THE ADVENTURES OF PLATY AND THE GANG Key West hike-  3/5-3/12, 2001

(click on pictures for a larger view)

As part of hiking the Eastern Continental Trail (ECT), Judy hiked from the southern terminus of the Florida Trail to the southernmost point in the continental U.S., Key West. 
This is where Judy, Joan Hobson and Loretta started their through hike of the Florida Trail in 2000.  The trail north was covered in knee deep water then but is bone dry now. 
The route is to hike east on Loop Road and US41 and then south to Homestead, FL.  On Rt. 41 you can walk on the service road on the other side of the canal but once you turn south it's all on the road until Key Largo.  One of the biggest logistical problems was finding a place to go to the bathroom!
Another problem was finding a place for the RV.  Most places are booked months in advance.  Judy saw a small sign along the road in Key Largo that said "RV lots for rent".  We ended up with a space right on the Gulf for $35/night in a small trailer park.  What a deal!
Sometimes the path is on the road and sometimes there are sidewalks.
Sometimes there are old roadways that are perfect ways to get off the road but sometimes they come to a rather abrupt end....
There were two major problems hiking to Key West.  The first was the afore mentioned lack of bathrooms.  She solved this problem on the 7 mile bridge by running it rather than walking. 
The other problem was the sun.  She got a lot of comments about her hat and her hiking poles.  "Hey lady, nice hat" was heard often along with "Where's the snow".
She reached the marker in Key West on 3/12.  We then rushed to get out of there.  The campground was $85/night for an extremely small site where we could barely open our awning.

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