Make it count: Day #73

Sunday, May 24 - Day #73 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 13.4
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 972.1/2,193 (44.33%)

Gravel Springs Hut (958.7) to Front Royal (972.1) - hotel at Baymont Inn

Total ascent - 2,057’
Total descent - 3,719’

Total States Completed - 3/14

**Rain Day - foggy and rain during the hiking day. Overcast in the afternoon in Front Royal

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Man-o-man-o-man. Am I ever thankful to be resting up in a hotel tonight - finished with the Shenandoah National Park. 7 days - 107 miles - 22,000’ vertical ascent, 1 food carry for the entire trip, 6/7 days of rain —- great to get that segment completed! Traditionally, the Shenny’s is really looked at by AT thru-hikers as a relatively easy section. It really wasn’t all that bad - but my experience was made more difficult with the weather and the Covid-19 closings throughout the park. Having some wayside food stops during the day and some sunshine could have really lifted the spirits.

So - getting back to my marathon analogy I’ve used throughout this journey - I’m currently at Mile 11.6 of the marathon - 1.5 miles to the halfway point. It’s close - really close. Often times during a marathon - I use that halfway point as a marker. I sometimes find myself struggling that last mile to get there - it’s so close but still so far away. Well - I’m finding myself with similar emotions recently on the AT. It’s interesting to think about - and how closely it does relate to the marathon.

I’ve been sort of struggling for motivation in recent days. Today - a couple things happened to gain a little bit of that edge back again. First off - the hike today went pretty well. I got out of camp at 6:15am - and finished up at 11:45am. 13.4 miles in 5-1/2 hours - good pace for me. Empty Space was right behind me at the finish. We were at a parking area where we would get our shuttle into Front Royal. We had to wait for Jet - so we sat down and rested for a bit.

There was Trail Magic for us at the parking area - a cooler filled with soda, beer, and water. I grabbed a soda and sat to rest. As we sat there - a middle-aged couple that had stopped to look at the views approached us. They were extremely intrigued about the AT and asked us if we were AT thru-hikers. I responded: “Yes - we’re on Day #73 - about 1,000 miles into the hike”. It was so funny - these guys were so curious about the AT. They were actually following a few blogs on-line. They asked us if we knew a couple people (they called them by their trail names). Then - they asked if they could get a picture with us. After this - they asked if they could give us some food/drinks. They were so excited: “We’ve always wanted to do Trail Magic - can we bring you some food?” Empty space let them know we would never turn down food. So - they rushed to their car. They brought us a package of crackers, some lunch meat, a bunch of beef jerky sticks, a package of fruit snacks, and some sodas. They were as happy as can be and we were very thankful!

Then - this afternoon I got a text message from my niece Madeline. She sometimes sends me motivational texts - she’s a really special person. (I hope she won’t mind if I share this). She was telling me she was cleaning out her books and came across the Diary of Anne Frank I had given her many years ago - and how she would always hold onto that book. She said: “A good reminder that we are made better by knowing each other’s stories. We’re all writing one with our lives! Yours is important - keep living it with courage!” First of all - how amazing is my niece for sending me something like this. Pretty remarkable stuff! But then - It made me start thinking about those people today. You know - in your life - you never know who/what may inspire you OR who you may inspire yourself. It’s sort of a lesson to keep living your life the best you can - and just maybe, maybe if you’re lucky - you can make a positive difference out there. What’s your legacy? How will you be remembered? I don’t know - sometimes I think about that and it keeps me motivated to push forward.

I don’t mean to get so deep today - just a few things that made me think. It’s about 11pm here now. A good Nero today. Shower, laundry completed, resupply done, a nice big burger for lunch/dinner - all good stuff!

Tomorrow we have a shuttle at 9:45am back to the trail. A 4-day, 53 mile stretch awaits into Harpers Ferry. I should be able to hang with Jet and Empty Space this week. Looking forward to seeing some cool sites (nice weather expected) and having a little bit of fun

Happy Memorial Day to everybody out there!! Get out and create your “Remember When” moment!