25 July 2012

Wednesday, 25 July, Day 15 AT v2.0, 18.1 miles, Telephone Pioneer Shelter. Absolutely psyched - after what was a bit of a debacles yesterday i felt super psyched to complete my first big mileage day today and nothing was going to stop me! I woke up feeling great ... Shin splints gone ... A slight sprain in my left foot which thankfully is remedied it seems by putting my boots on and taking copious amounts of herbal remedies our wonderful neighbours supplied us with, pain relief and vitamins and icy hot gel ( I can barely put any pressure on my foot at this Point without my boots on but I never said anything and five days later finally typing this out I haven't admitted to actually the extent I think it may have been injured and the slight swelling but I looked after it well and that has been repaid in my being able to continue on!) We woke up the sun was shining, we slept well, we packed up quickly and were on our way before 9am which was awesome! We would have been out earlier but we got chatting with the guy from the night before, teepee Tommy and the caretaker who looks after this fabulous site! As I thought yesterday hiking the AT is so much more than putting one foot in front of the other! It is great to take the time to talk with others along the way!! Soon we were on the way and for once I felt like I was eating up the miles!  It is amazing how as you get lost in thought especially through the how quickly the time goes. We measure how far we have gone using roads and other AT markers and I judge our distance travelled based on a thirty minute mile!  I  get spurred on by reaching these markers but more by meeting  other people and hearing their stories as we go along! Just a few miles in we met a gentleman in his seventies possible even a bit older (this was quite early in the morning) - he had one of those sparkly twinkly older faces of someone who has had a wonderful adventurous life and a myriad of tales to tell  and who you would love to spend an afternoon chatting with over a pint of ale or several in a pub ...  he had some old style camping gear and looked like he was wearing a butchers style apron with bottles of water and various camping equipment spilling out of the front pockets. He walked with two beautiful whittled sticks and when he said he was section hiking the AT i was in awe. I figured on first meeting him he was probably out for a few hours and a local. When he said he was taking it slow today but wanted to get to bear mountain bridge  i realized that was what had taken us two days hence to cover...it made me realise what a novice I really was! I could certainly pull an 18 mile day today If that elderly gentleman could cover what had taken us two days to cover in less than half the time and promised myself I would never give up!not less than a mile down the road we met a NYC fireman whose dream was to hike the AT on retiring.we spent  a  while talking with him and I began to wonder how anyone ever finishes what with all the questions you get asked as you pass people by ... But you know what i like it... Yes it gets tedious saying the same thing over again especially when it comes to going into further explanation if required about the break-in and Scott coming off the trail, me joining yadayadyada! But you know what knowing people care is amazing and chatting with so many people is fab and being wished well and being cared for along the trail is an experience! You get alot more questions with the dogs present and it is hard at times not to be irritated when you are going up hill or have a rhythm going in your step that you don't want to stop! But that is the trail and do you want to be that jack ass that never talks and just pushes north ... No thanks! It is fun meeting people and having these exchanges! But then   I Am only a couple of weeks in! For me it is like freshers week at university! Lol! We stopped for lunch at a lovely little deli - it was a dive town but very friendly and the food was awesome! Unfortunately my stomach is not coping with non trail food for some reason! i can't eat anything off trail without significant consequences which Here was not good! The deli did not have a public bathroom and the guy in the pizza shop next door reiterated quite clearly  the bathroom was for customers only in a rather unfriendly tone! I would have gladly bought anything to use it but he was just such an ass I decided to say screw it and suffer the 0.5 mile trek back to the AT trail in the woods rather than give him my money! I made it... Just!!! Today i just enjoyed it seemed pushing myself! I wanted to prove i could do the big miles and I wasnt going to let anything get in my way! The last three miles were painful! We hit a place called Nuclear lake - yep a site once devoted to nuclear energy or some other radiation based industry  but now declared clean! By this point my feet were on fire and my thigh muscles felt like I had been in a twelve hour spinning class! I desperately wanted to see a sign saying yes please do camp Here... A masseuse and four course meal will be with you shortly! But no there were  clear signs everywhere saying no camping, fires, swimming.. It might as well have said if you do so much as pause to take breath you will be shot! We did stop... Momentarily ...I  needed to take my boots off to tell my feet I wasn't slowly killing them and have a snack! A fifteen minute stop did the trick! You could tell the area was well policed so camping was a nono! I thought the next three miles would be the longest of my life! I couldn't believe it when what seemed like mere moments later when Scott invaded my inner peace ( I couldnt at this point converse and walk at the same time my energy was spent which I made quite apparent when he tried to strike up a conversation half an hour before and got grunts in reply) all I heard was sweetie look and saw the most welcome sign pointing the way to the shelter! Just a mere 0.1 miles off the trail! I did it! I did my first big day and I did it good! I was so pleased I could have told the world and his wife but all we met was a bunch of amazing hikers who appreciated my first milestone but they are now doing twenty to thirty miles!!! So my 18 paled into comparison! Still I felt ruddy chuffed!!