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| After passing Key West Naval Air Station on Boca Chica Key the trail crosses Stock Island. Then there's a short bridge leading to Key West itself. I turned left there, as the Overseas Heritage Trail abandons US 1 and heads toward the south shore of the island along A1A, Roosevelt Blvd. Seen here is the first view of the open waters of Florida Straight after heading south on A1A beside Cow Key Channel for about a mile. This is about where I ended today's long hike - it was getting close to sunset as I trudged into town. Technically this is the city of Key West, but the end of the trail - the Southernmost Point - is still almost four miles away. |
"Key West or Bust" - Day 134
Today I did twenty-three miles - more than I had intended - between Big Pine Key and the island on which the city of Key West sits, which I guess is called Key West too.
The landscape is different here than on the middle keys. The geography is so flat, and so perfectly poised right around sea level, that in many places it's hard to distinguish between land and sea.
Where mangroves get a foothold they can create land. When storms come along and uproot them, their little islands get washed away.What would the birds do for vantage points if not for human construction in this pancake-flat country?
The bike path follows closely beside the road everywhere today except for a section on Summerland Key where a boardwalk takes the hiker/biker north for a walk beside a shallow lagoon.
Tomorrow, unless I drop dead overnight, I'm going to reach the destination I've had in my sights since I left the Appalachian Trail more than four months ago. Watch this space.
Here is a map of the route hiked, and a link to more photos:
Big Pine Key to Key West at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find hiking trails in California and beyond
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