Day 63: Woods Hole Hostel to Pearisburg

10 miles

It is pretty easy to walk in the cold miserable rain when you have a prize waiting for you. AWE will be here today! You have no idea how excited I am (and how excited OWL is to see her partner, AT).

We left the hostel at the last possible moment - around noon - to put us in Pearisburg a little before AWE & AT. M80 & Trooper were planning on spending the night in Pearisburg, and said we were welcome to stop by their hotel room to take a shower before we left to go to civilization...Blacksburg. Honestly I don't remember that much about the walk - I was a focused walking machine! Everything was super foggy - until the last 3 miles when the fog and rain started to clear. We saw some great views from Angel's View, and as we descended into Pearisburg the light in the forest was amazing. A sign of good things to come, I am certain!

We stopped by M80 & Trooper's room - it was really psychedelic! The hotel didn't have any rooms left, but they had a former game room they were planning on setting up as another room...they brought a bed/dresser/tv/chair in to this very colorful room, and M80 & Trooper were glad to have it!

After I showered, we went across the street to the Mexican restaurant for margaritas. I texted AWE & AT to let her know we had a change of location, but neither of them texted me back. About 10 minutes later, they walked into the restaurant! It was amazing to see AWE. I missed her so much.

We had drinks (Trooper had the LARGEST DRINK OF ALL) and ate dinner. And then we drove to Blacksburg for 3 days of R&R.

 

 

 

Day 54; Old Orchard Shelter to Troutdale Baptist Church Hostel

10.2 miles

Rain, rain, rain. And wind. Woke up at 4am to pee - had to put on my rain jacket and pants. Woke up at 6 - OWL & I just looked at each other and went back to sleep. Kept that up until 7:30 or so. We were still the first thru hikers up. It is hard to get motivated on such a miserable day.

No trail magic left at the road - others were expecting it would still be there but I have learned not to count on it. (That's what makes it magical). Hiking the AT has been a meditation in keeping expectations low, and then being pleasantly surprised when things work out better than expected.

When it rains you can see fifty shades of green.

By the time I got to the shelter, OWL was already there, huddled in the corner with her socks off. She was freezing and miserable - said it was the most miserable she had been on the entire trip so far. Lucky for her I am familiar with miserable, so I got her warm jacket out, gave her some dry socks, put on some water for tea. She warmed up pretty quickly, we ate lunch, and decided to go to the hostel in Troutdale.

We got to Dickey's Gap and tried to hitch a ride but no one stopped. (It didn't help that there was another couple of hikers there, trying to hitch the other way). No cell service so we started walking up the road. Got to the county line and had cell service, so we called the hostel. The pastor's wife said the pastor would be there in 5 minutes, and not to move! So we waited :)

The hostel was nice - two rooms with two bunk beds apiece, hot showers, a portalet, basically everything we needed...except cell service. Still, Mary (the pastors wife) had sent lunch leftovers for us - spaghetti with broiled chicken, cheese biscuits, green beans, and no bake cookies! An amazing homecooked meal - I was so thankful to have it.

Titan and "Don's Brother" are here, too. Titan moved his stuff over to the other room so we could have a "girls room" - so nice. A few hours later a bicyclist, Sungduk, showed up. He is on day 5 of a TransAmerican bike ride; he just finished his masters degree and starts a PhD program this summer.

Day 38: Rice Gap stealth camp to Sam's Gap

3.5 miles

Good news: my tent kept me dry.
Bad news: Peepaw, Rooster, and Rabbit are sick.

I really hate breaking down camp in the rain. I have a waterproof stuff sack for my tent, so a soaking wet tent does not get everything else in my backpack wet, but it is still a disgusting mess. Hiked in the rain and the fog. Of course OWL was ready way before me and left.

For whatever reason I had a really hard time with the hike today. I know the weather has a lot to do with it, but I was just exhausted from the almost 17-mile hike the day before, I was frustrated with not being able to keep up with OWL, and I wanted to go home. Called AWE when I had service and she reminded me that the "Appalachian Trials" book says - if you are considering going home, get off the trail as soon as possible and get into town to relax. So, I did.

I hiked to Sam's Gap, There was trail magic! And the legendary Miss Janet was there, to shuttle the sick boys to Erwin and some others to a hostel in the mountains. I asked if there was room for me in the shuttle, and she said "why don't you go enjoy the breakfast by Quiet Paul, and I'll come back after dropping these guys off to get you".

Quiet Paul has thru hiked twice - once in 2007 (NOBO) and once in 2009 (SOBO). Quite a story - he owned a business, and one of his employees came to him and asked if his job was secure because he wanted to buy a house. Paul said yes - your job is secure - no problem. And then the market tanked and there wasn't any work. So rather than lay people off, Paul took himself off the payroll and hiked the AT. When he got back, they had won a majority of the jobs they had bid and business was great. What a super guy.

He was cooking eggs and hashbrowns, and had sodas, muffins, and chocolate chip cookies. I ate my share, and sat on the hillside as the sun came out. Paul said that there was someone a few days ago who got off the trail and everyone was like, "oh that's so sad!". I almost cried right there, sitting on that hillside in the sun.

When I called AWE, P. (her mom) talked to me for a minute. She said she knew what it was like to be physically weaker and slower than others. But that she was stronger in other ways, and that when she did complete something physical she had a great deal of pride in doing it. Said I was the strongest of anyone in her circle and she knew I could do it, but I had to do it in my own time and she loved me no matter what I decided.

Just when I thought Miss Janet had forgotten about me, she showed back up with Peepaw and Rooster still in tow. She is a true angel of the trail - took us to the outfitters (to pick up maildrops) and then the grocery store and then bp and then the other grocery store and then to the post office and then to the super 8 and finally, to the holiday inn.

I talked with her just a bit. She is going to slackpack me tomorrow so I can stay on track with OWL. When I told her about having trouble keeping up with OWL she said - yeah, doing the AT as a partnership is hard. She asked if I was prepared to do it on my own - I said yes, but I didn't really want to. She said - if you're going to quit make sure you decide to quit on a beautiful day on top of the mountain.

So this I promise: If I decide to quit, I will do it on a beautiful day on top of a mountain.

I felt so much better just talking with her about it. I *hate* being on a tight schedule and feeling like we are so far behind (although, the reason we are behind is because we got stuck in Fontana for 4 days). I am so stressed out every day, wondering if I am going to make it. Knowing how hard I try, OWL is faster at getting ready, faster at walking, faster at everything. I will never be faster. I will always fail.

Except that, I am not failing. I am hiking the Appalachian Trail! I have hiked over 300 miles so far and I am still going. I am stronger every day, even if I don't feel like it going up these hills. I am stubborn. I can do this.

The trail always gives me what I need..

I need to talk with OWL about how my body is telling me to slow down. To take it easy. To enjoy my hike. I want to take breaks during the day instead of eating snacks on the run. I want to meditate every day, like I did at home. I don't want to worry about being behind. I mean, I am on vacation! No one is paying me to be out here.

And so now I sit in the Holiday Inn Express laundry room, waiting my turn.