A few weeks ago I was super excited about signing on to a hiking trip. (More here.)
We started the trip on Monday, parked the car and camped at our end point: Clearwater Lake. My travel partner’s dad would pick us up Tuesday, drop us off at our start point (Buckman Lock) and we’d hike along the Florida Trail south until we were back at Clearwater Lake.
Camping was nice on Monday. Clearwater Lake is lovely, and I’d love to take some time to explore it more.
Tuesday we were up early to head to the start point. We were on our way by 8:00 and arrived at our start point around 9:00. We had 20 miles in front of us for the day, with our ultimate mileage for the whole trip being around 73 miles. As we drove we saw a bald eagle flying above and a baby bear crossed the road!!
I tried to choose carefully as I packed my hiking pack at home. Only the essentials, which if subjective after a certain point. But even with that my pack weighed in at 40 lbs. My travel partner assured me other hikers start off with more and the weight should be doable.
My travel partner had through-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail just months before, so she was both in shape and had a well-curated hiking pack that weighed in around 26 pounds. With those variables in place, she was hiking at a pace about 1 mile per hour faster than me. There were a couple of times where she waited for me, and we talked. I told her not to feel obligated to wait. I’d catch her up. And I had my cell phone if something bad happened. I seemed to have a pretty strong signal even though we are in the boonies.
So I hiked. The weather was nice. Not too hot with a little cloud cover. Plus we were hiking through the Ocala National Forest, and there are real trees there. I had envisioned scrub habitat and was glad to find real hardwood and pine forest instead. So the trees provided a nice amount of shade.
I enjoyed seeing the diversity of plant life as I hiked. The leaf little underfoot changed drastically in short distances with the change of trees, bushes, and herbaceous plants. There were also lovely, vibrant fungi decorating the trail with reds and yellows. Spongy lichens in some areas reminded me of Tribbles from Star Trek.
Looking for scat (i.e. poop) and tracks occupied my time too. You didn’t have to look for bear poop. It was pretty obvious. And the size alone gave away who it belonged to. It was the first time I’d ever seen signs of bears! But that baby bear crossing the highway was the only large animal I saw. In the realm of scat I also saw racoon poo. I may have seen more, but I’m not the best at identifying scat. For tracks I saw: bear, raccoon, deer, coyote, bobcat, and some armadillo or possum snuffle holes. Coyotes yipped away during the night.
Since we were aiming for 20 miles, I didn’t really stop much. I was experiencing all of the good stuff I described above, but I was also experiencing fatigue and pain. The trail is largely sand. Well packed in most places, but with obstacles: roots, groundhog mounds, and the like. It’s not like walking on a sidewalk. And of course, my good, old 40 pound pack. Forty pounds is forty pounds. I kept trying to relieve the pressure on my shoulders. Nothing really worked, and I got some nice “burn” marks from chafing. (Note to self: wear a shirt that completely covers all the spots the pack touches skin!) And you don’t know how you’re going to react to carrying it for a long time until you do it.
I was making an Ok pace: 2.3 miles per hour per my phone. But the weight and physical exertion was starting to wake up all of those aches and pains that haven’t had a chance to come out in awhile. During my Canada bike tour, my right ankle gave me issues at the end of the trip. This trip, it was pretty much my whole left leg, from foot to hip. I was pushing through the pain, but it wasn’t fun.
I met up with my travel partner at one point, and she recommended taking ibuprofen or something. Duh! It hadn’t even occurred to me. Once I did, it helped me power through. But it was also becoming apparent that I’d made my decision to join this trip without enough information.
I thought my past experiences with bike tours would give me enough oompf to power through this. While cycling is different, you still challenge your body. You still deal with some discomfort to do the trip.
So I didn’t realize what it would feel like to hike 20 miles with a pack. Now I know. I know I need to start off with lower miles and probably a lighter load.
I decided not to continue to the trip. I knew I’d be sore today (and oh, MAN, am I!!), and I knew that: 1) Yes, I probably could power through and finish the trip. But also 2) No, I probably shouldn’t power through and finish the trip. The leg pain I was having could have easily turned into a more persistent injury.
Fortunately Store 88 offers shuttle service to folks in my situation who want to give up the fight early. For a fee the owner shuttled me back to Clearwater Lake and to my car. We had a nice conversation on the way. I was glad to not be the first who needed this particular service.
So I’m home now. I took a hot shower and a nap. I’m probably the sorest I’ve ever been. And it’s pretty much my entire body from the neck down. Switching gears in my car with a manual transmission was a challenge. Getting out of the chair I’m sitting in will be a challenge. I’m Ok if I don’t move.
My travel partner is still hiking. I’m going to drive back and pick her up tomorrow. I didn’t want her to be stuck because of me, so I’ll be meeting up with her tomorrow evening.
So I finished 27% of what I started out to do, and you know what? I decided I get an A. I was thinking about what a shitty message it is to kids to tell them “quitters never win.” Sure sticktoitiveness can be a valuable trait sometimes. Some things are worth working through the problems and trouble that may come up. Sometimes working through discomfort earns you wonderful rewards. But it’s also good to listen to your internal warning signs. It’s good to know your boundaries and learn when it’s time to leave.
I could have pushed through and had a miserable time on this trip. I could have hiked 73 miles.
I had a hard day yesterday, but it wasn’t miserable. I hiked 20 miles. Which, from talking with some folks, is a lot for a day. I learned a lot from the trip, and I know better how to plan for another trip. I’m good with my 27% on this one.
A+ for me!
A 40 pound pack is a serious load! In my Appalachian Trail days I usually carried around 35 lb. which is still large considering I smoked in those days. When things stabilize financially (i.e when COVID vaccines allow schools to reopen fully) I recommend you go to Bill Jackson’s and get some minimalist stuff. The difference between your 40 pounds and your hiking buddy’s 26 pounds is huge!
Yeah. I think the food was my biggest overpacking thing though. I didn’t eat as much as I thought I would during the 20 miles, so even over the course of the next few days I wouldn’t have needed all of that. I didn’t weight it by itself, but I think that was probably the biggest contributor to “extra” weight. I was definitely carrying a few luxury items (e.g. a multi-tool with a hammer to hammer in my tent spikes), but overall I was using what I brought.
I was also worried about your boots – i know you love the sandals, but some of your foot/leg problems might be helped with better high ankle boots
I don’t know about boots. I’ve been thinking about it though, and I think arch supports may have been part of my problem. I think my left foot may pronate. (I’ve been looking at my feet a lot since I got back.) I *hate* heavy shoes, so I’ll have to do some research on sandals with arch supports that would help me with that pronation situation. I had my Xero shoes with me, but they would have resulted in the same issues since they are zero drop shoes. They’re very light though. That’s important to me. I don’t like my feet feeling like they have lead weights dragging them down.
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