Virginia AT Day 5
Woods Hole Hostel to Cross Ave, Pearisburg
10.6 AT miles plus a couple road miles
Last night I didn’t set an alarm. My only agenda was to sleep, then decide what to do next when I woke up. Well, I woke up at 2:33am and figured I might as well get going!
I boiled it down to two options:
A) Backtrack the 5.2 miles to where I got off the AT and basically do a 15 mile loop starting and ending at Woods Hole to cover the section I skipped yesterday, and still technically be in the running for the record, but it would mean very full, long, tough 9 more days of hiking
B) Hike the ten miles to Pearisburg (forfeiting the record) then figure out what to do from there.
I thought I owed it to myself to at least try for the record, so I started to hike up the road back toward Ribble Trail, which connects back to where I left the AT. Then a little ways up a wave of fatigue hit me and I stopped. Did I really want to hike a 15 mile loop in the dark, leading right back to where I started, with another 10+ miles until the next town while not feeling well for a chance at a record? Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I turned around again. Then I stopped and turned around again! It was agonizing. I hate quitting. I don’t ever want to be a quitter. Part of the responsibility of solo hiking is making good decisions. I decided it wasn’t a good choice to go on. There’s toughness and there’s knowing when to say when. I turned around one last time, and hopped on the AT heading north toward Pearisburg. I was picked up by my friend David Horton. We were happy to see each other but not happy about why we were seeing each other- me being sick and him having been in an accident, ending a multi-day bike race he was doing out in California. He and his wife Nancy hosted me at their place and treated me to a dinner of burger and fries, and I entertained their granddaughter playing the piano.
I decided to rest there for the night but then continue my hike (in some form) in the morning. Time on the trail is always time well spent. Time in my head, time for reflection, time to keep gaining experience for the future. Being out here fills me with energy. I love doing this. Even though it comes with the occasional heartbreak. On we go!