Week 4

This week has brought on a whole new slew of issues. Here I am, out of the mountains, thinking everything is going to be so easy. Wrong! 

Just outside of hanging rock state park, I began my bicycling journey on the MST. This is something that wasnt originally planned, but happened to workout with the timing of Zack coming down. The thing is, I've never bicycled with weight and my bike is not set up as a touring bike. So, I hopped on the bike with my pack and was ready to go. Again, wrong! Where I started cycling was a tad bit hilly. Just a few pedals in, I was huffing and puffing and my legs felt like they couldn't push me or my bike any further. I had been less than 100 yards before I was feet on the tar, hands on the bars, walking my bike up this hill I'd never seen before. 

I had walked over 500 miles, I am strong! I thought. I have lost 17 lbs, I am lighter I assumed. Biking was suppose to be easy! Instead, it made me feel weak and out of shape! At that moment, I considered it a challenge and I accepted the fact that I may have to get off and walk up the hills. Even so, no matter what pace I went, I'd be moving faster than walking. 

Sunday night, I was ambitious. I biked 33 miles to my campsite. Not leaving until around 5 pm, it did take me until 9 to get to my place of residence, but I made it. 

I stayed in Oak ridge. What a beautiful, well-to-do town. They have a tent pad reserved for MST section and thru hikers behind their town park. I felt very safe and was thankful to have amneties just feet from where I was sleeping. 

The next morning, I had an easy day. 10 biking miles and 12 walking miles. I was meeting a trail angel at 9am to grab my bike then I was going to walk the trail section. The next morning I'd set off with a plan to bike 40 miles and walk 13. Yea, I'm crazy and I didn't know what I was thinking. 

When I got on the bike Monday morning, the night after Oakridge, I could feel a slight discomfort underneath on my sit bones, but nothing I couldn't manage. I slightly readjusted my position and I was good to go. 

At 9am, trail angel Adam and the two coolest kids ever, Sadie and Wren, picked a few of my belongings and my bike up. I was relieved to have a weight off of my shoulders and to relieve my sit bones. The 13 mile walk was easy. 

Around 2pm, Adam picked me up and took me to his home. Here I explored a bus makeover project he and his wife Elizabeth are working on, which is the coolest thing ever! I also took some time to plan out the next few days as this section of trail is quite difficult when planning where to sleep, considering I had a bit of road in front of me. Later that afternoon, Elizabeth and I went out and got burgers. I definitely enjoyed being in the company of folks living my dreams and raising their children in an outdoor, simplistic environment. It always makes my heart smile to see active youngins!

The next morning, I set off for the grand challenge - 40 miles biking and 13 hiking. Let me also mention, the hiking would be in conjunction with pushing the bike along side me. I wasn't quite mentally prepared for this challenge and as my body quickly showed me, it wasn't either. 

I decided I would get as much momentum as possible when going down hill so that I wouldn't have to work as hard on the uphills. I also came to terms with the fact that I was using different muscles and that it was okay to push the bike if ever I needed to. 

Today was a rough day for me. It could perhaps be considered one of the roughest days. My sit bones hurt so bad, the sun was beaming down on me, and I had set high expectations on where I would be sleeping for the night. Eventually, I gave in and decided that it was okay if I didnt make it the whole 53 miles I was trying to make between walking and biking today. That helped, but what really helped me was probably David and his dog Bruno who own the general store on the way to the haw river trail. 

I stopped in his store to get a caffeine fix. I had a mountain dew, lots of sugary snacks, and bought a pair of sunshades. We chatted for a while about the trail and the towns nearby. David had been a manager for Walmart for over 20 years before taking over this business and says he couldn't be happier. 

That evening I camped buried in the woods of the Haw river trail. 

The next day, I was excited for I only had a few more miles of biking before I could give my bike up for a 77 mile trail section. I was excited to finally be on a trail and to give my butt a break! Strolling into Mebane, listed as a small, quaint, historic town I thought I should treat myself to a good breakfast. I was really craving a waffle and I thought itd be nice to see a little more of the town than the few streets my route took me through. 

Once I crossed center Street, I saw a couple walking towards my direction. I asked them where the best place to eat in town is and they decided that based on what I wanted that I should go to grillworx. So after a few minutes of talking about the trail, my hike, and warrior hike, I biked a half a mile to get my second breakfast. Here I ordered there french toast special: 3 peices with 2 eggs, 2 sausage links, and hash brown casserole. The hash brown casserole was definitely the best part! 

Eventually, I made it to US 70 where I would spontaneously asked the owners of a small store if I could park my bike there for a few days. They didn't know much of anything about the trail, but were kind enough to let me. I then hiked 9 more miles and stealth camped somewhere in Eno State Park. 

The next morning I went to filter water from the river, even though my guidebook said that any form of filtration would not be sufficient for the water sources available on this route. I was thirsty and my purifier would be just fine. I started the process and realized how warm the water was, at 730a.m! No way was I going to drink that water, unless I had too! So, I checked out my guidebook and decided Id walk 3 miles and go off trail for .3 to get some water from a rec center. Here, I was able to charge my phone, use the restroom, and get water. What I didnt realize was at this rec center a summer camp was going on. There were hundreds of kids around me. It wasnt quite what I was looking for this morning, but I managed to hang in there for a while longer. 

As the day progressed, I tried to occupy my mind as best as I could. I called my friend Jess for a while, planning for when she is coming to visit me in a few weeks. The entire time, I debated on if I was going to call a trail angel this evening. It was so hot and the humidity was almost unbearable. I just wanted to drink a cup of ice water. I was craving ice and water! The thing is, all trail angles request that we make arrangements with them atleast 24 hours in advance which makes total sense. So I debated for a while on if I'd give it a shot. Not too long after, I went for it and Mary was stoked to take me in. Mary works as a nurse and in her free time explores the world through travel and hiking. She and her friend Jane are currently section hiking the MST. As of now they have over 300 miles and plan to finish by next July. 

Upon my arrival to Mary's, I had a glass of sweet tea followed by a glass of water followed by a shower turned into a bath. See, earlier that day I was on the phone with mom (after all these plans were made) and I told her how I felt lazy. I mean I had walked 23.5 miles that day, but it wasn't taking any exertion from me. I was just tired from the heat. The truth of the matter was my body was hurting too. Although I wasn't losing my breath climbing mountains or burning up my hamstrings, I was moving my legs in larger strides and the heat was bearing down on me. In that shower, I layed down. My showers were achy, my legs were achy, and my feet were achy. After a few minutes, tired, more like exhausted, I got dressed and we headed off to maggianos, an Italian restaurant, where Mary treated me to some pasta. The cool thing about this place is you buy one and you get one to take home. I had spaghetti for dinner and ziti for lunch. 

At the restaurant Jane joined us. It was so much fun talking to these ladies, hearing about their travels, and sharing conversations about the MST. When I got back home, I climbed into an amazingly comfortable bed and was off to sleep. 

The next morning, Friday, Mary dropped me off at the trailhead. I just had to make it through tonight and the morning and I would be on Zack's company. Yay! I couldn't wait. Even with motivation to get to the trailhead, I wasn't walking as fast as I would have liked. Today I had more time on the trail than the previous day and I did 5 less miles. 

The night before, I started to feel a pain at the top of my foot. I didn't think too much of it. I figured that some rest would do me good and it'd be all good in the morning. Wrong! It was hurting, hurting pretty bad. That was my right foot. My left foot was fine the night before, but the day of, was hurting in an achy kind of way. I knew this was because I needed new shoes. I had put on over 650 miles on these, alot on ashphalt, and the tread was worn down to the sole. It was time for a replacement, but I needed to talk 50ish more miles before that was going to happen.  

So to occupy me on Friday, I listened to several different Ted talks on topics that included: PTSD, nature, and education. That took up the first half of my hike. The second half I spent on the phone with family and friends. I'm not one who likes to entertain themselves with technology on the trail, but here recently that seems to be what I'm doing. 

This trail is so different than any other trail I've hiked. It's like it was a trail until I got to the Piedmont then it turned into segments of trails and large portions of roads, which some could argue are trails. I've been spoiled with showers, people, convenience stores, real food, air conditioner. I don't feel so tough but then again I've managed to push through with chiggers, poison ivy, and in 100 degree days. 

Yes, I got chiggers and poison ivy, but before I get to that. Let me tell you about Saturday. I woke up, tired, unmotivated, but excited to see Zack. I actually made it to our meeting place at 10a.m.. He wasn't going to be arriving until around noon so I had a few hours to plan out the next week and finish my last blog post! :)

So today Zack was joining me. I still had 23 more miles to finish segment 10, so we decided we'd hike some today and finish the rest tomorrow (Sunday). So I asked Steve "Chaco" Chase if he would be willing to shuttle pick Zack and I up at the end of Segment 10 and take us back the miles we needed to cover. This way we'd be hiking towards the car. 

I met Steve "Chaco" Chase from the MST FB page. I kept asking if there was a page for thru-hikers so that we could exchange information and talk trail talk. I had posted that a couple of times with no responses; however, a while back Chaco said he would be interested in a page as well and started one himself. He and his wife are currently section hiking the MST. 

When Zack and I arrived at the trailhead, I recognized Chaco from the beard! We drove over and I was instantly greeted with an inviting hug. It was so great meeting him and even more so inspirational to hear his story. He has thru - hiked the AT in 2008 and 2011 and met his current wife on the AT. I don't know how much he'd want me to share about his life, but he's so cool :) Chaco, I loved hearing your stories and just keep talking to Zack about how cool you are.

I'll tell you more about my time with Zack on the next blog, but wanted to touch base on the poison ivy / chigger issue. The verdict is poison ivy on the hands, wrist, small section of foot, and side of leg, chiggers on my butt and ankles. 

That's all for now. Stay tuned for week 5, coming up shortly. 

Also apologies for any misspellings, etc. I do all of these on my phone and dont often check back for spelling or word choice!