Day 11

So this was the best day so far.. maybe.. it’s all been so good that’s it hard to pick one..

I woke up early and took off on the beautiful paved trail that I’ve been enjoying for the last 2 days. This trail started in the city and then went through suburbs and I was now in the country. Absolutely gorgeous. I got to see a lot of wildlife and beautiful homes. People were nice to me and some even asked what I was doing and when I told them they commended me for what I am doing. That feels so good. Seriously. A total stranger telling me that I am doing something amazing means a lot to me. Especially when my legs are killing me and I’m trying to find motivation to keep going.

I think I finally am setting into a rhythm. I have figured that if I walk for 2 hours and then stop to eat and stretch and rest for 30 minutes or so that it works really well. I then go for another 2 hours and repeat…

I got to the end of the paved trail and I was bummed to see it end but happy to move on. The town that I was in was beautiful!  So were the people. I stopped at a convenient store for a hotdog and a mountain dew. Both of which I would never consume if I wasn’t on this walk… and people were welcoming me into town and a couple of nice women gave domino and I some money for food. I talked to them all about my cause and unfortunately I didn’t have to explain much because they are affected by it as well…

As things were going so well, I continue on and realize that I had picked a bad road to walk on. It was a two lane road with absolutely no shoulder and I had to walk on the road. People in cars were not being very nice about it. I don’t blame them but I still hate them. Some people thought that it was OK to swerve toward me as if to tell me that I shouldn’t be there. I knew that already but there wasn’t much that I could do about it. So most of them got a middle finger for good measure…

I finally made it through the death trap and onto a larger highway with a good shoulder and the caffine from the mountain dew was pushing me on and on..

I could see the mountains that I knew I had to climb up today and they looked really bad from afar. Luckily, walking up on the highway wasn’t that bad. The slope was manageable and I only had about 2 miles left from where the incline started to my destination for the night. I had pushed Domino for the last 3 days and she is getting better. I couldn’t push her up the mountain so I finally let her out to walk and she was happy and did just fine. With her being so low to the ground the hill didn’t phase her like it did me.

I get to the last turn and decide to take  a breather because the last half mile was directly uphill. While waiting, Erin swings around the corner. Always glad to see her. I knew we’d be meeting up as this was both of our destination for the night. We hang out for a few and prepare for the sharp incline. We get going and of course she kicks my butt up the hill. She waited for me so that we could roll into this place together though. We were both very excited. This place is a hiker hostel along the Appalachian Trail.

We get in and we are the only people that actually hiked in that day. There were a lot of people who drove up to camp on other campgrounds that the place runs in the hiker offseason.  We got very special treatment. Erin was able to stay inside on the bunk beds but I had to camp right outside because they don’t let pets sleep indoors. The weather is great tonight so I didn’t care. Domino is worth it anyways. The owner let Domino hang out inside all night inside until we went to bed though. We hung out with a a couple who was hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail and had a great time. We walked down to a special place and caught the sunset that really hit both Erin and I right in the feelings. It was if we had truly earned this beautiful view. The pictures don’t do it justice. The moment can’t be described in words. You have to be in our shoes to experience the feeling of accomplishment that took over us. Erin and I went in for a hug that had to be done. It was so nice to share that moment with someone who understood. It was only the first of many beautiful sunsets that we’ll see.

We went back and had dinner and conversation with new people and Domino played with the house dog. Life is good. I walk outside to go to sleep in my tent that I had already set up and I realize the moon is full!

The place, which only cost me $12, came with a shower and pancakes in the morning!  I also was able to do laundry. It’s simply amazing. I am really starting to love this walk. The good weather helps so much. 24 miles yesterday and 20 miles today. I’m hoping to get near 20 again tomorrow so that I can be in Winchester. Another big milestone of my walk.

I’m currently very proud of myself for getting this far in this amount of time. I hope I can keep it up while the weather is nice.

Good night everyone. Thank you all so much for reading this and making me feel good about what I’m doing 🙂