CedarKeyHiker

The weather report this morning when we rose at 5:00 am called for 46 cool degrees. This is fairly typical this time of year in north coastal Florida. It's also a welcomed change from the warm, humid mornings we have been dealing with. Long pants made our five mile walk around the island a little more comfortable but as our cores heated up and we began to feel overdressed. In Florida the tenacity of a particular winter depends on how many times it is necessary to wear long pants. They'll be coming off for the rest of the day so we'll count this as a shorts day.

It's exactly three months until my tentative start date for my section hike to Harpers Ferry, WV. My training schedule began today and with few exceptions I'll be doing something to get prepared every day until then. The challenge will be to find terrain. Hodgson Hill named, for the family that saved John Muir is the highest point on the island. It's a stately 46 feet above sea level and offers the only climb to speak of. Next week I'll begin walking with my pack weighted and most likely head over to Devil's Millhopper in Gainesville. It's a 120 feet deep limestone sink hole. If I can't go up I will go down and back up and down again until I get the burn I need. On trips over there before I had seen folks going up and down the steps. It makes sense now what they were up to.

In the meantime, I'll get up each morning gradually progressing to ten miles by Friday. I'll also be cycling a fair piece on local Rails to Trails. I hope the rides will help me drop some of the weight I have gained to make my initiation to the PUDs on the Trail easier to accomplish. I'll still be here in Cedar Key. I've told Travis McGee I'm off the Plymouth gin and sherry drinks for a while. The fried grouper and Mahi sandwiches that have been our lunchtime staples will be replaced by grilled fish and salads. He's going to have to wait until I get back in July for me to rejoin his band of local miscreants.