I’m Baaaack!

Yes, you read that correctly!  In a couple of weeks, I’ll be continuing my journey on the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Trail.  Last year I kayaked from St. Mary’s, Georgia to Key West, Florida.  That little trip took me about 3 months.  This year I’m starting in Key Largo, Florida and continuing up the Gulf Coast of Florida all the way to Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola, Florida.  I plan on paddling through the Everglades National Park using the Wilderness Waterway.  This is something I’m very excited about.  The Everglades has been a bucket list item for a very long time now and I’m finally getting the opportunity to explore it in a unique way.

This year I’m going to work on creating informative blogs.  Looking back on my blogs, it appears I don’t really spend a lot of time talking about my gear and how I plan my trips.  I’ll be honest, most of my planning takes place a few weeks before I roll out.  I do tend to make a lot of mistakes. My first mistake of this trip was leaving my gear inside of my kayak and leaving the kayak on an outdoor rack in Key Largo.  I’m confident my friends there have kept it all safe and sound, however, I can’t do a proper inventory until I get there.  That’s not how one should start a 1000 mile trip in the ocean.  Don’t do that.  As long as my kayak is still in working condition, everything else will fall into place.

Once I get to Key Largo I’ll do a little video on my gear and how I pack it.  I do know for a fact I’m upgrading my sleeping pad.  For years I’ve used a basic closed-cell foam pad and it sucks.  It’s tolerable but not comfortable. So this year I’m upgrading to an inflatable sleep pad.  There are luxury items I’d love to have but it’s not necessary if you’re on a budget.  I’m going to tell you right now that many of the keys and islands you camp at on the Florida CT are populated by rats and raccoons.  These poor creatures are often desperate for fresh water.  So, with that in mind, if you purchase high-end equipment it may get destroyed by some very thirsty neighbors.   I’ll talk about that more in depth in a couple of weeks.

For those of you follow me, I apologize for not blogging in between trips.  That’s something I need to work on and I will. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am finishing this quest and you’ll be hearing from me on the regular in a couple of weeks!