Back to the Trail

Wrote this a few days ago and ran out of power while publishing. Then had no sun but here it is.

On the 4th, we stayed in Chevy Chase. On the 5th, we did 3 miles and camped along the Potomac River. On the 6th, we did 4 miles and camped at the Ed Garvey Shelter. On the 7th, we did 9.1 miles and camped at the Rocky Run Shelter. On the 8th, we zeroed at the shelter to avoid the heat and thunderstorms. On the 9th, we did 7.5 miles and camped at the Pine Knob Shelter. On the 10th, we did 8.2 miles to Ensign Cowall Shelter. On the 11th, we zeroed there. On the 12th, we went 10.5 miles and camped at Falls Creek a mile after the Pennsylvania state line. On the 13th, we did 7.6 miles to Tumbling Run Shelter.

On the 4th, we went down to the mall, wandered around a bit and then watched the fireworks from the lawn outside the Lincoln Memorial. The fireworks were impressive, enjoyable and served as a nice capstone to the visit to DC.

We got back on trail after stopping at the ATC and getting our photo taken, since we hadn't done any Harpers Ferry things when we got off trail. I am apparently thru hiker number 866 which is basically the back of the pack but that is what I had assumed. After a couple of hours in the heat we decided it was a good idea to camp along the river instead of continue on and leave the water. This turned out to be a great idea for comfort but a relatively terrible idea for making miles. The next day we sat in the river until about 4:30 in the afternoon to try and beat the heat. The incredible temperatures completely zap me of energy. In addition to the lack of energy it also vastly increases the amount of chafing that I am experiencing. Thankfully at the last outfitter I visited I found an extra large stick of body glide.

After that, the heat kind of became a little more normal and bearable. The days have sort of settled into a sort of rhythm. We wake up in the morning and UV takes some meds. This is followed by a minimum of 1-2 hours of nausea. We then at some point following that are able to make 5-10 miles before the fatigue makes it too much and we stop. This isn't exactly the fastest way to make miles but it is more than not moving at all. Some people might wonder at the intelligence of being on trail in those conditions but I've raised such thoughts and here we are. So we walk some everyday unless UV just feels terrible and then we don't.

There a few consequences to traveling in such a way. One, it makes planning food supplies a bit difficult. We had to stop today and get some food and hopefully the mileage evens out a bit and makes it more manageable. On the note of us stopping, we got an awesome hitch from a guy named Dennis. He was going the opposite way we were, turned around and took us to Walmart. He decided to wait around and give us a ride back to the trail after resupplying. Great hitch all around.

Another consequence of this method of hiking is my phone is constantly out of power. Somewhere in Virginia I got UV to start listening to the Wheel of Time series on audiobook. It is a nice little form of entertainment while in camp. When we are in camp this much there is a lot of listening going on. I try and utilize my solar charger as much as possible but most camping spots are surrounded by trees and the good charging places are at views where it is all rocky. This is one of the reasons I have been so slow at writing this entry; battery conservation has become more of an issue.

Lastly, this method apparently makes me make questionable decisions to try and make UV feel better. For example, yesterday I decided to slack pack UV. This is usually done with a vehicle but I just decided it was a good idea to carry both packs. While the logistics of this wasn't easy I got it all situated and then was "very stubborn" and did it. It was tiring but I could tell UV felt better. We made the best time we had made in weeks and went farther.

Hopefully UV starts to notice some effect from the meds soon and we can start making some more miles.