Harold Williams Cooney

Sunday, December 7th, 2025. Okalee Wachekaleshke on m9.5 of the Florida Trail. Tented 3 feet west of the picnic table. Big Cypress, Florida. Perhaps 75° and 100% humidity. 25.964314,-80.986153

I toss and turn in a sticky wet tent all night. Up at 330am figure its best to try to get going. Mosquitoes terror. Packed and ready to try 410. Intimidating.

Walking in the dark is very intimidating indeed. I hear no gators but that doesn’t stop me from thinking about it. Navigation is the most difficult bit. I do pretty well and the trail is well blazed, not that this helps if I can’t see them. As it turns out, spiders are the largest concern. They are everywhere in make 4.4 before turning off head lamp at 640ish.

In every hiker season where I’m truly going for it, there’s the first hiker that I meet and pass. I met Chief! So thrilled.

Chief is looking to NoBo the Appalachian Trail, and so we are on the same adventure. Chief started at the welcome center two days ago. The longest hike Chief has been on is 150 miles. I happened upon Chief as he was packing out of his tentsite (he camped yesterday where I came from this morning).

Looking around his campsite, “Do I have everything?” Me looking at his pack, “You sure look like you have everything.”

We walked together for about 100 yards as he finished his cigarette, which smelled amazing. I manage not to ask him for one, lol, or the weed he smells like, before continuing on my way.

I would say in terms of calorie output to find progress, this is some of the most difficult hiking I’ve ever done. Exhausting. Laughably so.

There is the sun and the humidity, that will slow a person down. And worry over navigation, even though the trail is well marked. Obviously, the water, probably of the 40 miles, +90% is shin to knee deep; these are low water conditions. The surface below the water is mud.

The real problem was my feet. Turns out, my shoes are a natural sleuth for the fine sand in the mud. It fills the space between the layers of cloth in the shoes. Never experienced anything like it, total disaster, lol.

I make the highway rest area on the south side at 3pm. Internet says I can ask the attendant for the use of a garden hose, but I find no attendant, and I examine everything outside, and see no hose.

I go to town on my shoes in a bathroom sink and by 335pm, everything’s all good. A miracle. So thankful.

I sit on the floor of the breezeway between bathrooms, eat potato chips from the vending machine, and charge my devices. I cut out from the rest area at about 445, and stuff mostly changed after noticing that my cell company has slowed my service, and I can’t download anything. Lol.

I take 3l of water from the rest area only to find out that it is the worst tasting water in the history of liquid. I pour it out on the road.

It’s a very pleasant 5 miles from the rest area to where I am to camp. Very pleasant because it’s DRY! A lovely two track road as the sun goes away.

There are no other camper at the site. I have a little trouble finding the water, but after looking everywhere, I find that I overlooked it in the first place I looked. Lol, of course.

I am in my tent tending to my feet at about 7 pm. It was such a great day. So thankful. I both enjoyed and do not prefer the last 40 miles of hiking. Classic type two fun.

Milage:

My camp, Okalee Wachekaleshke, is at mile 9.5. I am now camped off m35.7 at Nobles Campsite. Both basic subtraction and FarOut agree, 26.2 miles for the day. So thankful!