The First 40 Mile Day of the CYTC
This morning I woke up around 4am and was feeling good. I slowly packed a couple things away. Then heard one of the guys making coffee. I knew I had a bit more time, so I just slowly but surely got packed up. Then we were walking before 5am.
The last few mornings we’ve started around this time. And the funny thing is, that we all are totally silent in the morning. Nobody talks or says anything to each other for an hour or more. Then eventually someone breaks the silence. I can be pretty loud and energetic in the mornings. So I’ve tried to chill out and be quiet with the guys.
But once the silence is broken, then we’re gabbing. I could entertain myself all day just shooting the shit and cracking jokes with people. We walked through the dark for a couple of hours. Every now and then chatting with each other. Then slowly but surely the sun came up.
It was a pretty cold morning. I had my Sambob alpha 90 top and bottoms on, as well as my rain jacket. We were walking along road for the first few hours of the day. But I didn’t mind that. It’s much easier to walk on road in the dark. The sunrise was beautiful and we passed a lot of big oak trees. Eventually we got off of the road and onto some actual trail. Which was amazing! It was pine covered and really comfortable to walk on. Minus some lumps here and there. As I walked I listened to a great podcast with Mathew McConaughey which was super inspirational. Then got a blog and video up around the same time.
Eventually the trail hit a road again and we popped out at an underpass tunnel that went under the highway. The tunnel is full of graffiti and is an iconic stop along the trail. Leaving there it was back onto road for most of the afternoon. Primarily dirt road for a bit. Then eventually a busy paved road.
As we walked I slowly but surely remembered where I was. Previously I hiked the Florida trail southbound, so it has me all out of whack going northbound. It takes a bit of time to jog my memory on where exactly I am. But today was a very memorable section. Around noon we were walking a busy road and went past a picnic area. Back in 2023 on the ECT my buddy Boosted came out to visit me there. We hiked together for most of the Appalachian trail earlier that year. He brought me pizza to the picnic area and I got to see him for the first time in months.
Not long after that we got back onto dirt trail again. Then passed by a big cat rescue! Another iconic trail stop. Last time I didn’t see or hear anything. But this time a lion loudly growled and roared as we approached the area. We could even look through and see it in its enclosure, pretty far off in the distance. I understand that if it’s a rescue it’s being held because it can’t be released back into nature. But it still makes me sad to see an animal like that on a cage. There’s nothing natural about that.
Around this time we were well over 20 miles into the day. We it 16 miles around 10am once again. Then hit 20 miles at our first water break, well before the road walk began. Originally we were planning to do a 37 mile day to set ourselves up for tomorrow. But a road we had intended to walk actually turned out to be private property. On the map it just looked like a road. When we arrived though there were no trespassing signs posted, so we didn’t dare enter. That meant we added a little more than 3 miles to our day. It would wind up being a 40 mile day most likely.
After passing the big cat area we were back in the woods. And almost immediately as we hit dirt trail again, Fresh Ground called us. He decided to come out tonight to feed us dinner! Which is a totally surprise. He had just missed us on the road unfortunately. But this lit a fire under us. I would be motivated to get to camp and get a good meal. We still had probably 13 or 14 miles to go at this point. And we’re already a marathon in! It was going to be a long and hard day. But I was ready for it.
The path we walked for the next couple of hours was nice and easy. All of us talked on and off about all kinds of things. Ultras, FKT’s, some trail legends, and anything else we could think of. Punisher came in 2nd place at the Tahoe 200 a couple years ago which is absolutely legendary. I can only imagine the challenge of a race like that. But hopefully one day I’ll know first hand. It’s always fun talking to hikers about other endurance sports and all sorts of random stuff.
When I wanted to zone out over the course of the remainder of the day I put a podcast on. This time it was more of a trash tv type of podcast, not something motivational. Sometimes that helps me pass the time. Then around 3pm we hit over 30 miles for the day. Not too shabby. My feet were a little sore on and off. But other than that the rest of my body felt like butter. No issues.
As the hours went by I certainly got more tired. The last 5 miles of the day was of course the hardest. But it was super early and I was doing ok. I was just tired, of course. However once we completed our day we got to eat burritos at Fresh Ground’s set up! My feet were tender toward the end, but were alright. Nothing a good nights sleep won’t heal.

A “Merry Christmas” sign on a tree before the end of the day. We’ve been calling today “Christmas Eve”, because we walk into Christmas, Florida tomorrow.
We got to Fresh Ground’s van around 5:45pm, just before the sun went down. Over 40 miles in for the day! My biggest day yet of the year. And it felt good doing it. Then we got to the road and headed to the van to drop our packs and chill. Dinner was loaded burritos with rice, beans, beef, avocado, cheese, and hot sauce. I actually ate 2! I must have been starved. Then I proceeded to have not one, or two, but three hot chocolates! I was definitely pretty dehydrated.
It was so nice hanging out for the rest of the night. We had plenty of time since it was so early. At one point we met another hiker with his dog. He was really nice and the dog was a sweety. Then a trail angel Jen came by to bring that hiker pizza. Apparently she reads my blog so we got to officially meet! She was a sweetheart. And helping hikers in this section of trail is so incredibly kind. It’s a tough area with a lot of road walking ahead.
After I ate I got my tent set up nearby. Then headed back to the van to hangout and have more cocoa before bed. We all just sat around and watched the stars. It was nice to hang after a long day of walking. Around 7:30pm I called it and headed back to my tent though. Then not long after that, Punisher’s buddy came to meet him. He’s gonna feed us breakfast tomorrow which is so nice! This guy is apparently a legend and has ran something like 15 separate 200 mile races.
Once I was in my tent I did my stretching. Then did some video work and writing before calling it. Hopefully by later on tomorrow my week 2 vlog will be up on YouTube! I’m aiming for uploads everything Thursday. It’s mostly edited as of now. I just need to add a couple quick things to it before posting. That can be found @madisonblagden. And I’m hoping to do those all year. I really liked how the week 2 video turned out. I think it’s already notably better in content and style than the first one I did. I’m learning as I go! Then not long after all that I called it a night.
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Comments 5
As we approach my 2 year mark of being a superfan, I just gotta say how you brighten the world with your fantastic attitude, terrific shots and footage and a narrative that makes me believe that humanity isn’t completely doomed. Thanks so much for keeping my days lighter with all your hard work!
I love that you are back in Florida for this next adventure. When you are I almost always recognize the pictures. Enjoy and stay safe.
Fantastic pictures – that first one looked like a Monet ❤️. The food that Fresh Grounds provides looks incredible for a man in a van. 😁.
40 miles baby!! And you’re below the 8K mark now. So glad you have trail company, even if they like being quiet. Do they plan to continue on the AT and up to Canada?
Hope your hives have improved now and your mum isn’t too sore after her accident ❤️
Fantastic job PL ❤️
Glad that you’re getting into a groove, Peg Leg! And thanks for bringing us along!
Amazing journey. Crushing it as usual.