Tuesday, 23 February 2010

The weather and other obstacles

A not so very happy hiker
 Seems like I am very, very unlucky with the weather this year. I had hoped that after the record cold during our paddling trip in the Everglades the weather would return to normal. No such luck! As one local said: This winter is just one long cold spell. I have had several days of below freezing temperatures! This is not what they tell you in the tourist brochures about Florida... Yes, I had to get up and get into frozen socks and shoes in the morning. I had to roll up a frozen tent until my fingers where frozen, too. And the water in my bottle has turned into ice. This is NOT what I had expected in Florida!

On top of all that there has been a lot of rain- not only here in Florida, but also in Georgia. And that has caused a lot of flooding. Everything is muddy and soggy. And unfortunately, my next upcoming section the Suwanneh River is flooded. Some hikers who are hiking ahead of me have already either bailed or flipfloped or skipped to other sections. On Friday I will be in White Springs. My guidebook says that the trail will be impassable if the water level of the Suwanneh in White Springs is over 60 ft. Right now the water level there is 66 ft. and that does not look good. I will see what to do once I am there.

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