Miles: 84.0 | Frozen water bottles, stiff shoes, and nine miles of cold uncertainty lead to a crowded Nissan, a motel bed, and news no thru-hiker wants to hear: my shoes are too small, my Achilles is angry, and pushing through could end everything. Today isn’t about miles — it’s about choosing whether this hike gets to continue at all.
Whisperer woke me up at 5:45am. We had to hike 9 miles this day to get to our shuttle. Granted, 5 of this was supposed to be on gravel road we weren’t sure how it would go. We packed up as best we could. Our water bottles were frozen. Our wet shoe laces froze straight up in the air where we left them. Our piles of wet clothes were unwearable. Our trekking pole straps were frozen and painfully cold.
Hott Dogg, Pioneer, Turbo, Whisperer, and I set out at dawn with our headlamps on. The rain had stopped. It was 30F and the wind was blowing 10-15 mph gusts. We hiked in our camp clothes because they were the only dry, warm clothes we had. We got to Deep Gap early. It was just barely 8am. We snacked and then got moving. The road felt like it would go for an eternity. There was nothing exciting about it. Flat gravel road. Closed, in my mind, for no reason at all. It was set to open again April 1st... we were all frustrated. Morale was low. My heel hurt. So badly that I changed into my crocs. I thought my shoe had gotten messed up or something.
After we passed the first gate we began to hear the rumble of cars and trucks. A road. Hott Dogg and I were at the back of the pack. My heel was really bothering me. When we heard the road we both gasped. Excited, we looked at each other.
He said, “Did you hear that, too?!” The others were pretty far ahead. “Yes! I squealed” A road! We rushed around the next corner and there was the second gate and Mike!
All five of us and our packs piled into his Nissan Sentra. He was very generous to allow all of us in. I sat on Whisperer’s lap and Hott Dogg and Turbo joined us in the back seat. Pioneer got the front seat with his pack in his lap.
We made it into Franklin and checked into the Budget Inn at 11am. Hott Dogg and Pioneer shared a room. Turbo got a single and Whisperer and I got a double room. Some of us showered. I was too lazy and hungry and worried about my feet. I wanted to get to the outfitter. I didn’t want to go hangry, though... I grabbed my shoes and put them in my slackpack to show them later.
We were going to go get a beer and lunch at the Lazy Hiker Brewery but we decided to stop at a diner that was on the way called Motor Company. It was so good. We all got the burgers we were craving and I hd a huge glass of chocolate milk.
After lunch we headed over to Outdoor 76, the local outfitter. I told an employee about my problem and they looked at my shoe. They asked me to wait for Rob, their guru.
15 minutes later Rob came around to the shoe area asking about my heel problems. He kind of speaks in metaphors so it was a long conversation. But the gist was, worst case scenario: I may have a torn Achilles (highly unlikely) and best case scenario: I have Tendonitis. He told me to 'be my own manager' because, unlike a professional athletes, I don't have a manager. He measured my feet and said, "Come back on Monday. But, I'll tell you right now you're shoes are too small." That was Friday morning.
With tears in my eyes I left the store to meet my tramily at the local brewery. With help from Michelin, who had left due to a knee injury. He talked me down from tears and told me I already knew what the right decision was. The right decision was to take a few zeros (days that you don't hike at all) and heal before it gets worse.
That night Whisperer prepared to leave the next morning to make up what we missed from Deep Gap to Winding Stair. We hung out and ate gummy bears one last time while icing my Achilles.