Platinum Blazing the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail: An Introduction to our Hike

Hikers and backpackers, generally speaking, find great joy in the solitude that comes with being on a trail in the woods. We like hearing the sounds of nature, guessing what birds are chirping, looking for snakes and other critters, listening for deer or bears, and hearing the waterfalls splash their way to the creeks and rivers below them. The lack of road noise, large crowds of people, and the busyness of everyday life allows us to escape "real life" and enjoy a simplistic way of living. We thrive on carrying the bare necessities (and sometimes a few luxury items) and everything we'll need for all or a portion of our journey in our backpacks, all while keeping our packs as light as possible and sometimes going to great lengths to shave a tiny portion of an ounce from our weight.

The Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail is an urban hike, much different than most hikers are accustomed to, or enjoy. The "trail" is a paved greenway that runs parallel with US Highway 1 from mile marker 106 in Key Largo to mile marker 0 in Key West. Much different than the dirt paths we usually traverse. Often times to cross bridges or complete portions where the trail isn't quite finished, you join the traffic by walking on the shoulder of the highway. While there are some quiet, disconnected portions of the FKOHT, for the most part, it runs along business and attraction store fronts, crosses parking lots and side streets, and through the largest parts of the towns. There is little shade in most places and the mosquitoes and "no-see-ums" threaten to eat you alive if you're not adequately prepared for them. Luckily, we were. 

So why then would one hike this miserable, paved pathway instead of going into the woods? I'm glad you asked...

Each hiker has their own reasons. For us, it was because we were able to combine our love for the keys with our love of hiking. The beautiful blue-green water has a way of drawing you in, wanting to see more, and becomes quite addictive. It's not every day one gets a chance to watch manatees and sea turtles swim through the water with such a calmness, yet with so much power, not seeming to have a care in the world. Watching a group of rays play beneath the bridge pilings is a site that would be almost impossible to see unless on foot. You certainly won't notice them from a vehicle, moving across the waterway bridges at 55MPH. It is an undescribable experience to look down into the clear, crystal blue waters and seeing sharks and large fish swimming below.

Hiking the FKOHT also offers an unique opportunity to leave the traditional sleep systems and shelters at home and enjoy some of the resort and hotel accommodations offered in the area. Camping can be difficult in the keys; campgrounds fill up, many aren't welcoming to the small shelter systems (tents or hammocks) that many backpackers are accustomed to, and stealth camping (camping outside of a designated campground) is illegal in the keys. Staying in a hotel each night provides the opportunity to shower every day, eat at restaurants instead of carrying "backpacking food" and even a chance to do laundry regularly. It's an expensive option that many hikers don't splurge for, but for this trip, we decided that "platinum blazing" (a term used for hikers that take advantage of the available luxuries on or near a trail) would allow us to hike the trail while taking in the keys vibe that so many love. It would allow us to meet more locals, enjoy the neverending supply of seafood, and ensure we had a great night of sleep each night. Did I mention showers every day? Ahhhh the benefit of washing off the day's sweat and stink rather than have it accumulate for days as it begins to cause body odor that resembles something that belongs in a dumpster!! We would smell wonderful every day (or so we thought, it didn't quite work out that way). Lastly, platinum blazing allowed us the chance to carry minimum supplies in our backpacks to keep the load lighter, something I'm sure our exhausted, sore, pavement pounding feet were extremely grateful for!

For this adventure, we stayed in accomodations ranging from hotels to a camper. Each of our choices will be discussed during that particular day's blog post. We ate at restaurants and convenience stores. We carried water but splurged on soda and Gatorade as often as possible.

Our packs included basic toiletries, a change of clothes, swimming clothes, an extra pair of socks, insect repellent, sunscreen, and a lightweight microfiber "beach" towel. Joseph carried lightweight fishing gear (I sent mine home about thirty miles in) and I carried a pair of lightweight Columbia sandals to wear in the evenings and when I wanted to let my feet air out. Our packs, for a majority of the hike, weighed around 8-10lbs, which is a bit heavier than I would have preferred, but it worked for us. We carried more luxury items than we carry on a typical backpacking trip. I'll be doing a separate "gear" blog and discuss what we carried and our opinions on the gear we chose.

While the keys certainly have no shortage of "touristy" things to do, for the most part we skipped over those for this trip. We did take a half day fishing charter, visited a few state parks and spent a day at Dry Tortugas. For the most part we slept, ate, and walked. We walked and walked...and then walked some more.

With the exception of ride shares and taxis, once we dropped the rental car off we used to get from Miami to Key Largo, we didn't have access to a vehicle. There's something quite liberating and a little scary about being 700 miles from home without guaranteed access to your own vehicle transportation. The object was, of course, to walk. Knowing that we had to get to Key West to fly home was decent motivation to get us up and moving every day, although, I could have definitely stayed forever and spent a good deal of my "thinking time" trying to figure out how.

Normally, a hike allows a chance for a mental escape that is difficult to explain to those that don't hike. For me personally, it is my mental "downtime". It is my self-care time where I can tune out the rest of the world and process my own emotions and decompress. One of the biggest challenges of hiking the FKOHT is that because you're constantly surrounded by traffic, people and noise, this decompression time is very difficult. We had to remain cautious and on guard for traffic, cyclists (the most popular option for a thru-trip of the FKOHT) and other people. Our decompression time only came in brief moments while hiking and mostly once we were in the safety of our accommodations at night.

All-in-all, "platinum blazing" the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail was an amazing experience and we are thankful and blessed for the opportunity. We learned a lot about ourselves and the keys during our journey. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, words and pictures will not be able to adequately describe the experience.

We invite you along on our fourteen day journey as we try, the best we can, to share the good, and the bad, of our hike through the Florida Keys.

Joseph and Jennifer

Venture out There!