature warms up, there are very few hikers (I’ve seen none).  The trail has become a bit overgrown in some areas with very tall grasses sometimes.   I’m always happy to see my favorite plants on the trail, saw palmettos  

The temperatures I was warned about have not, so far, been extremely high for me, hovering around the mid 80s, with very comfortable sleeping at night in the low to mid 60s. That sure beats 20°!  I can handle heat, humidity and bugs better than biting cold, especially when camping out.

I’ve heard some folks call the Florida Trail the most difficult trail in the US. I have to think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but if you hike the full length of it, you’ve certainly been challenged many times, that’s for sure. There are swamps you need to wade through (which can actually be fun, but also nerve wracking and frustrating!), the aforementioned heat, humidity and insects, hurricane damage that needs to be navigated around, as well as rivers swollen way out of their banks, hiding and damaging the trail, and many stretches of permanent road walks. It’s impossible for the Florida Trail Association to own enough land for its 1100 miles (actually more, for alternative routes too).  But they’re actively working on it. but there are also many, many beautiful sections along its full length.  And they’re still here, too.

So I’ve been able to continue following the Suwannee River it’s full distance that borders the FT.  So peaceful and lovely with its  beautiful white sand beaches that border it much of the way.

 However, the forest along this western portion of the Florida trail by the Suwanee really shows that it has especially been hit hard by the periodic  floods and three major hurricanes moving through the past year and a half.

The dedicated volunteer trail crews have worked so hard to clear the way.  At some point, when fallen trees blocking the trail are  just too large and dense to be removed or gone over, under, through or around, it becomes like following a maze to see which other way they intend the hikers to go. Sometimes the orange blazes have gone down with the trees, so you have to keep your eyes on the lookout for bright pink or orange tapes, tied to the alternate routes. I’m now sitting in a motel for my first zero day, not still wandering around the forest looking for more pink tapes.  So it works out.

There have been some road walks which are presently a permanent part of the Florida trail.  

Tomorrow I’m about to begin a long stretch in which several churches offer free camp facilities for Florida Trail hikers.  There are no other camping facilities along the paved road, so the churches stepped up. I intend to take advantage of two of those churches’ offers.

I’ve been helped greatly by trail angels the full length of this multi-year trek. This year, trail angel Gary drove quite a bit to take me from where I had dropped off a rental car to my intended trailhead. He had also helped Bill and me in January.

Trail angel Shaina quickly relieved my mind two days ago by quickly answering my desperate post one evening on the FT Trail Angels’ FB page.  My phone battery was low and it and my power bank were not working together.  I couldn’t recharge my phone. We all know how much we need those for communication and route finding. Shaina was able to pick me up the next morning,  take me into the nearest town where we found out it was a faulty cable not the phone, and got me back on the trail. Massive, massive relief!  

One last pair of folks unwittingly acted as trail angels, not even knowing the term. I was walking back along a busy highway with a very large bag containing two Wendy’s baked potatoes and two Subway spinach and veggie salads.  A pickup truck pulled up ahead of me and rolled down the window as I approached it. The driver said,  “I know you’re hiking the Florida trail! I heard you talking about it in the Verizon store yesterday in town. We live right on the Florida trail! Do you need a lift somewhere?”  Initially, I was going to refuse the ride since there were two of them, but the passenger appeared to just be his 14 year old son.

Once I recognized the father’s face, I hopped in and they took me the remaining half mile along the busy road to my motel. After a long day of road walking, it was much appreciated.  And what fun it was sharing with them more about the trail and hearing about what they enjoy: roping calves and barrel racing in competitions. At my request, the son whipped out his phone and showed me several videos of them and their little sisters all enjoying their passion of competing on horseback. What a great encounter it was….folks from two completely different cultures,  respectfully listening to and learning about each other’s very different passions.  I truly love hiking and camping, but especially on these long distance solo treks, it’s meeting other hikers, local people and trail angels that brings richness to the experience.

And always, always powered by the delicious goodness of plants.