AT14 Day 27: Half Cake

6/8 Monday
Rod Hallow->Ed Garvey
989->1026

So first off, the saying is, " you can't eat your cake and have it too". The other way just doesn't really make sense.  But I have come up with my own. "You can halve your cake and eat it too"  why am I thinking this?  Oh yes.  The town thing.  The key is getting to town mid afternoon.  Enjoy the town stuff then get out before dark.  Half-town.  
So 32 miles to town.  No sweat.  So I rode a rollercoaster today.  It wasn't a real rollercoaster; I know because they let me keep my pack on.  "13.5 miles of ascents and descents." That is how the guide book describes it.  I thought it was funny because the whole trail is ascents and descents.  It was short 300-600 foot climbs followed imeadiatly by a similar downhill. A perfect profile if you ask me.  You power uphill.  When the first hint of fatigue hits you, you can already see the top. So you power over the top and bomb down the otherside.  There are no rests, no lulls.  Just non-stop thrills.  It made the miles go by quick.  I didn't really have a water filter, so I had to talk the halfmile detour to fill up at the Blackburn ATC center. Once I got back on the trail.  I was thinking about meeting up with my brother tomorrow.  I was stoked. Flying along I ran the last 12 miles in 2:20 to Harpers Ferry.  I was also excited to get there and see the ATC headquaters.  I got my picture taken (as all thru-hikers do )  and even did an interview with a lady doing a research paper on trail communities. She just asked me to describe my trail magic experience.  As I went to leave I noticed it was pouring out. Again for the second time today, I got all my rain gear on.  In five minutes it had stopped raining and the sun was out.  Making it hot and humid with my feet squishy.  Basically the usual on the trail.  I hit the outfitters quick and was disappointed. The book says you can do a fully resupply there but it was a tiny store with a few snacks.  I got a new water purifier (sawyer squeeze; they didnt have any pumps.)  I grabbed what I could for a resuply and left.  I wanted food but there really weren't any quick close locations.  I wanted maybe some OJ, grapefruit juice , yogurt, fruit and bread. Ice cream parlor.  A cinnabon and two sundaes...close enough.  I hate how fat America is.  Anyway. Sat out in the sun for a few minutes to dry my feet, until I put my socks and shoes back on.  Then I ran out of town and started up the climb. It rained for about 5 minutes again.  At this point, I ought to just be used to being wet.  I guess I am. But I want to be dry.  I miss my desert. Whelp, I better just run faster and get this thing over with sooner.  Hopefully, I get to see my brother tomorrow.  It is certainly motivating me already and will surely leave me feeling high tomorrow.  Go Rangers!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nolans 41

Image
It was early February and things seemed honky dory.   We had the perfect season going, zero to 60 and it just kept right on snowing.   350” from November 20 th until February 6 th .   Pow was plentiful, turns were deep, and life was how its suppose to be.   But then I felt it.   A shudder.   A glitch in matrix.   Disturbance in the force.   Well, okay.   I had seen a news report of a “bad virus” wreaking havoc in China and that it was expected to become a pandemic.   And then an atmospheric river hit.   6.5” of water in 60 hours and with a lot of wind.   We were interlodged for 53 hours(not allowed to go outside).   That was bizarre.   But no biggie.   Back to life.   But the snow stopped.   And the rumors grew.   We are a large ski lodge that has guests from all over the world crammed into tight quarters.   I was worried about an outbreak.   Finally, there were rumors of closing, I wa...
Read more

WURL, And I think to myself...

Image
              9 years ago I moved to Alta.  Ever since, Ive stared up at these ridgelines in awe of mother earth.  Isnt she lovely?  I tried to run and scramble on as much of these rocks as I could.  By the end of the summer 2012, I realized I had done much of the route I had just recently heard of (The WURL).  In 2013, it was my goal to do the route in its entirety.  One weekend, I set off from Fergy and crested over sugarloaf and descended home.   Next morning, hiked up Baldy and finished the route.  Total time something like 36 hours with sleeping 8 hours in the middle.  I repeated a similar outing in 2015, “getting more comfortable with the route” I told myself.  But all out efforts on the AT, PCT, and a big ole bike tour, hindered feeling 100% in other years.  So last summer 2018, with no hinderances, I tried. Lots of ridges, Lots of Lonely time             ...
Read more

Utah Thirteeners

This summer has been a struggle for sure. After spending 3.5 days in the hospital running every test possible, the doctors still did not know what was wrong with me. It was clear that I had had Myocarditis, but that had since cleared up. At first I thought I was on my way to healing up, but then I relapsed and became ill again. I spent a lot of time thinking about what it could be and what I could do. I figured since it felt like Lyme and it would be no harm, I ordered up my herbal remedies for Lyme from before. It worked, not great, but they cleared up my joint pain, swelling, and even made my mental state better. However; the deep fatigue I had been feeling was very slow to improve. I figured I was trying to push through illness, which would additionally stress my already weakened body. I emphasized rest and sleep, but still slow progress. I often thought, “Is this it?” “Is my life over?” “What am I going to do with limited energy and time?” “Am I dying?” It sucked. It...
Read more