I slept so deeply that when I woke up, it was already almost 8 and camp was practically empty. Given we were only doing 15 today I saw no reason to get out early. I packed up and ate with no rush and was out just before 9. 

The day started with a climb and I settled into first gear as I went up. Then I went to second gear. Then third. Next thing I knew, I was flying up the hill. I felt powerful. Nothing could stop me. I went over the top of the hill and came down at a similar speed. I knew I was back. 

I hit the next uphill and pushed even harder. But the first step landed a bit funny and next thing I knew, the pain shot through my knee. I winced. I stopped to stretch. But on the next step, the pain was there again. Shit. 

I oozed my way down the hill. Trying to move slowly and deliberately. Once again having to concentrate all my energy on each step but with each step there was pain. It was exhausting and mentally, it caught up to me. I had already done this once on this hike, I thought. And it gave me flashbacks to my concussion. I had just gotten over an injury that was two steps forward, three steps back. I was pretty down about dealing with another. 

Not even a free cooler of trail magic sodas was able to lift my mood. I sat there, in a beautiful clearing in which someone had even set up an umbrella, and stretched out my leg. Wondering what I could have done differently. Why had I decided to push it? I had a conversation with a Brit named Ninja but my head wasn’t in it. I was just focused on my knee.

I figured I just had to make it 6 more miles til lunch and then three more to camp. It would be easy enough. Then hopefully a good nights sleep would cure all. I hobbled past the 700 mile mark but barely noticed.

The 6 miles brought me to dragons tooth – a famously beautiful rock formation that juts out high to the sky. The walk was focused on the pain but I forgot about my knee as I got there and just started climbing about. I ran into Father Time and convinced him we had to go to the top of it. He wasn’t ready for the top top, but he came up to the half way point at least. 

When I came down off the rocks, I was in a much better mood. I was telling Father Time about how I had foolishly thought about doing 25 today when I looked at my messages. There was one from woodsman “at Dragon tooth feeling good, might send the 25”

I knew I shouldn’t so I didn’t rush the downhill. I just moved at a pace that felt good. But suddenly I realized, there was no pain in my knee. I scrambled down rocks and jumped over logs and felt great. Still – 25 miles was dumb. We had agreed on that last night. But when I got to where we had agreed to camp, there was no sign of woodsman. He had gone on. 

I thought about it for at least half a second before I decided that if he could, I could. 25 miles was going to happen. I downed a quick lunch (ok, even I will admit this one was bad – instant mashed potatoes watered down enough that I could drink it with some electrolyte powder mixed in) and then started walking. And I felt GOOD. 

I passed day hikers and thru hikers alike. I was pushing but also being careful of each step. I felt like I had hit my flow. And I wasn’t about to give it up. Every time I passed someone, I gave them a moving greeting, not stopping to share any more than a few words. Not even a snake could slow me down. When I ran up on a 3 ft rat snake in the middle of the trail, I just poked it with my poles until it slithered away far enough to let me pass.

As I got closer to McAffe’s knob, the crowd died out and the skies turned grey. Rain threatened, but I barely noticed. I had one goal. Get there. 

I made it to the knob and took my photos and sat down to watch the sunset before I made my way down to camp. The last few steps were tough. 25 miles felt a lot like 25 miles. But I got in and set up in time to beat the rain. I stuffed my face with everything I could find and stretched out before climbing into bed – excited that hopefully I figured out how to manage my knee. 

Key stats:

Miles: 25

Elevation gained: 6,200 ft

Mile Marker: 716

Fear of heights: 0