We slept in a bit to make up for our higher miles yesterday and our later night. Today we only have eleven or so miles, but we still have over 4,000 feet of elevation gain throughout the day. It’s a descent amount of climbing.
Our first break was at a shelter. While there, we met a 2016 thru hiker who was out for a weekend excursion. Her name is Wonka because she liked to eat a lot of chocolate. I asked her if she had one piece of advice for us, what would it be? She said, “If I can be cliche… I would say, ‘hike your own hike’.” Hike your own hike… it’s a common saying. Basically it means ‘you do you’, take care of yourself, don’t try to keep up with other people or feel like you have to adopt the habits of others, just do what is best for you. It has been used a lot, which is why she prefaced her advice the way she did. As a joke, a lot of thru-hikers have morphed the phrase for other things. For example, when another hiker was critiquing how a hiker was breaking firewood the one said, “Hey man, wood your own wood.” Even though we make a joke out of the saying, it is accurate. You’ll meet a lot of people out here and they all have an opinion about how to hike this trail the best way. The only person you need to be accountable for is yourself, take care of yourself the best way you know how so you can finish this trail.
Also at this shelter I wrote my confessional. I heard some people were confessing about not bothering to dig cat holes to bury their bowel movements and other things like that. One guy wrote how he is resolved to be nicer to people (he’s always been nice to us). My own confession was on my heart, so I wanted to share it with other hikers in case they felt the same way. I wrote:
“Yesterday, I forgot to visit the Priest logbook. Here goes: This trail makes me confront parts of myself that I don’t like, such as my procrastination and how I avoid discomfort. Sometimes I know if it wasn’t for my husband, I would never get out of the tent or push myself up the mountain. I am simultaneously frustrated that I wouldn’t be successful independent of him and grateful for the gift that he is to me. Our success as individuals is intricately connected to our success as a team. I know this and accept it. I am still here and am proud of me… proud of us.”
It’s true. You fight with yourself everyday, both physically and mentally. This is hard, but anything worth doing is, right? So far this journey has done amazing things for me… for us. We aren’t even halfway yet!
After our break we pressed on. We had quite a climb ahead of us. Some of it was a sort of rock scramble. We passed by some weekend hikers as we did and one guy who was taking a break off to the side said to me, “You are a beast”. I was struggling just as much as he was, but my trail legs were stronger and I was faster. It made me pause and realize that, yeah… I kind of am. Even when I don’t really feel like I am.
We had lunch at the top of that push, miles in. As we sat, I watched a ladybug play on a fern leaf. She would walk to the top and then plop down each end of the leaf, sort of like how kids scoot on their butts down stairs. She did it a few times and it cracked me up. I even took a video of it.
Immediately after that I found another bug that I knew I would someday, but hoped to avoid it. In my left calf was a tiny tick, head buried into my skin. I kept my cool as he was pulled out. He was so small, about the size of the fine-point tweezer tip. I’m the first one in our group to find a bite. I’ll be honest, afterwards I wanted to cry but I didn’t. I knew it would happen and it was just a matter of when. I’ll be extra careful now in my tick checks. The season for these nasty things is here.
After lunch it was almost all downhill or flat. We had a beautiful hike. The forests were lush and green, the path was clean and well maintained. It was a fantastic way to end the hiking day. Then we reached the road crossing where we would hitch to the brewery. It was a straight shot by several miles.
As soon as Atlas and Lotus joined, we threw out our thumbs. Immediately a truck pulled over. He’s a local and he knows exactly where we are headed. We jumped in the bed of the truck and enjoyed the ride. We watched as we passed through the forest from a new perspective, trees zipping by. The man chatted with us for a bit after he dropped us off. He was a pilot and flew everything from a Cessna to a twin engine commercial aircraft. I am fascinated with life stories. Out here I have taken the time to ask people about theirs, it’s led to incredible conversations. I am determined to continue the habit when I get home.
After our ride left, we scoped the place out… basically it’s like going to a summer party. There were adirondack chairs, fire pits, and tons of delicious food. Before we spent the night relaxing, we decided it was probably responsible to set up camp. Across the parking lot, through a field, and just beyond a line of trees was a clearing for our tents. They also provided two porta johns for us to use. It was probably the fastest we’ve set up camp. Once up, we headed over to wash our hands and enjoy a glass. Each of us got our own flight (a flight is made up of several sample glasses) and shared with the group. It allowed us to try all of the beers on the outdoor tap. We visited with a hiker we’ve met a few times over the last two or three days. His name is “Happy”. As we got further into conversation, I realized this man has been backpacking all over the world. We all listened closely (and with a bit of awe) as he told us stories of his adventures to both exotic and stateside locations.
As we visited, the sun went from high to low and our stomachs went from empty to kind of full. We were all still hungry. The food at Devil’s Backbone Brewery was amazing, but it was also expensive. A gas station was only a mile down the road, so Atlas and Warthog decided to walk there in hopes of getting cheaper food to appease the hiker hunger. They hitched and got a ride from a local woman who had picked up her first hiker yesterday. She said to them, “You smell worse than they did.” It was a little after 8p when they got to the gas station. Unfortunately, it closed at 8p. The kind woman offered to drive them back to the brewery. Knowing they had been after cheaper food, she held out a $20 when she dropped them off. They both politely declined. She insisted. They declined again. Then her face turned a bit and she said to them, “Someone would do this for my son”, and held out the money. Warthog said the look on her face made him realize he needed to take it. Now… her son isn’t a hiker. He’s still in high school. However, I imagine there’s something about a mom that wants to make sure kids are fed, whether or not they are your own. They thanked her repeatedly and came back with a great story and a $20 bill. Her kindness was split among many hikers in the form of nachos and soft baked pretzels.
Tired, full, and happy… we walked back to the camping area and crashed, appreciative of the “backstage pass” to be able to stay on the property.
-ansel