We woke up to find a regularly scheduled trash fire burning behind our tents, welcoming the warmth as we packed, and hiked the Herbert Hoover Dike north towards Okeechobee.
We’d hiked on and off with Forrest, who was hiking across America with his Gump for President message, suggesting to people that there was something wrong with the two party system, “Nothing was getting fixed,” he said.
@joshua.acey was on his own sort of mission. Fresh out of the VA he wanted to help erase the stigma surrounding mental health by encouraging open conversations about the challenges our veterans encounter.
His journey home, from Miami to Mississippi on foot, suggested that every veteran’s path to healing is a unique journey back to a place of peace and purpose. Something he hoped to share in week-long hikes, where veterans could find the understanding, resources, and camaraderie they need, ensuring that no one walks this path alone.
We nero’d into Okeechobee to resupply and rest. Acey switched out his pack to the much lighter Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 40, and did a shakedown to remove some of the gear he brought but that hadn’t been necessary.
We nero’d back out of town the next day, meaning that we did ‘near zero’ mikes rather than taking a zero, which means hiking no miles at all.
It was a nice, slow pace. A perfect prelude to the weeks of 30 or 40 mile days we were about to hike… We’ll see how that goes.
#floridatrail #ftthruhike