Day 17: Sandy Spring

Start: 501 Shelter (AT mi 1196.1). Stop: Sandy Spring (AT mi 1210.5) Today’s miles: 14.4 miles. Total AT mileage: 185.8 miles

I have to fight my grumpiness in the mornings when I stay in shelters.. because I’m naturally grumpy when I wake up, and more so when I can hear other people moving around and getting ready. It’s a blessing and a curse, like, I’m happy I hear them, otherwise I’d sleep til 10, but I also love sleeping, and would like to get some better sleep than I have been, for sure.

Either way, I was awake, packed, and walking by 7:30 this morning. We fully walked into Rocksylvania if we were ever confused about when the rocks “start.” The balls of my feet were super tender this morning. I was concerned for another blister, up around where the ball meets the toes, but the skin was so tough I thought maybe not.. until about 2.5 miles into hiking over 18 billion rocks. One step and I felt a rip and then pop. It was definitely a blister. It has definitely now popped under pressure. It definitely hurt like hell.

While I was limping along, babying that foot by trying to not put pressure towards my toes, I hit a weeble wobble rock and started to roll my ankle! Luckily I was able to bear my weight on my trekking poles and hop off of the foot all together. If not, I’m assuming I would have rolled it completely and hit the ground. My thru hike could have ended! It’s still sore now, but no worse than the throb of the blister, and it’s hardly even swollen with no bruising I can see. I’ll call it a near miss and a huge win.

I limped along slowly for the rest of the morning.. with the pain either slowly easing off or my brain finally ignoring it. We all ended up refilling water around mile 5, and then went on a hunt for the “swimming hole” the caretaker of the shelter we stayed at told us about. Lizard made it there first. She seems to get as excited about jumping in water as I do!

Once everyone got there (except NoFilter, we were all wondering where she got off to), Lizard and I went to the top of a hill where the big rope swing was. I helped pull the rope in and then recorded her swing in! It was awesome! I was too chicken to go off the rope, lack of upper body strength and all, so I walked back around to where this wall was creating the dam or pool. Another hiker jumped off the little swing by the wall, and then I cannon balled in from the wall! That water was SOOOO cold! Like teeth chattering cold! And while it was freezing, it was also numbing all my ailments. Win win.

Cholula and I recorded Derby jump in and then Randy off the long one. Lizard jumped back in, and then we all hung out and laughed and tried to dry out. It was an incredible morning. We stayed for probably an hour or hour and a half. After everyone else got moving again, Lizard and I ate our lunch while drying a bit more before starting back out. Crinkles, Randy, Derby, and NoFilter all got a hostel for the night, so they were getting picked up only 3 miles from where we were. Cholula didn’t want to undo her wrapped ankle, so she didn’t swim, Curmudgeon washed his shirt out so he was cooled off, but mostly dry.. they hiked on while we waited it out.

We all leapfrogged each other for the rest of the afternoon, and decided to camp down by the stream near the shelter we were aiming for. Lizard hasn’t shown up yet, so I assume she decided to stay either at or closer to the shelter, unless she just kept going.. the girl definitely has her trail legs!

We filtered our water here, and Curmy built us a fire to try to eliminate some of the bugs.. it helped tremendously! We ate dinner and then escaped to our tents because of the influx of bugs once the fire was out. Oh, but Cholula and I each were able to get our food bags on a tall branch we originally aimed at only as a joke.. after she nailed it on the second try, I gave my rope a go for my bag.. I took 4-5 tries, but eventually got it!

This trail life is getting equally easier and harder at the same time. Sometimes the terrain throws you for a loop, but then you come across a swimming hole that makes you so happy it overshadows all of the pain and irritation of the day. Pretty amazing how perspective works sometimes.