Big Cat Sanctuary
Day 19: 13 miles, 281 total
A chilly and breezy morning, made a bit more uncomfortable because I had to don pretty wet socks and shoes to start the day. Nothing dries here! It's definitely no fun popping out of a toasty warm sleeping bag only to have to put on cold, wet socks. I do though, and my feet soon warm up. Or maybe go numb; I'm not sure. But they're not bothering me, in fact, physically everything feels fine this morning, and I start the day a bit chilly but in good spirits.
I plan on a 17 mile day, but take a 3 hour midday break to tour the Central Florida Animal Rescue facility(cflar.org).They give tours on Saturdays and Sundays, and I happen to walk by 90 minutes before their 1pm Sunday tour. I reserve a spot, and literally chill outside. It's getting colder, the wind is blowing just enough to make the cold bite, and the lobby is closed. I pace outside. CFLAR is a non-profit that rescues and provides permanent quarters for big cats. They took in 7 new cats in 2020, and have 20 now. Some come as they grow too large for private petting zoos, others from seizures, a few directly from private owners. They currently have tigers, cougars, black leopards, and African lions. Big, beautiful creatures, all. Sad to see them caged, but the facilities are big enough for some play, and the volunteers work hard to keep them engaged. Cats do want to be cat-like, after all. I learned that cougars are the biggest cat that can still purr! I also was surprised and amazed, once again, at the leg and paw size of the big cats. It's no wonder they can pull down big prey. Magnificent animals!
I also get to charge up my electronics, which was an unexpected but very welcome benefit as this is an 8 day stretch, and fill my bottles with filtered water, much nicer than the metallic tasting well water of the last couple days or the tannic water flowing slowly through the marshes and creeks. The available groundwater along this stretch is definitely not clear like in the swamp. Opposite of what I would have expected. I had an interesting chemistry experiment with the water from one of the wells yesterday. I pumped some fresh(?) water and ran it through my filter. I then added that to what was already in my water bottle. It was still about ⅓ full with leftover electrolyte mix and my breakfast mix. The breakfast mix has some cocoa, instant coffee, pea protein powder and a bit of sugar. Nothing fancy, but it makes for a nice on-trail morning chocolate-y drink. The leftover electrolyte mix would've just had a little bit of sodium and probably potassium. The combined mix was thin, and a light brown color. I added the still metallic smelling, but now clear and filtered well water, and ended up with a bottle full of steel gray water. I have no idea what combined with what, but I wasn't going to drink a bottle of metal gray water. Next water was 9 miles away - I was going to be thirsty for a while!
4 miles after leaving the animal facility, I stop a good hour before sunset at Tracey Branch Camp, a 4wd accessible site maintained by the Florida Trail Assn. It has picnic tables, a fire pit, a shed/shelter for really bad weather, and in high hiking season is often stocked with a few gallon jugs of water by volunteers. I get lucky, and find there's still a gallon and a half available. I take some for dinner and breakfast, and chat with a hiker originally from Lithuania. He now lives in Arizona, has done other, longer trails already, and is very fast. He's pulling 30 mile days. This will be the one and only time I see him. :)
I have enough daylight still for an unhurried dinner at the picnic tables. A good quality ramen noodle cake plus a bone broth packet, and I cut up a venison meat stick and add it to the mix. No one accuses me of eating poorly on the trail!
After dark another hiker shows up and sets up her tent. She announces herself as Rascal and she must be decently fast too. I've been averaging about 20 miles a day for a week now, and she has caught me from behind. I'll never actually see her, as she's up and gone before I get up in the morning.
It's supposed to be the coldest night yet on trail with a forecast of 32-34 degrees overnight. I set up my sleeping quilt for a cold night and put on an audiobook. I slept really well at night; I hope to tonight also.
