Harold Williams Cooney

Monday, December 8th, 2025. Nobles Campsite. Off m35.7 of the Florida Trail. Tented near the picnic table and fire ring. Probably 70ish and 90% humidity. Water falling from trees above. Woke naturally at about 545am. 26.234962,-81.073603

Do not sleep well. Awake and not happy about it until midnight. Toss and turn.  Muscle pain, back pain.

Rain band moves across at 2am, moderate, I guess. I had my tent open to try and get any airflow, and so it was an immediate scramble situation.

The tent was wet mess 2 of 5, a puddle in foot end. I don’t best to just be chill and pack up. I pack one pole and outer carry the umbrella. Do not have recent weather information. Walking at 615am.

The walk out from camp is quite pleasant. A series of increasingly less overgrown roads. First, a grass path, then a two track, then wide dirt, then paved. I make the turn to Swamp Water Cafe at about 9am. It’s a half mile in, I think.

First, overcast and arguably cool. The clouds break, and by 9am, the roast is on.

I have two breakfast sandwiches and a full order of biscuits and gravy, coffee and lots of water. It was pretty good. Good charge on devices and use the wifi. Out at 1045. Rain pending.

About 315pm, I feel the occasional rain drop and I started feeling problems with my feet. I figure it’s best to sit and deal with the situation before the rain comes.

My feet have a few problems. One, hella bit up by bugs. Two, they have been wet for a couple days and conditions in the tent overnight have not allowed them to dry out and firm up. Three, the socks I have are dry at the cuff and wet at the sole, and despite being washed yesterday at the rest area, still have lots of sand in the matrix of the wool, essentially, my socks have become abrasive pads and they are fucking my feet up.

I carry three pairs of socks. I haven’t done laundry since I started this trip. I used a fresh pair at some point after departing the keys. I switched back and forth between these two pairs in the swamp area, doing the best I could. Anyways, I put on my last pair of machine washed socks to help my feet. The benefits won’t take long to feel.

At about 430pm, I have to dig a cat hole in the middle of the dike road for a massive diarrhea attack. Good lord. And no, this is not the first time I have shit in a road.

As the afternoon gets later, I start looking at the map and trying to make plans for Clewiston.

If I walk to midnight or 1 am, I could be in town tomorrow. That’s the story I tell myself.

But when sundown begins the mosquitoe hord arrives and I quickly lose heart. I make for a campsite, laughing at how regularly this happens. “I’m gonna go far!” Ten minutes of thinking later. “No, I’m going to bed.”

The STA-5/6 Public Use Area is my goal and it’s a nightmare. The place smells of rot and turkey vulture shit. The ground is alternately rock-hard or fire ants. I pick an arguably terrible spot to tent, in-between the information bord and the parking lot guard rail because the ground is all soft so I know my tent stakes will go in. It smells terrible, like a summer hot container of bags of dog shit.

I set up as best as possible given that I am a stable target for desperate mosquitoes. My tent is still wet from yesterday. It takes some effort, but I get it done.

There is a pitcher pump. I take off my shirt and pump the well water onto it it with plans of cleaning up a bit. The water has a horrid sulfer smell, I don’t know, I’m not a chemist. The water is absolutely foul-smelling, but I use it to clean myself. My shirt as a washcloth

I rush into the tent. I zip myself in and start killing mosquitoes. A great day. 7pm, and I’m allegedly alone in my tent.

Milage:

From Nobles Camp to here, Farout has it as 30.4 miles, plus a mile in and out from the Swamp Water Cafe. So that’s 31.3 miles for the day. Good times.