January 13
End: Clewiston
Miles: 23.6
Total: 288.1
I awoke early and got going before the sun rose, anticipating getting a motel room in Clewiston early and resting my poor feet.
I had trouble with the feeble blazes at a turn and ended up on the wrong side of a canal, but it turned out just fine. I met a guy named Stinger across the canal who was picking up his camp.
It hurt to watch the trail turn away from Clewiston and towards Lake Harbor. The walking was okay , but one portion was along the top of a rough levee which had been burned along with an adjacent crop field.
I glanced back occasionally and thought someone was behind me, but I couldn’t be sure. Finally I finished the levee minefield and rested while the figure caught up.
I shook Stinger’s hand, and we set off towards Lake Harbor, which is not more than a post office. As we refilled our water a woman asked me if we were bungie-jumping. I should have said yes.
Leaving that ignoramus behind, we hit the dike for the painful walk to Clewiston. We were both feeling the effects of the Big Cypress swamps. The blisters I picked up in the Keys were filled with mud in the swamp so I opened them up and cleaned them, leaving raw skin.
We rested on the edge of town and then hobbled in to pick up some fast food (!) and lay down in our shared motel room (!!). The room was super small and the motel was full of fishermen participating in a tournament.
I enjoyed laying around, soaking my feet in Epsom Salt, and ordering a pizza. I did not particularly enjoy walking to resupply at WalMart, but it had to be done.
I slept in a bed for the first time this year (!!!), and it felt fantastic.
