By Linda Benton
From Winter 2010 Footprint

I love this hike. I’ve only missed two years since I started going in 1994. Some years I ’ve only been able to stay for a day or two, others I ’ve hiked all nine days. That’s the beauty of this hike – you can join or leave at any time. I’ve made many friends over the years and look forward to hiking with some of them every year.

Over the past 18 years, the Loxahatchee chapter has gotten the logistics down to a science. Daily hikes begin with hikers being delivered to the starting point at sunrise and being picked up at the end of the day by a cooperative shuttling system. Hikers walk at their own pace and have lots of time to take pictures and make new friends.

Saturday, opening day, began with about 70 people leaving Pahokee, headed for Port Mayaca. Some only completed the 3-mile “wimp walk” while others hiked the whole 11.9 miles. Daily numbers averaged about 25-30 hikers, with 18 completing the entire 110 miles. Each evening we met to talk about what we had seen that day (caracaras, alligators, otters, egrets, herons, limpkins, snakes, etc) and plan shuttling for the following day. One night we were treated to a beautiful slide show of the John Muir trail by Phyllis Malinski, who hiked it last summer.  Thanksgiving dinner was celebrated at the Clewiston Inn as usual, complete with “talent” show.

If you’ve never attended the Big O, consider hiking with us next year (yes, I’ll be back again).  Meet new people, enjoy the fresh air and burn a few extra calories in anticipation of the holiday season with all its goodies!

The 2010 hike will be November 20-28.