Trail Magic

More often than not the trail gods are unforgiving, serving up punishing rain, rocks, vertical ascents and mud for days on end. But sometimes, when you really need it, when you are beaten down and half a decision from a hitch to the nearest airport, the trail and Mother Nature deal you a winning hand. For me, that was the past two days. 

Yesterday we woke up on the edge of the lake to a beautiful sunrise and got an early start on a 20 mile day. Dip n Sip, Newton, B-Line and Why Not all got on the trail before me. I wanted to stay a bit later to enjoy my morning and not feel guilty for hiking with my music on. 

The first 6 miles flew by thanks to good conversation with Why Not who I caught on a downhill around mile 4. At a dirt road a ways down the big descent of the day we officially passed the 650 miles to go mark. Despite the absence of my hiking buddies I am still making miles - still continuing my push towards that great mountain, one day (one mile, one step) at a time. 

In the afternoon we had a 1,000+ foot climb to tackle but we had the dangling carrot of trail magic provided by B-Lines parents two miles from the top. Despite the unsustainable grade of the trail (and the fact that I realized that I had lost my earphones on the trail while getting water - double dang it!) I enjoyed the climb immensely, one of the first climbs that I have truly enjoyed in a while. I felt strong and consistent, alive and light on my feet. It was like a runners high that propelled me along to mile 15 of our day and the awaiting trail magic. 

B-Lines parents are amazing. There was a table set up with cold, fresh fruit (I ate way too much pineapple, suffering through the mild anaphylaxis and tingling tongue with every bite), potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, crudités and ice cold beverages. To my ultimate delight as I walked up they pulled out a special beverage especially for me: 20 fluid ounces of liquid gold, Mountain Dew, my rocket fuel. 

We lounged around outside the car, enjoying the shade from the trees and chatting for at least an hour and a half. At that point, B-Lines parents offered to slack pack us the remaining 4.3 miles into town where they would pick us up and drive us into town to a motel where they had a room reserved for us for the night. Glory glory hallelujah! By some gift of god I had managed to have a great hike, slack pack, personalized trail magic, a free stay in town and the opportunity for a good meal, shower and laundry. Oh, and S'rocket had found my headphones mid-trail and brought them along for me. If that wasn't god's way of saying, "You've got this shit, Tobie" I don't know what it is. 

And, indeed, all of those things came to fruition, including a fantastically extravagant meal at an Indian restaurant (Lamb Korma and garlic naan anyone?) with an exceptionally mediocre glass of Pinot Grigio. I slept like a rock last night, heavy with the food and beer induced itis. 

In the morning we awoke semi-early to grab breakfast in town before heading out. At breakfast, S'rocket invited me to join her, B-Line and Hotdog at a river float back in her home town. I seriously contemplated the idea before I realized that I needed to keep hiking to avoid losing motivation (and money). 

The 10 miles we hiked today were easy, despite the heat of the day thanks to a cool breeze that swept over the mountains for the majority of the afternoon. At around 3:30 I arrived at the Cookie Lady's place where, predictably, the owners give the hikers cookies and provide them with tenting space for free. There is also a huge blueberry patch where they charge $2 per pound to pick some of the sweetest, juiciest blueberries I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I briefly contemplated moving on to get in another 6 miles but with significantly damaged shoes (part of the sole had fallen off during my hike and, when the duct tape failed to hold it on, I snipped it off mid-trail) and a beautiful evening rolling in I figured I would be a fool not to stay and enjoy the evening with Why Not, Slim Jim (sneaky son-of-a-gun is everywhere!) and Sky Pilot - I will just forgo my planned zero in Dalton. 

The evening has been a dream - the sun is low, just about to disappear behind the old garage, one of the boys in the family is playing the piano inside, the sounds from which are wafting across the lawn and we cooked dinner on a picnic table overlooking the blueberries. I am happy, full and tired but with motivation renewed for the remainder of my journey - if I ever leave this chaise lounge.