So we set off on another adventure on the Florida Trail. And to be honest im glad we did for a few reasons. The first reason is to be out there of course, but there is more. We got the chance to meet a couple of Kens friends that are just starting out on the trail. Mike and Gavin ( sorry if i spelled that wrong) . Gavin is 15 i think and his dad ( or step dad im pretty sure ). So there was a "normal" missing from our group. That was James, he had other things to do and was missed out there.
We planned on meeting at 10 am and drop the car off and start at Joshua creek trail head, well all of that would have happened on time but it didnt LOL. We all got a little late start, but no worries we were alive thanks to my expert nascar driving skills. We did make it in one piece. We met Ken, Mike, and Gavin at about 1030 am at St Nicholas rd , and sat there waiting on Mike to get his gear together, he felt bad but like we always say we are not on a schedule so take your time. We head off to Joshua Creek trail head and get to walking about 1130 or so. We came across a family that appeared to be on a outing of some sorts with some young kids. I thought great for them.
We get off the blue trail and start heading south, Ken was in charge of the trail book and thank God he was. (It seems that the book was off a lot on this trip). We happened to see a whole bunch of cow poo all along the trail, i am not to keen on cows so this maybe a issue LOL. This has got to be one of the prettiest areas we have be in between the oaks and the palms there were spots of dense ferns.
As always we had fun, lots of laughing and cutting up. But i think we havent learned all that is needed to learn. I say this for a couple of reasons. First as stated in other blogs Ken is normally on point but he has a habit of looking down while he is walking, i understand you have to see what your stepping on but the ine thing about that is there are some obstacls to keep a eye out for like spider webs and other low hanging things trees. Yep he did it SMACK right into a palm tree! all i could do was laugh, but only after we made sure he wasnt cuncussed.
The other thing we havent learned is speed, our pace was fast, probably to fast. Debi had a hard time keeping up with us. I dont know what it was but we were moving. I dont know how hard it was for Mike and Gavin, but from the looks i got from Debi i know how hard it was on her. We did slow down, and i would hang back with her, but there were times when Ken and them were waiting on us.
We had a hard time with the book and where we were. At times i felt very lost. We did get to christmas creek and it was time to eat lunch and take a break. Mike and Gavin seemed to be enjoying themselves so all was good, Deb was wearing down and ready for lunch.
We headed off to get a few more miles in before the next break, all we could do was judge our progress by time because at this point i wasnt sure the book was helping much. We came across some interesting ways to cross barbed wire fencing, but the book didnt mention some of them and we thought we were at a spot that we werent near yet, this is a big let down thinking you are closer than you really are.
We gather wood after hanging out hammocks, Debi starts the coffee and i see Gavin starting the fire using a flint, all i could think was good for him. Mike hands him some lint ( i think it was dryer lint ) and Gavin goes to town sparking and sparking then POOF flame!! I was proud of him. We all sit around and talk, While drinking coffee and complaining about the book.
After dinner Mike and Gavin head to bed and Debi heads off shortly after, Ken and me sit up for a little while talking, then we hear a owl hoot pretty loud, then another then another, but this one is different, it was much different. I have heard it before but Debi hasnt. I hear SSSSHHHHAAAWWWNNN!!! what was that??!!! in her concerned voice. I explain it was a owl but i think its a older owl, well evedently that wasnt good enough cuz out of the hammock came Debi . She figured it was safer by the fire. You got to love her!
It was a cold night, about 50 degrees or so, Debi was cold most of the night, i didnt seem to be near as bad as her. We didnt winterize our hammocks, we both thought it wasnt needed but we were wrong. We wont make that mistake again.
Debi got up first and tried to make fire but the dew made it hard, Ken came in to save the day. I peeked out of my hammock to see if the fire was started before i got up ( i didnt know Debi was up already ). I rolled out of bed and headed to the fire Ken got it going pretty fast with paper, Debi had coffee started. All was good in camp. Mike was still snoring and Gavin was still asleep, they got up about 8 or 815.
It was time to start off on our way. My phone was dying so not to many pics this time.
We had a great time as always but this trip was pretty uneventful. We saw a few armadillos a bunch of birds, and they say some deer. I enjoyed my new backpack and Mike and Gavin.
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| Debi Ken Gavin and Mike |
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| Then me ( cuz i was cut out of the other one ) |
