Curry Hammock Trail

I wrote an essay on Curry Hammock State Park a few months ago but I never did take the nature trail which is less than a mile from the main park entrance at Mile Marker 56, and every time I've driven up to the mainland I've eyed the turnout longingly. So, being the damn fool I am, I decided August was as good a time as any to go for a walk in the woods, something coincidentally I haven't done for ages. So off i went on a bright hot sunny Monday morning.The parking area is only a quarter mile from the entrance to the trail itself. One parks in the pea rock and one strolls down the bike path that parallels Highway One. Its not far but it is hot:And there was no shade so I soon got to wondering how it felt to be riding the highway rather than ambling alongside it...About the time I finally arrived at the turnoff and I ducked into the shade some intrepid soul on a bicycle whizzed by on his way God knows where:Along with shade the trail starts out promisingly enough looking like a waterhole for large tusked mammals, because this is rainy season after all:And rainy season brings out the mossies as well. While I am relatively immune to their bites I am not overly fond of them when they dig in. This one lasted about three seconds after the shutter clicked:I did manage to remember the sunscreen but I did of course forget to apply repellent, which I carry in my saddlebag... so things got worse rather than better. I came across a loud unhappy family paddling around the salt water's edge, the kids were squalling, perhaps they had no repellent either, and Dad was clumping around trying to shush them which made it all worse. Mom stood in the water and contemplated happier times and happier places:Despite reports to the contrary the Keys aren't for everybody.

I took off down the trail which got narrower, windier and apparently no one had been down before me for a while as the thatch palms were draped with curtains of cobwebs. It was the usual picturesque woodland scene typical of the Keys and the Bahamas:I don't know if it was the sudden lack of a fresh breeze or the insistent snarling of the mosquitoes but the fun started to drain out of the walk. The forest closed in:The trail became less obvious at the same time my absent minded forgetfulness had left the cold water far away in an inconvenience store somewhere in Marathon. I could see the bottle on the shelf all cool and dewy and ready to be drunk. In front of me I saw only this:All along the trail, perhaps a mile in length I had heard the sounds of traffic on the Highway, paralleling the trail itself. Then suddenly to my left I saw civilization through the scrub:Ah yes the joys of a clear sky and bright sunlight!Just time and strength enough to amble back to the parking lot and get on the motorcycle to blow away the last of those pesky insects:If there were any doubt, this is in fact a gentle walk best enjoyed in Winter.