I Wanna Be Just Like Wendy

Wendy Davis, man. That woman is a beast. She was effectively a one-woman filibuster supporting women's rights in Texas, speaking on the subject for over 11 hours without food, water, bathroom breaks or being allowed to sit down. Out here we often hike upwards of 20 miles over some pretty nasty terrain but we always, ALWAYS take multi-hour breaks and stay well fed and hydrated. If I have to pee I just drop trow mid-trail. How someone can stand up and fight for what they believe in like that is absolutely awe-inspiring. Cheers to you, Wendy Davis, for all you do to stand up for a woman's  right to choose. 

Out here though, walking far past the point of comfort for a goal that no one except your hiking companions understands, makes us pretty tough too. Especially after 43 miles in the past two days. 

Yesterday we destroyed 26 miles. The first 20 were incredibly flat and boring as all holy hell with only two brief up hills and a devastating downhill to hold our attention. At the bottom of the hill (which I got down partially afoot, partially a-butt) was a town called Port Clinton, from which we managed to snag a hitch into Walmart for resupply and a meal (I would call it lunch) at Subway. 

We got back to the trailhead by 5pm and prepared for a beastly climb back up to the ridge line. Hopped up on sugar with musical theatre on the iPod, I basically sprinted the 2.5 miles up the mountain and, as La Vie Boheme came through my headphones and I had a Jessie Spano freak out dance. Clearly, I was unready to stop for the day, so we pressed on 3 more miles to the next shelter. 

This morning we woke up later than expected and got off to a slow start. Today I learned two things:

1) Northern Pennsylvania is, in fact, insanely rocky. Finally found those goddamn rocks. 

2) Gnats are up there with cicadas for worse trail bug ever. 

We had heard about the rocks since Georgia - the "ankle breakers" but for the past two hundred or so miles they were present, but tolerable. Today as we left the Eckhart Shelter they went from tolerable to brutal. The boulder fields of sharp, often wobbly rocks stretched as far as the eye could see and, adding in a touch of moisture to the moss covered boulders made them literally painfully slick. I fell more than once. Thankfully, Red Knees and 2pac stayed close by so we could at least commiserate in our damp, bruised misery.

Of course, to add insult to injury, there were the gnats who would find exactly the worst time to bombard our eyes with their tiny hateful bodies and proceed to curl up and die beneath our eyelids. Then, to avenge their fallen brethren, even more gnats would attack the same eye until we were essentially in tears. This bombardment, of course, happens almost exclusively while we are hiking over the aforementioned jagged rocks and don't have a free hand to swat them away. Hateful creatures. 

We went a little over 16 miles today to the second shelter out and nearly missed the rain. With tornado warnings in effect for tonight and a current downpour with occasional thunder and lightning, it feels exceptional to be tucked into a warm sleeping bag in an excellent shelter, surrounded by friends. 

I had a few moments today where, I admit, I thought of quitting. My patience was tested and my body sore. My birthday is in just a few hours and I will likely spend the majority of it hiking through the rain over rocks to get to our destination - Palmerton, PA - a town that prior to a week ago I had never heard of. It's hard to think that I could be home, with my family, friends and puppy, enjoying a glass of wine, warm and clean but instead I am choosing this life of vagrancy. I am excited to go back to my life once this experience is over, but for now - at least I will keep telling myself until I believe it, especially on days like today - there is no place I would rather be.