This Isn't Going To Be Easy

Turners Gap - Mile 18 - Apr 21_st, 2016

This Isn't Going To Be Easy

First day on the trail. Of course I was off to a great start. Monique, the inn keeper at our B&B fixed us a fabulous breakfast so my belly would be nice and full for the start of my hike. Ron took me to the bridge and sent me off with a hug and a kiss. The first bit is an old tow path and so it is very flat. Then the hills start. Everything went along pretty well. I got to Anteteim battle field and that's where things took a turn. Or rather, I took a wrong turn and somehow ended up heading back south. Thankfully I figured it out before I got too far out of the way. But even still, I worked myself up into a tizzy first. I've met three other people that this area confused. Hey, at least I went the right way when I got off the foot bridge. I heard one lady went 2 miles in the wrong direction. That's four miles out of the way at the very beginning! Ouch! Back at the battlefield, I met a couple of really sweet young ladies Swiss Miss and Sniffles. They almost made the same mistake I did. But we found the correct way and made camp at Crampton Gap together just before dark. I was up and at'em with the sun. Watching the sunrise over the hill I was camped on from my hammock was pretty awesome.

Day 2. Up before the girls. Feeling pretty good. But just not quite myself. After the twelve mile hike the day before, which was way too much for a first day out for anyone, much less for someone recovering from an infection and on 2 antibiotics, I decided to take it easy. I'm surprised at how hard the trail is. This is supposed to be the easiest part of the whole thing! Yikes! The hills are one thing, but holy cow the rocks! I was passed like a fart in a whirlwind by three thru hikers that started in February in Georgia. I know I've just started, but this is a little discouraging. I'm already so tired. I got to Rocky Run shelter and took about an hour break. Feeling refreshed, I made it to Dahlgren Backpacking Campground. (A total of 18 miles in the first two days. That makes me feel pretty good.) It was great! Running water, hot showers! This is heaven! Since I stopped so early, I had plenty of time to set up camp, make a leisurely dinner and visit with other hikers there. Then much to my dismay, thirty(!) college students on a retreat come rolling into camp! Turns out, they were all very nice and actually quieted down fairly early. But that ended up not really mattering much to me because I did not sleep. Not really sure why. Maybe it was all the talk about people dying on the trail. It doesn't matter now. Let's just say that after getting up three times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom I was very, very grateful there was a bathroom.

Day 3. The antibiotics have taken there toll. The whole campground was up before the sun. I got up and got dressed. I had to stop and take a break while packing up my gear. I'm kind of weak and shaky and I know if I get on the trail the first thing I face is a little over a mile up hill. This is not good. I never thought or expected that anything like this would happen in just a couple of days. After talking to one of the other ladies there,I made the decision to get to a town and get some probiotics and get my strength back. I feel like such a wimp. But the truth is I probably should have waited to start in the first place. I hitch hiked for the first time in my life. I have to give a shout out to Edgar who turned around to get me and went out of his way to take me to the closest town with a hotel. Thanks Edgar! I hope you get all the good karma you deserve. As bad as the world seems sometimes, there are still good people out there. So anyway, I'm chilling in a hotel room with everything I could need within walking distance. Things aren't perfect, but they could be a lot worse.

I just want to thank everyone for the encouragement and kind words. It means so much. Especially now. I promise I'm not wimping out. Just need to finish healing. I feel like having a little taste of what the trail is like is really going to help me when I get back out there.