FT2018 Day 13: Slarvation Slough Camground (mile 190.3) to Kissimmee Prairie State Park Campground (mile 210.8)

20.5 FT miles

I waited until first light to start hiking. The cold front had come through and it may have dipped just below 40 degrees (F) last night. At daybreak it had warmed up to 41.

Early morning on the trail.

Justin the Hunter had gone over the first part of my route with me last night. He warned me that it could potentially be knee deep to cross Starvation Slough itself and that he always walks a mile north to use the culvert, since he doesn't like to be wet. I decided to be true to the trail and take the trail crossing.

I made my way around prairies as the sun was rising. I finally got to an area that had water, but I couldn't see blazes. Eventually, I  saw a tiny footpath through the brush. I took the footpath to see a hidden, faded blaze on the other side. Then, I had to navigate to the slough crossing itself,  which was difficult because there was no obvious trail.

I finally found the blaze across the water and crossed. It came up to my shins at the most. And, that was maybe for about 2 steps. I couldn't be too mad at Justin the Hunter for incorrect information, since he said he always takes the culvert crossing.

The rest of the morning I was walking through shaded oak hammocks, many of which had Spanish moss. It was beautiful. I took a break under one, then went to filter water from the nearby Kissimmee River. Even when I couldn't see the river, I knew it was nearby because of the constant drone of airboats going by.

Morning light in the oak hammock.

Winding through the oak hammock.

 The Kissimmee River. 

Soon I entered Kissimmee Prairie State Park. The trail followed the area where the grassland met the oaks. It looked like an overgrown jeep road, so I was constantly checking my GPS to make sure that I was on the correct trail.

I got to a section of the trail that went in from the oaks. The jeep road was still clear,  but my GPS said that I was off trail. The route on the Florida Trail app continues to skirt the area where the grass meets the oaks. I had just passed a junction for what was labeled as the “high water route,” an alternative trail that you could take if water levels had flooded the normal trail.

The description in the app said that you would not be able to see the high water route unless it had been driven recently. There was also a note about the high water route not being blazed. The app (which is the official app) didn't even have the route itself marked. If I zoomed out enough, the Google Maps background showed it as a grey line.

Wanting to take the trail itself, I backtracked to where the split had been. I saw a muddy trail leading to the oaks, so I took it. I walked around the oaks until I was on the route, according to the app. I didn't see anything that looked like a trail. I walked around the grove of oaks, checking each tree and didn't see blazes. I held my phone out and walked the route it had listed and still didn't see a blaze or a trail.

The way the route was laid out in the app, it was pretty clear that you just follow the treeline. However, the grass was overgrown in that area. I was getting frustrated, so I decided to sit down and have lunch.

Evidence of the wet season waterline where the trail should have been.

While eating, I thought about it. Eventually I decided just to take the high water route. The trail was obvious and I could still make sure that I was on the correct road, thanks to the Google Maps background in the app.

The high water route. 

I started down the jeep road and was surprised when I saw an orange blaze. The description specifically said that it was not blazed.  I kept walking and saw more blazes. They looked fresh too. The official route must have been changed without updating the app. I didn't see a reroute notice on the website either.

I was pretty angry about the unnecessary frustration and amount of time I just wasted. I kept checking the GPS and watched my location for connect back seamlessly with the route on the Florida Trail app.

Vlog 1

After that, it was pretty clear that the trail just followed the jeep road. Eventually the jeep road (which I guess was technically a buggy road) led into a slough. As I got knee deep I laughed.  Justin the Hunter was right about getting knee deep but wrong about which slough. When I got thigh deep I started getting concerned and pulled out my phone.

I was off trail again. I held my phone out and backtracked to where the trail was. It was supposed to make a sharp turn into what looked like a wall of vegetation. Then I saw a small branch with a small amount of orange paint.

I made my way through the vegetation paralleling the slough with my GPS out the whole time to make sure the same mistake didn't happen again. I laughed again when the trail led to a boardwalk that crossed the slough. I had gotten all wet for nothing.

The boardwalk over Duck Slough. 

Duck Slough.

The rest of the day was spent following clear roads through open areas of the park. On the last stretch, through prairie land, a was passed by park visitors on a swamp buggy. If the driver had made me part of the tour she was thankfully not obvious about it.

The home stretch towards the visitors center/campground.

I reached the Visitors Center and campground. I saw Day Late’s tent already set up and found him to see what the setup was. We could set up on the lawn and pay the state park our fees in the morning. I also asked him if he had any navigational issues like I did. Apparently he had also plowed into Duck Slough, but ended up plowing through the whole thing and connecting with the trail on the other side. I later read the notes in Guthook, which claimed there was alligator danger there. Bold move, Day Late.

In addition to the tenting spots, the campground had outlets, potable water, bathrooms, and hot showers. I spent a lot of time connected to the outlet, recharging and trying to figure out the schedule for the next couple days. Then I took and incredibly long shower.

When I was clean, warm, and relaxed my hiker hunger finally kicked in. Man, was I hungry. My appetite kicked in 3-fold. It took a great amount of restraint to not eat the rest of my foodbag. I still had a day and a half until my resupply.