I woke up feeling good this morning – the best I have felt since before I got sick. I was on the trail around 7:30am and when I got to the first open ridge, the photo above was my view. I should have been able to see for miles, but this warm fog had filled the valley and the woods. It was delightful to hike through. It kept things cool and made the forest seem like a magical and mysterious place.

Every morning before I start hiking I have 3 possible destinations in mind for spending the night. A safety spot that I’m sure I can reach, a solid goal that I should be able to reach, and a stretch goal that I would really, really like to reach. I also take into consideration how much water I will need (how much do I already have, what is the temperature, where can I get more, how easy is the water to access? etc.).

This stretch of the trail only had water in one place for the next 12-13 miles and that was a steep half mile round trip off of the trail. Since the shelter where I spent the night had a great water source, I decided to “carry heavy,” which basically means to carry as much water (or food, or clothes, or a combination) as you can. I needed enough water to walk 12 miles on an 85 degree day and camp overnight without getting more. Water weighs 2.2 pounds per liter and I have containers for 4.5 liters of water. Which means my water weight was about 8 pounds more than I normally carry. 8 pounds is a lot of extra weight to carry up and down mountain sides!

I set off early and was thrilled to reach the next shelter (safety goal), before noon and I still felt good. I met two other thru hikers (Rolling Stone and Mallory) at the shelter. They were slack packing 18 miles back to the hostel I stayed at two nights ago. They were slack packing because the forecast is for storms, some severe, Sunday night into Monday evening. So they were slacking 18 miles so they could zero on Monday. I knew it was going to rain and I don’t mind hiking in the rain. Hiking through high winds and lightening in the woods didn’t seem like a great idea.

I spent last night on the mountain in a storm and it was fine because I was in a shelter. I received emergency alerts telling people to get out of tents and into shelters due to high winds and falling trees. However the next shelter over is 19 more miles, almost 25 miles from where I started. I knew I couldn’t hike that far in one day (maybe someday). I was planning to camp at one of the campsites between 10-12 miles of hiking from where I started. None of the campsites I was headed for had shelters. As I hiked on from lunch, I started trying to figure out my options to get under a roof for the night.

I figured I had two options for a roof for the night: 1) hike back to the shelter where I had lunch (I’m invoking Deepak’s rules for traveling on this trip which means no going back. That man hated a u-turn and was vehemently against ever making one. I’m a big fan of u-turns, especially if it gets me what I want, but not on this hike); 2) hike to the road and get a ride to a hostel or hotel. I called Anisse and had her check the weather too. After talking to her I called a hostel I stayed at before and reserved a room.

I started hoofing it to the nearest road intersecting the trail to beat the 5pm rain. Getting to the road added an extra mile and half to my distance for the day (ultimately ended up doing 13.4). Luckily, I still felt great and the trail conditions were perfect for me – some small ups and downs, but nothing really steep.

I was making good progress when I happened upon a little old lady sitting on a log on the side of the trail. She was clearly a hiker, but was just sitting there. Most hikers when taking a break are sipping water, eating a snack, looking at their phone. Few just sit. She looked a little dazed to me, so I stopped and said hello.

She smiled and asked me if was a thru hiker (most common first question on the trail). We talked for a minute or so and she asked me “Do you have a minute?” When I said sure, she patted the log next to her and said “Have a seat.” I didn’t laugh, but I wanted to – I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen. She immediately started telling me her hiking story. Which was what I was expecting, but was actually very inspiring.

Her trail name is Sparrow and she is 70 years old. She is a LASHer (Long Ass Section Hiker) and has plans to finish the AT this year. She was explaining that she has a replacement knee in her left leg, surgery to replace her Achilles tendon with the tendon in her big toe on her right leg, and put off knee replacement in her right leg to do the LASH she is on. I asked her some questions about how far she had come this time (150 miles) and how far she had to go (about 15 miles) She asked me how old I was and said to enjoy being young and to slow down and enjoy my hike. I asked her where she was headed next and she “Well I am trying to decide because I am out of water.” I told I was carrying heavy and would be happy to give her some of my water. I also told her there was a shelter 2 miles ahead of her and she should spend the night there for when the storms came in. I also suggested she hike to the road with me and I would call and get her a bed at the same hostel where I was staying. I was worried about just leaving her sitting there. She drank some water and I refilled her bottle again and she started to perk up a little. I sat with her another 10 minutes or so and talked through her options with her. Ultimately she decided to hike to the shelter 2 miles away. Once I was sure she was okay and had a plan, I hiked on and so did she. I wish I had thought to get her phone number so I could confirm she made it okay. I haven’t heard any news report of hurt hikers so, I think I can safely assume she did.

My favorite thing on this hike is the people I meet. They all have a story to share and there is something about being on the trail and shared experiences that seem to make people more willing to open up.

I hiked on and made it to the road by 5pm. Unfortunately there was no one parked there, so I couldn’t yogi (beg) a ride to town. I called an Uber and made it back to the hostel in time to share a pizza with another set of new hiker friends I made upon arrival (happy to report that it included Mallory and Rolling Stone who had warned me about the storms).