Twig Adventures

Tag: Florida

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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Florida Keys Yo-Yo, Part 1: Kayaking Key Largo To Key West. Days 5-6.

Short Hikes

Day 5: Monday January 26, 2026. Distance: 23 miles to Jumping Bridge, Lower Sugarloaf Key. Stops: Bahia Honda SP, Big Munson Island, Key Lois…Monkey island! Despite everything being wet, I was up before the sun, packing like mad as soon as I left my tent because the no-see-ums were absolutely destroying me. I guess these islands have their own self-defense mechanisms to repel intruders. I shoved off in the dark, eager to paddle fast to rid myself of the evil wings and teeth. It was also crucial to get an early start this day, as I needed to beat a winter front. I wished I’d had more time to enjoy Molasses Key, but at least was very content with my[…]

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Florida Keys Yo-Yo, Part 1: Kayaking Key Largo To Key West. Days 3-4.

Short Hikes

Day 3: Saturday January 24, 2026. Distance: 20 miles to near Duck key. Stops: Anne’s Beach-toilet/shower/replenish water, Long Key–lunch/replenish water, paddle through interior canals of Duck Key. I got on the water much earlier this day (7 am), as I knew I had a long way to paddle. After just a bit, I stopped at Anne’s beach to replenish my drinking water. I also enjoyed a luke-warm beach shower and bathroom break. Thankfully there are numerous beach parks with these nice amenities throughout the keys, making logistics easy. I paddled on along the causeway for a bit, then made the crossing to Long Key. I stopped to check out some remote beaches and was sad to see just how much[…]

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Florida Keys Yo-Yo, Part 1: Kayaking Key Largo To Key West. Intro and Days 1-2.

Short Hikes

In early January 2026, I was recapping my 2025 adventures, longing once again for the outdoors. For the past 5 years, I’d begun my hiking season earlier and earlier, to the extent that I started my Desert Winter Thru Hike at the end of January, nearly 1 year prior. While I didn’t really want to repeat a 1500 mile winter thru-hike again this year, a mini staycation / thru-hike seemed like the perfect way to satisfy my immediate wanderlust. So I began studying the logistics of hiking the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, which lies conveniently in my backyard. Pretty quickly, I added more ambitious plans to also paddle my sea kayak to Key West, making it a paddling /[…]

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