Virginia AT Day 4
Rt 52 to Woods Hole Hostel
24.3 AT miles, 5.2 miles blue blazes
Last night I was kept awake for hours by my inflamed joints just raging before finally calming down. The rest of the night was intermittent dreaming that I was suffocating- probably because in real life, I was! I couldn’t breathe through either nostril.
I spent some extra time in the morning doctoring and taping my blistered and chafed feet, thanks to the downpours of yesterday. The first hour or two of walking was quite painful. I knew from experience my feet would eventually “warm up”, and they did. I saw the prettiest sunrise through the mist- incredible. I exchanged a couple texts with Tara Dower who’d just arrived in Damascus for Trail Days Festival, and she asked how I was doing. I sent her a photo of the sunrise and said I felt really lucky. The AT is such a special place.
It was an uncomfortable start to the day, but I felt optimistic. I did a good job caring for my feet and I did a good job getting as far as I did yesterday, which put me in a good position for today. Unfortunately, I started feeling bad. I thought the issue was psychological, maybe I’m just not cut out for this kind of thing, why do I keep doing this to myself? As I went on I fizzled on the physical front, in a way that wasn’t normal. I wasn’t feeling well. I took a blue blaze trail (Ribble Trail) to Wood’s Hole hostel to rest and figure out next steps. It became clear that I’m full-on fighting a cold or infection. Congestion, sore throat, cough. I also noticed that while most other hikers were milling around in shorts and t-shirts, I was full on bundled up in pants and a puffy jacket. The caretakers made us an amazing hot meal (we ate outside and I sat far away from everyone) and I camped/quarantined in my tent in the yard. This was not part of the plan! :(
Even as I was laying in my tent, achey legs/hips, congestion, restless, sad about the day not going to plan, I couldn’t help but think “gosh I love this.” It’s the problem solving and unexpected adventure that make these hikes so memorable and exciting at all.