The Florida Coalition of Peace & Justice (ECT Day 38)

• Hiked Today: 8 miles
  • The Florida Trail (539.8 – 547.8)
• Total Hiked: 766.1 miles
• Total Paddled: 99.5 miles

Cow Creek Camp to the Peace Education Center 

With my plans in order for today and tomorrow (generally), I had no need to get up early to start walking. Today would be relatively short miles getting to the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice (FCPJ). After a casual cup of Joe, I packed up and got going in a light mist.

My farm-side setup before breaking everything down. There was a donkey making donkey noises last night.

The water in the air was just enough to get my glasses all blurred, but otherwise not all that noticeable. With the slower pace my mind seemed to have time to think.

News From “The Outside World”

To be straight with y’all, the past few weeks and few days in particular, I intentionally went into the messiness of what’s going on in the country right now. Now, I do not want to bring that into this blog! There are enough spaces for that elsewhere. It is part of my story on this hike though and I felt like expressing generally how I’m choosing to handle it.

When long-distance backpacking, some choose to block out news from the “outside world” as much as possible. Sometimes that just happens naturally being remote and without cell service. There are times when that’s healing to step away and I have certainly done that before. I’ve grown to understand that the separation found in natural spaces from everyday busyness and problems and drama is key for my mental health.

About half of the morning was along this paved path. It switched to gravel the rest of the way, but maintained the straight line for the most part.

Most of the time I’ve had cell service on this hike (with the exception being Everglades NP). I often will put my phone in airplane mode and extreme battery saving mode (that’s an actual setting), but even when that’s the case, it’s not long before I switch this off. So because of that, I’ve been able to pay attention to what’s going on in the news. And I’ve intentionally chosen to stay informed this time around; I feel it’s too important not to be aware.

Today however, I realized balance is needed and I haven’t been doing a good job of that. The information coming in, my time spent dwelling on it, spending time on social media scrolling, reading articles… all of that consumed me. I went too far and I wasn’t being in the moment seeing and experiencing what was right in front of me. I want to stay informed and contribute as I’m able, but also feel I need to figure out how to do that in a way that I’m still present here!

My most clear example of when I’ve found this balance was hiking through the Sierra with Cheer and Calzone. We were both filled up by our natural beautiful surroundings, but were also having conversations about things going on in the world and how we might act in positive ways after our trek. I wrote a post at the end of that trip going into this idea a bit more. So, that was what I was pondering this morning.

The Trail Provides Again

When thru-hiking I’m pretty goal oriented. Got to get those miles in! I needed to put a pause on that south of Orlando when my feet needed healing and I needed to put a pause on that here too. This time around was just as much a struggle for me to do because physically I felt great. Mentally though, I was a bit of a mess. And, this was one of those times when there was a letting go needed to embrace the whims of the trail. Rather than being stubborn and rigid with my plans, I’m trying to be better at going with the flow some times.

In my efforts to get a ride to Trail Fest, I got in contact with Sara who is a trail angel and a representative of the nonprofit, the Florida Coalition of Peace and Justice. This group hosts hikers at their Peace Education Center just off trail. I had hoped to get a full day hiking in today and then somehow get a ride, but pretty quickly I relented to what it seemed the trail was telling me. Talking on the phone with Sara about the place, learning it has showers, laundry, cozy couches, and a kitchen with some donated hiker foods… it was clear that’s where I should go. It also would work out nicely that tomorrow a group of us would head to the Trail Fest together for the day.

Hanging at the Peace Education Center 

Once the decision was made, I felt relieved. And once I arrived, I was immediately filled up by the presence of other hikers. I’d been missing the camaraderie of talking with other thru-hikers and these folks were great. Tater Tot, Keto, Disco, Jeff, and Amazon Man were all hanging about. Jeff showed me around while others offered cookies, an orange, and coffee and tea. Plus, Tot had some fun colorful beads to brighten things up with.

Later, Iceman showed up… a fellow ECT’er! This was a ton of fun talking about our different experiences between Key West to this point. We had been close to each other a lot of times and passed one another without knowing it. I also found out that Jeff hiked most of (if not all?) the ECT route, so we got to pick his brain about stuff up ahead.

Friendly dogs always brighten my day. This little pup was a smiley one 😊

The morning turned to afternoon, which turned to evening and I got lots of good relaxing time in. They have a cool laundry machine that required a little bit of hands on help, so once again I’m so fresh and so clean. Amazon Man is named for all his Amazon package deliveries I guess, but despite his namesake, he went with Sara on a Walmart run. They picked up snacks and frozen pizzas, so there was a healthy amount of eating that went on today as well. I was quite ravenous as usual.

Towards the end of the night, we had some music playing with each of us connecting to the bluetooth speaker and picking different songs. It was an eclectic mix. I enjoyed my conversation with Sara about awe and being curious, both in the presence of nature, but also in the every day. They have a wonderful library of books at the Peace Center and I skimmed through Braiding Sweetgrass (I’m saving a re-listen of this gem of an audiobook for when up in the northeast), the Tao of Pooh, and a small pamphlet with the Native American Thanksgiving Address.

There were quotes and artwork posted on the walls. All were inspiring, but one in particular stood out. In the picture above it’s hard to make out, so here it is…

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” 

– Margaret Mead (I think… that’s who they claim said it anyways)

Maybe like me you’re wondering what’s up with the official sounding name of this place? Well, hosting hikers and other travelers is just one small part of what they’re about. The FCPJ website tells they are “dedicated to providing space and energy for multi-generational education relating to self-empowerment, regenerative ecological practices, social justice reform, innovative projects, and peaceful conflict resolution.” Also, as part of the Florida Trail Association Gateway Community, they put together a nice little video highlighting the space. Such a blessing to this community, Florida Trail hikers, and to me!

Outdoors For All

In this spirit of good vibes and good causes to support, I want to highlight the cause I’m raising funds for while hiking the ECT… increasing access to and equity in the outdoors! I hope you’ll help me support Outdoors Empowered Network (OEN) in their work taking practical, measurable steps, including access to appropriate gear, training, and best practices for risk management and cultural inclusion. They seed and support grassroots local member groups all across the country.

• Please donate to my fundraiser via my Give Lively Page. My goal is to raise 1$ for every mile I hike on this route, or approximately $6,000. I need your help though!
• Check out this YouTube video explaining what OEN is about.
• Check out the OEN website.
• Check out my earlier post titled The Outdoors Are For All, going into why this cause is special to me.

Thanks for following along! Stevie Wonder 😎