Memorable [BIG] Miles – The Trek

Missing You

One of the hardest parts of thru-hiking is missing your loved ones. No matter who we hike with, everyone is talking about who they miss and when they are going to get to see them.

But not every loved one has the ability to travel to the trail for a meet up. I have invited all my loved ones, but did not expect anyone to make it out to the trail. When we were kids, we adventured together all the time, but as adults it’s not so easy.

Birthday Party

My sister surprised me with a visit to Hot Springs. This was completely on the fly, and we extended to a second zero day to see her. My soul was full for the whole week because of her visit.

Our stay at Sunnybank Inn had already been perfect, adding her to the mix was the cherry on top. She got in late at night, but we had birthday dinner waiting for her. We both celebrate March birthdays! The next day, she was our trail angel, helping us get our errands done in her car. We ended our visit with lunch and chocolate cake.

Bittersweet

Hiking out of Hot Springs was bittersweet. The town is still struggling to recover, and we were happy to support them and talk to everyone in town. My favorite place was the Public Library. They temporarily moved, but still had a computer and lots of books to share.

The Hot Springs outfitter provided all that we needed, including assistance with mailing. They went above and beyond all we asked. Dining at the Smokey Cafe was a treat every time. Their Saturday Cinnamon Rolls were the best I had ever tasted. Melt in your mouth perfection.

Back on Trail

Watching my sister leave made the return to trail a little sad. But I kept my spirits up as I climbed by watching the river below me. It was glorious. Half day hikes pass quickly, and this eight miles flew by.

Sleeping in the woods reset my happy button. Adding to the joy was warm weather. I wore my tank top under my t-shirt when we hiked out that morning, knowing it was going to heat up enough for my t-shirt to be too hot. It was a gorgeous 11 mile day, and we got to camp early to set the tent up before rain set in.

Unexpected Challenges

It rained all night, but we got up and out on time. Then…I got a call that required me to do some “mom” duties from the trail. By some miracle, I had service on my phone and even enough internet to get everything completed before noon.

Bill helped me with all the logistics and technical parts of what needed to be done, and we got on the trail ready to do as many miles as possible. We made it seven miles, again the warm day helped us get the miles done quickly.

Big Miles Planned

Settling in for the night, we discussed our goal for the next day: I wanted to do my biggest trail miles yet. Bill said we could aim for 16, but if I couldn’t do it there was a bail out tent site at 13 miles. I was determined to make it.

After setting my alarm for 6am, I went to bed confident that I would make it 16 miles tomorrow. The alarm went off, and I was out of bed and putting my pack together. Bill got up and was shocked to see how close to ready I was because usually I am slow in the morning. Motivation is magical.

Long Day

We hiked out and up for a long stretch. But I knew it was coming, so it wasn’t hard. We then met some trail maintainers at the road crossing who gave us some tangerines for trail magic. I quickly ate them as we did another uphill section. Finally, we crossed into a section of gorgeous rolling hills for several miles.

Then we came to the first remnants of Hurricane Helene. Walking down the hill through all these dead trees was so sad. But then my heart was filled with gratitude toward the many people who did the work to clear the trail for us. Thank you so much for your hard work.

Goal Achieved

I hiked all the way to 16 miles that day! Everyone at camp celebrated with me! Old friends and new were so happy for me! What a day!

The joy continued when one of the hikers, No Worries, shared his poetry with me. I am a passionate poet, and I am thrilled to meet other writers. The poems he shared touched my heart. It was a perfect way to end my day!

I was completely exhausted, but so proud of myself.

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