Miles: 136.5 | A frozen campsite, stiff shoes, and a stubborn decision to chase comfort and pizza 16 miles away. Between birthday calls home, my first clear mountain views, and the slow realization that I’m pushing past my limits, the trail teaches me (again) that determination and depletion can look dangerously similar. I arrive at NOC exhausted — and finally sleep like I mean it.
I woke up warm in my bag with a renewed sense of determination. I was going to push a little more than 16 miles (my biggest day so far) and get to NOC today. I was going to get my red Gatorade (which I was CRAVING due to dehydration). I was going to get a new sleeping bag liner and ditch my WalMart fleece! And the sunrise was beautiful that morning!
I got up and dismantled camp. My stakes were frozen in the ground (some guy camping not too far away offered to pee on them to warm them up for me... *rolls eyes*). I laced up my stiff, frozen shoes and got going quickly. I was still cold. I had no appetite and only half a liter of water.
I walked through the stiffness. It was too cold to stretch like I usually do. It took me 4 miles to warm up. Right before Tellico Gap I stopped to call my Mom who had her birthday that day. She also helped me order a new tent (a Six Moons Designs Lunar Solo) because she’s the best mom ever. She even got it express shipped to Fontana Dam.
The more I felt stiff and in pain the more I thought about getting a muscle roller too... I hiked a little bit further and finally ran into Whisperer. He told me he had already booked us bunks at the NOC. The temperatures were supposed to be in the negatives that night. I didn’t have enough money for that and a new bag liner. He said if I buy the pizza he’ll get the room. We called it a deal and kept hiking, even though the deal made me feel a little bit uncomfortable and indebted.
We kept walking as fast as we could toward NOC. By the time we got to Wesser Bald we realized I was going too slow to make it down to NOC before their onsite outfitter closed, where I was going to buy my new bag liner. Whisperer offered to go ahead and get my bag liner and pick up a pizza for dinner before the restaurant also closed. He went ahead while I took in the views at Wesser (he’d already been through there). My first real, no fog views!
I left Wesser around 2pm. I started feeling fatigued. I had hardly eaten or drank anything that day (I hadn’t really realized it. I was starting to realize how much my appetite was holding me back). I was also starting to realize that 16 miles was a bit much for me after having taken so much time off. In my head I tried to divide it up into smaller sections. I tried to push myself. But I felt like I was starting to hike someone else’s hike again.
In pain, exhausted, hangry, and frustrated. I finally got to the last mile. I’m learning that the last mile before town or camp always feels like more than 1 Mile. By the time I got there I could barely bend my right knee properly and my achilles was spurring me at every step.
When I finally got to the lodge we were staying in I was EXHAUSTED. I did my laundry and took a very long, hot shower. We ate pizza and had Powerade (they didn’t have Gatorade). I journaled and blogged a little bit while I waited for my laundry and iced my ankle. By the time my head hit the pillow I was out. I slept 11 straight hours without any medication.