Making it to the Florida Trail Kick Off

This morning I woke up naturally just before 5am. I’m impressed how quickly my sleep schedule has gotten back on track. It feels great starting early. And in the weeks to come I’ll probably start hiking even earlier than this.

Long Shot and I packed up at the room and then left most of our stuff there. The group is checking out of the hotel this morning. But they are going to bring our stuff to the campground where the kickoff event is happening. Today I’m just walking these 13 miles with a water bottle and a fanny pack. It’s going to be so cool this morning that I won’t need much of anything else. And that way I can leave my bag packed and don’t have to take everything out of it.

Then we headed downstairs and found Fresh Grounds in the parking lot. He made us coffee and then we began driving. On our way out of the lot, Fresh Grounds Long Shot helped to push someone’s vehicle into a parking space because it had broken down. Then we drove the 24 miles back down the road to where we started yesterday. Today we just have to walk 13 miles north to the Oasis Visitor Center at Big Cyprus. Then the gang will be there to feed us and bring us to the kick off event for the night.

Had to make sure that I got dropped off at the exact spot this morning where we were dropped yesterday!

It will be amazing to enjoy a nice, short, day today! My body will certainly appreciate it. Today is the end of the first week on the B2BCYTC. And what an incredible week it has been. I can only hope that each week of the trip will be as jam packed with magic and excitement as this one.

After walking for a couple miles we passed this sign. Not too far to go now.

The time went by really quickly as we walked along the road. Eager to meet Fresh Grounds at the oasis center and get our rest day started. I just listened to music in the first couple hours flew by. But after the third hour I was a little bit tired. Though my body felt good. My quad on my left side is a little tight today. But everything else feels so much better. Especially being able to walk today without even a backpack on.

Feeling good at the end of week one!

Before we knew it, it was just after 10am and we made it to the oasis center. Fresh Ground was set up there with Punisher and Long Shot and I joined them for some breakfast. I ate bacon and eggs and pancakes. Then we hung around for a little while before heading over to the Twin Lake Campground, where the kickoff event takes place.

A big ole gator at big Cyprus.

Once we got there, we immediately ran into a bunch of familiar faces. Tim was there who shuttled me from the southern terminus on the CDT just a couple of months ago. I got to meet Kitty Hawk for the first time which was cool. He’s a hiker who I’ve heard a lot about, and a lot of my friends have hiked with, but our paths have never crossed before. Bryan was there who I met last year, who actually picked me up at the casino and brought me to the kickoff only a year ago today. As well as Shep, a Trail Angel who I’ve met many times before between Florida and the Appalachian Trail. He lives up in Alabama and he now operates a hostel on the Appalachian Trail. So I have a feeling I will be seeing him over the course of the year as well. Then there were a ton of other hikers that I got to meet too.

Twin Lakes campground.

There were so many people to talk to. It was definitely a little bit overwhelming. And this is a rest day for me physically but also mentally. So after a little bit, I headed back to Fresh Grounds camp to just hang out with Long Shot and Punisher. Fresh Grounds got a campsite just away from the Florida Trail kickoff set up so that we could have a little bit of quiet and privacy. Because we’re going to be starting pretty early tomorrow to get as much mileage done in the swamp as possible.

Over there, Fresh Grounds fed us chili dogs with all the fixings, even coleslaw. Those were delicious. And we all just hung out and relaxed for a while. After a bit, Punisher, Long Shot, and I decided to walk over to the general store up at the front of the campground. I remember from last year that they have an exhibit of reptiles which I was eager to see again. They have a massive python there that is quite literally a foot wide in the middle. It’s apparently one of the largest ones that has ever been caught.

Some delicious French fries that I covered in Cole slaw.

While I was there, I actually saw Lip Balm! Who I ran into a bunch of times on the CDT earlier this year. I had no idea that he was going to be down here for the Florida Trail so it was good to see him again. Then I ran into Twig, who I also saw on the CDT earlier this year at the Trail days event in Leadville. I met her for the first time at the kickoff in Florida a year ago today. Her hiking and outdoors résumé is incredible. This woman has done literally just about everything you can imagine. It was really cool to see her again and it’s always a delight to talk with her.

This photo hardly does justice to the monster python at this exhibit.

There were so many other people there that I saw too. Hikers that I’ve met on trails all across the country and so many trail angels and familiar faces. It was so cool seeing people again and just spending the day surrounded by a bunch of friends.

Eventually, the rest of the gang arrived. They had stayed for late check out at the room and some of them had to go over to the post office. They had my backpack so once that arrived I got my tent set up. It’s going to be nice to be set up by Fresh Grounds because it will likely be a bit quieter. And for the rest of the day, we just all hung out and enjoyed the company of lovely hikers. It’s so cool to be surrounded by such a massive community of amazing people.

A big rocky looking snapping turtle.

I ate so much food and just had an amazing time. Seeing everyone is incredible, but truly one of the best parts about today is getting all of this rest. It’s going to be about 20 hours of absolutely no hiking at all. Which my body definitely needed and I’m looking forward to. Already I can tell that I’m feeling so much better and less sore. The half day today was certainly essential. But I’m looking forward to getting into the swamp and then getting onto some actual trail. I think that the change in terrain and getting off the road is going to be a huge game changer. The big miles are not going to be nearly as hard. And every day that goes by, I’m just going to get stronger and stronger and my body will get back to what it’s used to.

It was so great to just spend the day laughing and sharing stories surrounded by so many great people. I can’t express enough how fantastic the Florida Trail community is. There’s so much love and support. The Florida trail really feels like a smaller version of the Appalachian Trail. But because the community is smaller, it does more and overcompensates for the size. Which just means even more magic and support.

Just before 6pm, everyone started getting ready for dinner. I remember from last year that the individuals who host the kickoff event go all out for dinner with a huge spread. I’m definitely excited to feast and get a lot of calories and good fats and protein in for tomorrow.

Today I also got my email from the PCTA about getting my permit for the PCT. My permit time is in the afternoon tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll still have service in the swamp and I’ll be able to take a few minutes to do that during the day. But there are ways around a long distance permit as well. There are individual permits that you can get for all of the sections of trail, which shouldn’t be difficult. And it’s very common for people to cancel their permits closer to their date which means those will become available as well. But, if I’m able to get a permit tomorrow, then I won’t have to worry about anything and it will be a huge relief. Fortunately, my permit time is one of the first in the schedule. The way that they do PCT permits now is that you apply in advance and then they send you a time the day before. This year the time window starts at 10:30am Pacific time. And my time is 10:38am. So I think there should be plenty of permits available and I should not have a problem. I definitely got lucky with that.

The dinner set up at the Florida trail kick off event

When dinner was ready, everybody headed over there to join the rest of the group for the Florida Trail kickoff. The spread was incredible. I had a huge salad, rice, chicken, potatoes, and veggies. It was the perfect meal to fuel me up and nourish me after this long week. And not long after I ate, I retreated back to my tent. My body feels so good today, but I’m tired. It’s been a hell of a first week! I was laying down in my tent by 7pm.

The community here on the Florida trail is hard to beat!

The plate I loaded up for dinner.

I did some writing and video work in my tent for a while. I’m hoping to manage doing weekly long “vlog” style videos on my YouTube channel @madisonblagden, and the first one of those should be up as of today! It’s a lot doing the short videos, blogging, vlogs, and hiking 30 mile days. But I’m giving it my best shot until I can’t do it all anymore.

I wished I had the time and energy to spend a day or two here like I did last year. But the B2BCYTC is calling! And I must answer. So I got to enjoy a nice half day here which was delightful. Then tomorrow I head into the swamp. Let the Florida trail begin.