Honor your rhythm – The walk

Hello.

I’m late. To practically everything. I left my boyfriend at the altar for 20 minutes while I raced across town in my Honda Fit with a wedding dress stuck in the driver’s side door. I finished college at 28. I didn’t live alone until my divorce at 30. By the time I figured out how to wear skinny jeans, the low-rise flares of my youth had returned and I took the opportunity to get a hobo stamp at 36, about 20 years too late. The sweet older ladies pat me on the arm and tell me I’m a late bloomer. More than one boss has suggested to me to “march to the beat of a different drum.” In short, I have spent most of my life failing by conventional standards. But I have slowly built a solid career as a travel respiratory therapist and enjoyed the opportunity to travel the East Coast. Jumping from short-term rental to short-term rental, I live out of my suitcases and everything that fits in my car. I’ve hiked in over a dozen states and hundreds of trails at this point.

I walk at a pace similar to that of a molasses-soaked sloth. You could use my asthmatic wheezing as echo location on the slopes. Now, on the verge of middle age, at 37 years old, I finally find the joy of my own rhythm. My low mileage was long a source of embarrassment and lighthearted banter among my friends. Many of whom are experienced hikers who can sneeze for 20 miles a day. But in the end, even a turtle wins a race. My 20 mile days may be slow, but I honor my body and listen to what it needs.

How it started

There is tradition. Anyone who has been in a trail community long enough can tell you their story. I’ve been on the Florida Trail for a decade. To make a story short and interesting, I will try to be concise. My involvement began when one of the founding members of the Florida Trail Hikers Alliance (FTHA) asked me if I would be interested in a secretarial position at his nonprofit organization. This organization focused on «hikers helping hikers.» Years passed, people left or left. My own trip took me to Asheville, North Carolina, in the midst of COVID. The FTHA was absorbed by FT ThruHike, another nonprofit that was also dedicated to developing hikers for the Florida Trail.

*In summary, the Financial Times has two main organizations. The Florida Trail Association, which I have immense respect for, and FT ThruHike, which is smaller but hosts two hiking events a year, such as Kick Off and previously Billy Goat Day.

My role as secretary changed and to this day I remain in that position at FT ThruHike, a nonprofit organization on a shoestring budget that runs on exhaustive cumulative enthusiasm.

My main role in all of this was managing Goat Day. Back to the story. Billy Goat is a hiker who spent many winters hiking the Florida Trail. Billy Goat has also hiked more than 45,000 miles along other long-distance trails. Billy Goat Day (BGD) began as a humble potluck in a park with a handful of friends and two hikers in attendance. It eventually morphed into a weekend event with over 150 attendees and over 30 hikers at any given time. I’m going to divulge an open secret right now. I didn’t like managing BGD.

Listen to me. I loved the camaraderie, meeting new people and catching up with old friends. There was beauty in the path of communion that the event offered. But it also came with weeks of management, thousands of dollars of personal funds invested in camps, food and pavilion rentals. Unplanned visits by park rangers and last minute campers without reservations, parking advisories, warnings. I quickly burned out. My passion and drive sparked. I felt resentful toward that. Attempts and pleas to have someone cover the event for me were disappointing. Understandably, it was a large company and my only advantage was that, being single and childless, I had the ability to put a lot of myself into it.

On top of all this, I found it difficult to move forward with my own walk in the face of these responsibilities. My attention could never be focused on the trail. I was divided into fragments, each competing for my energy.

an opportunity

The pardon came from a call. FTA and FT Thruhike combine resources to create a larger, more accessible event for all. This was an answered prayer. The idea had been brewing in the community for some time.

2025 was the inaugural year of the Florida Trail Fest and it was very well received. I felt a sense of pride in what our trail has managed to achieve. I could see an opportunity presenting itself. It was now or never, I could leave my responsibilities on the trails for a year and finally walk.

That’s how I did it

I sent my notice to FTA and FT Thru Hike, Honeybuns signed it out of the office. I closed a final work contract and signed a two-year commitment starting at the end of April, giving me 4 months to walk from Fort Pickens, Pensacola, to Big Cypress National Preserve, neighboring the Everglades. A trip of 1,100 miles. Towards the south, alone and at my own pace.

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.