Miles: 624.9 | This was the hardest day yet—physically, mentally, emotionally. We ran on almost no sleep, rode caffeine highs, cried on the side of the trail, and somehow kept going. Broken shoes, soaked feet, exhaustion, and doubt pushed me to the edge, but Miles stayed right there with me, turning tears into laughter and despair into forward motion. We staggered into Woods Hole long after dark, completely spent, and the sight of Neville felt like salvation. A quiet safari tent, a real shower, and a mattress closed out a day that proved just how far I could push—and how much it mattered not to do it alone.
This day we (Miles and I) now refer to as the ‘hardest’ day. This was, BY FAR, one of the most difficult days I have ever experienced in my life. I pushed myself further than I ever thought I could go. I arrived at this hostel on ‘fumes’ like a van with an empty gas tank trying to chug up a hill. Seeing Neville’s face in the dim light of the main house at Woods Hole was one of the most relieving sights I’ve ever seen.
Here it is: We woke up with the section hikers at 5am after we had gone to bed only 6 hours before. THE MOON WAS STILL UP. I got MAYBE 4 hours of sleep. Miles got up right away and I fell back to sleep (because APPARENTLY the only time I can sleep is when I go back to sleep after waking up early after only falling asleep an hour before...). Miles woke me up on his way out of camp half an hour later and I got up.
I ate breakfast with a few of the section hikers that had been in bed when we got there the night before. We realized that they all followed me on Instagram! The internet creates a small world again!
I left camp at 6am and quickly caught up to Miles. The fog this morning made a beautiful view:
We went 5 miles and stopped at Trent’s Gorcery, a recommendation from some former thru-hikers Miles had met (the ones I met at Trimpi Shelter). I was a bit disappointed. Their showers weren’t open yet and they didn’t have exactly what we were looking for, but we made the most of our half mile blue blaze. We got ice cream, onion rings, French fries, and an espresso beverage from the refrigerated section to share. There was an ADORABLE dog there, too. It was their 50th anniversary but you’d never be able to tell.
We hiked the half mile back to the trail and continued our day. Exhausted we rode the caffeine wave as far as we could. We stopped at Dismal falls, the site of not one, but TWO murders!
The forest changed from rhododendrons and mountain laurels to pines and yellow birches. We came to a few stream crossings. I sloshed (walking through without being able to keep your feet dry at all) through one and ended up with sand all in my shoes because of the holes in my toes.
I squish squashed down the trail for a few minutes and got so frustrated. Exhausted and on the verge of tears I stopped and turned around to look at Miles. We decided to stop and take a break. We dropped our packs and sat down on the side of the trail.
I took off my shoes to get the sand out and Miles helped me squeeze out my insoles, which were SOAKED. It was early in our relationship, but it was at this moment I realized he truly cared about me. We’d known each other for just about a month, hiked together every day for less than a week, and he was over here touching my nasty insoles and comforting me while I cried from over exhaustion. We lifted each other up.
(Miles after squeezing out my shoes)
My tears went from the end of the world I’m gonna lay down and die right here kind of hysterical to laughter. I was so happy he was with me. I couldn’t have done this day without him.
I put my shoes back on and we started chugging forward. We hiked through the sunset encouraging each other at every turn, on the verge of a mental breakdown most of the day. By the time we got to the gap where the hostel was located we were laughing and talking about how crazy it would be to jump off a cliff in one of those ‘squirrel suits’.
We knocked on the door of the main house of the hostel when we got there around 9pm. As the moon rose, the night got colder. Neville, the woman who runs the hostel, told us we could rent a Safari Tent for the night or stay in the bunkhouse. We went for the Safari Tent, hoping it would be as quiet as we could get. We got up there and made dinner and unpacked. We showered (an amazing shower) and went to bed right away. I was EXHAUSTED. I’m pretty sure I slept the night.
1. We really bonded
2. I pushed myself to the limit
3. I slept on a MATTRESS (it was AMAZING)