It wasn’t easy to leave the hotel this morning. But there was a McDonald’s across the way, a shuttle en route and the knowledge that if we made it 17 miles, we’d be hanging out with my parents tonight. So John, McKay and I laced up our shoes and hit the road. 

Grace drove us towards the trail head, picking up calls from hikers asking for rides the whole time. She ignored a call from “Nimrod” and told us how long her days were right now. She drove from 7am to 7pm shuttling hikers back and forth from March to May. She dropped us off at the trailhead around 8:30, only after telling us about how she was a retired police officer in Tampa – a frequent participant on the show cops.

As we started climbing, John dropped back – deciding to give his sore leg a bit more TLC but McKay and I pushed up at a breakneck speed. After a day off both of us felt refreshed. Our fully rested legs taking us up the trail much faster than normal. We passed group after group.

We finally stopped for a bit of trail magic at a dirt parking lot with no obvious entry or exit road. A man named Beer Can greeted us there with soda and candy and told us all about the thru hiking card game he was developing. I couldn’t understand the point of the game, but the snacks were delicious. 

By the time we sat down for lunch, McKay and I were both shocked to see we had already gone 10 miles. And neither of us were particularly tired. We scoffed at the folks who had told us this next few days would be some of the hardest on trail. 

But the after lunch blues hit shortly. We climbed the next hill at the same pace but both of us commented the whole way up that it just felt harder. At the top of that one, we both put in headphones and walked the rest of the way to whatever was piped directly into our ears. 

The last 4 miles (2 up, 2 down) were, for me, the hardest of the trail so far. I was barely able to drag myself up one side and then barely able to keep myself from rolling down the other side. But there was promise of parents and food down below. I silently apologized to those I had scoffed before. This section was hard. 

The only kink in the plan to meet mom and dad was that there was no cell service at the bottom. Over crackly and dropped calls, I walked around the parking lot shouting coordinates into the phone – hoping my parents could translate the garbled nonsense that was surely coming through their end. 

An hour later, after hugs and reassurances that we didn’t smell tooooo bad, we were in their car and driving to barbecue. The four of us ready to demolish whatever food was in site (well two of us were at least) 

It was great to see them and we spent a lovely meal eating some top notch barbecue chatting about their drive back from Utah, our hike, and any sidetracked topic that felt necessary to hit. 

But as the food settled into our stomachs, and the beer glasses emptied both McKay and my eyes grew glassy and we slumped in our chairs. I could barely keep myself eyes open and my parents noticed. They mercifully took us back to the hotel and we agreed to meet in the morning. 

Another shower tonight. But no hanging out after. Straight to sleep. 

Key stats:

Miles: 17 

Blisters: 2