The One About Thursday

Location : Upper Sugarloaf Key, Intersection of US Route 1 and Crane Boulevard 

Ending Point : MM 20.4

Today Was Rough

When texting with Harmonica, he started early that morning and was already 15 miles ahead of me!  Twerp.

He sent a video of where he slept the night we parted.  Unfortunately, the texting servers downgraded the image quality.  What I received was a short video clip of rorschach ink blots … with commentary.

🤡.  How bad was it?!  

🥊.  It was sooo bad, I didn’t recognize the campsite ’til after walking well past the general vicinity.  

I started strong.  The first mile can be uncomfortable.  Get the legs warmed up.  Adjust and re-adjust the straps, etc.  By MM 19, everything was moving freely.  The pack’s weight, still heavy but declining as the dehydrated meals disappear was comfortable.

By MM 20, I was a hurtin’ pup.  The back pain had returned.  Sitting on the walkway adjacent to what I suspect was Harmonica’s campsite, I readjusted and jiggered the pack’s contents, shifted weight around, ate a meal, etc.  You know, the general stuff you do while leisurely killing time.

After a long while, perhaps 1-2 hours, I re-started again.  And again, I started strongly, concluding the pack layout must have contributed to my back pain.  That conclusion was misguided.

At MM 20.4, 1600, I stopped to make a tele-health (video) doctor’s appointment.  The appointment wasn’t until 1845.  I napped a bit.  Ate from open containers, eg, finally finished the large bag of Starburst gummies brought from home.  Now, that pack weight is gone.  Soon, the wrapper will be, too.

The Doctor Will See You Now

The doctor’s visit was a circus 🎪, of sorts.

Now imagine this — me, ostensibly a homeless drifter, sitting on a park bench in a HS parking lot … under a VERY BRIGHT street lamp … as county sheriff cruisers (cop 🚨 cars 🚓) circled around every few minutes.

During the interview, the “doctor” (CRNA) was professional and vigilant.  She wanted me to show her (point) to where the pain was.  Saying, “on the spine behind the solar plexus” wasn’t cutting it.  I removed my fleece and pointed.  I was afraid she’d ask me to remove my shirt 👕, too.  Um, yeah, I can see the local newspaper’s headlines …

Nude Drifter Arrested at Local HS

I finally satisfied her curiosity.  She ran a few stretching tests.  Asked about chest pains, etc.

Tomorrow, Friday, I’ll travel to the nearest drug store, 10 miles away!, get the meds and continue on my way.

Tonight, however, I’ll crash on the boardwalk shown in the picture, below 👇🏼.

No doubt about it, the location is loud.  The shrubbery is sparse in the darkest areas (no lighting), but it’s abundant in the areas immediately under the street lamp at the road intersection.  I chose to sleep in the darker area.

And, yeah, that’s how I traveled 2 miles over 24 hours.  Nice.