I was exhausted when I woke up this morning. I hadn’t slept well and the long days seem to have caught up to me. My body hurt and my mind wasn’t it. Usually when this happens, I hit a stride within the first few miles. But today, it wasn’t happening. 

I knew I had to do 35 miles today to have a chance of making it to the halfway point and as I walked, I couldn’t see how I was going to do that. 35 miles requires moving at a pretty good pace. It’s close to 12 hours at 3 miles per hour. At 2.5 miles per hour it’s 16 hours. And as I walked, I could barely muster 2.5 from the beginning. My legs were sluggish and they had no push. 

I tried everything I could. I drank more. I ate more. I drank electrolytes. I drank caffeine. I turned on an audiobook. I turned on music. I turned on louder music. But nothing was getting my steppers to move quicker. The rain that started up again didn’t help.

I told myself I’d have first lunch at the 10 mile mark. That would be just passed the mason dixon line and would put me on a road. Maybe a full sandwich would do the trick plus There’s always an opportunity for trail magic on a road.  

So when I passed the mason dixon line (welcome back to the north!) and hit the parking lot, I stopped. I sat on a rock and prepared the biggest turkey sandwich I could. I layered on a pound of lunch meat and 5 slices of cheese. It was supposed to be 2 sandwiches worth of food, but that was a problem for later. 

As I sat there, a truck pulled up and 4 people got out. 2 appeared to be in their 40s while the other 2 were in their 70s. Surprisingly it was the 70 year olds who donned packs and held up a sign that said “Appalachian trail hike 2025!” As they all posed for a photo. And with that, the older women walked off into the wilderness. 

The couple with the truck asked if I needed anything. I told them I didn’t. But they came back with a bottle of water and asked if I wanted it. “Sure, thanks!” And then they came back with a banana and I did the same thing. They then waved and said “you sure there’s nothing else you need?”

It was a split second decision. “Where are you heading?” I asked. When they said Asheville, I confirmed that that meant driving through Harper’s Ferry. “Any chance I could get a ride to Harper’s ferry?” I asked. 

I decided that walking to the mason Dixon line was half way enough for this part of the trip. I was hurting and I wasn’t having any fun. My right hamstring was starting to catch and my left ankle was a bit swollen. The chafing, while vastly improved thanks to the Vaseline was still a problem and frankly, I was just exhausted. I had walked to the north, I told myself. Let’s cross the full north when I get back on trail. Enough of these long long days. 

As they drove me back to Harper’s ferry (me sitting on a towel of course), they told me that her mother and friend Judy were doing a 4 day section hike to Harper’s ferry. They also told me that they had been section biking the continental divide mountain bike trail from north to south. next year, they said, they were hoping to complete the journey. 

Emily and Merrel were lovely people and we chatted the whole hour ride back. But in the back of my mind, I wondered if I had made the right call. I knew I had. I knew I was too tired to go on today and it wasn’t worth risking injury just to do another 40 miles before I had to get off trail anyway. But even with that knowledge, I felt like I had a quit a bit. I was sad. 

I thank them again as I hopped out of the car and got back to doing what I do best, eating. I ate a large chicken tenders and fry and let the idea of not making it to the official halfway point leave my mind. I walked up to a hiker hostel, got a bed and laid down. My tired body hitting the mattress and reminding me again that I had made the right call. 

I walked to town for dinner and saw a man I recognized from the hostel. I introduced myself as D’Art and asked if I could join him. He looked a little shocked but said of course. It wasn’t until 20 minutes into the meal that I realized he wasn’t a hiker. He was a phd student from Boston who just happened to be staying at the hostel on his way back from a conference. 

I stopped at a bar with live music on the way back. I stood around with a beer in hand listening to a country folk band hammer out banger after banger. I’ll miss this life of not knowing what each day will bring. But I’ll be back. Stay tuned.

What comes next is that I have to go home for a few weeks. Time to see the family and celebrate a few friends getting married. The goal is to be back on or around July 2nd. But like everything else out here, that date is fluid. 

Key stats:

Miles: 12

Elevation gained: 2,000 ft

Mile marker: 1068

Days off upcoming: roughly 24