Twig Adventures

Tag: ECT

Florida Keys Yo-Yo, Part 2: Backpacking Key West To Key Largo. Days 11-12.

Short Hikes

Day 11: Sunday February 1, 2026. Distance: 20 Miles to Tavenier, picked up by Monica to camp in backyard. The big story of this day was the wind chill. I weathered the night pretty well inside my tent, but I did get pretty chilly by the early morning. My 50 degree quilt was just barely enough to cut it, mainly because I would guess it actually dropped below 50. The wind gusts barely touched me but I was a little worried about tree branches falling on me…but at least they were small. I packed quickly, wearing all my clothes for the walk. I made coffee and breakfast inside the toilet building, scaring the ranger when he popped in to check[…]

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Florida Keys Yo-Yo, Part 2: Backpacking Key West To Key Largo. Days 9-10.

Short Hikes

Day 9: Friday 30, 2026. Distance: 20 miles to Grassy Key/Curry Hammock State Park. I got an early start, leaving my campsite in the dark. A few rain droplets had woken me and I wanted to get packed before it became heavy. I sure didn’t get to enjoy the state park much, but even if I had hung around for a few hours in the morning, it wouldn’t have been fun. It started drizzling as soon as I started walking and didn’t let up for hours. Walking on the pathway in the rain was no problem, since I had my umbrella. But after 3 miles, I came to the 7 mile bridge and was forced to stop. I’d wanted to[…]

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Florida Keys Yo-Yo, Part 2: Backpacking Key West To Key Largo. Days 7-8.

Short Hikes

Day 7: Wednesday 28, 2026. Distance: 14 miles to Saddlebunch Keys. I began my hike of the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail this day. I woke early, intending to slack-pack some miles before Monica arrived with my car. I stashed all my gear inside my kayak and carted it over to the trailer storage area. The nice folks at Boyds let me keep it there for the morning, which was kind of them. I set out on foot, turning east instead of west, as first I wanted to visit the naval air station on Boca Chica. I hoped to register to camp at Sigsbee campground, which was situated on one of the nearby bases. They’d recently opened it to veterans[…]

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