Miles: 785.9 | A soft landing after yesterday’s push—coffee, chess, and an unplanned zero in Lexington. The morning begins with goodbyes and gratitude as Craig helps us transition back to town life, followed by slow hours waiting for motel check-in, new socks, and a much-needed shower. A first embedded tick is an unwelcome milestone, and the Econolodge feels bleak, but rest comes easily. Evening brings rain, fast food, ice cream cravings, and a strange awareness of how loud and overstimulating town life feels now. It’s not exciting, but it’s restorative—the kind of reset that lets your body catch up, even when the trail pauses.
Craig offered to take us to the post office in Buena Vista (where my shoes were waiting) and then drop us off in Lexington (the next town over) where we could probably find a cheap motel room to zero at. We thought it sounded like a good plan. Tania helped us make our breakfast, which we ate while they got ready for work.
We took one last photo and said goodbye to the dogs and Tania. We packed up and piled into Craig's Subaru.
He dropped us off in Lexington downtown. We got coffee at an independent roaster and played chess there for a few hours. It was only 10am and the motel wouldn't let us check in until 3pm. After chess we went to the outfitter nearby and got Miles some new socks (he was still wearing thick, winter socks).
In the morning we talked to Craig and Tania. They had a lot of work to do this week because they were planning on taking a long weekend for Trail Days (most thru-hikers go back the year after their hike to see their old hiking buddies). They didn't have time for us to stay with them and their dog Rose was a bit afraid of strangers.
We got lunch at a vegan restaurant down the street and then walked to the motel a mile away. The motel wasn't near any stores or restaurants at all. We checked in and when we got there we didn't even unpack. We showered, it was hot and we'd been walking around town with our packs on all day. As I was getting dressed after my shower, Miles noticesd a small dot on my side near my stomach. He looked closer and turned on a brighter light. It was a tick. We got out the tweezers and pulled it out. My first embedded tick of the year... The motel room was kind of depressing but we were exhausted so we went straight to bed. At 3 in the afternoon.
(Miles putting on his new socks right away in typical hiker trash fashion)
When we awoke at 7pm we were both hungry. We decided to walk the mile to the nearest fast food place. When we opened the door we saw an impending storm lingering overhead. We grabbed our raincoats and headed out.
Google Maps lead us through a neighborhood and passed a school. It looked like there was a shorter way, but apparently it was a highway. We ate at Wendy's and observed how strange town life seemed to us now. Background music everywhere you go that people don't even notice. Highway noise that seemed never ending. People are so desensitized to sound and noise nowadays. It boggled my mind that people just didn't notice their surroundings fully.
After dinner we went across the street to a convenience store and I got some ice cream and orange juice that I'd been craving. We walked back to the motel, finding a shortcut near the school. The rain started falling just as we got back. I ate my ice cream and went back to sleep while Miles played chess on his phone.
