Today was a much needed zero day. I woke up around 8:30, the latest I’ve slept in a long time, and man it felt great! What doesn’t ever feel great is the first steps out of bed each morning.. FarOut described it perfectly the other morning, it’s like waking up with bricks tied to your feet.
Lizard and Derby were already awake and about to head to breakfast, they were kind enough to wait for me to pee and brush my teeth so I could come with. That was probably the only thing I managed to do quickly today, lol.
We were walking to a donut and smoothie shop, but on the way we passed a cafe serving breakfast and detoured there instead of continuing to walk farther to the other place. It was a cute little cafe in the old garage of a motorcycle shop. The shop is still connected to the building, it was neat. I had a bacon, egg, and cheese on a poppyseed bagel. It was as good as it sounds, trust me. The three of us ate together then walked back to the room, spread our wet stuff outside to dry and cleaned all the things that needed cleaning: pots, bowls, sporks.. and then as required on zero days, we laid around watching TV.
Eventually, I got the energy to walk the 1/2 mile to the post office to get my goodies, the one of most importance being my new sleeping pad! I am so so SOO happy it’s here! I also got some compression sleeves for my shins and a new pair of undies since the one pair I had was trying to chaff all the parts you don’t want chaffed-ever. Those undies were trashed back on the day with all the trail magic.
The walk to and from was a hot one, but it felt light and breezy without my pack. I couldn’t quit smiling. Once back at the motel, I followed Lizard’s lead and stretched in the grass under a tree. I stayed and stretched and relaxed for maaaaaybe 30 minutes before I retreated back inside to the air conditioning and my bed.
The rest of the day seemed to fly by. We ordered lunch from a burrito place, ate, and then Lizard, Cholula and I got an Uber to Walmart to resupply. I also got stuff for my heat rash-which by the way the pharmacist was appalled when I showed him, certain it was poison ivy or poison sumac and that I needed to see a doctor and shower daily. Yeeeeah, ok. Neither of those things are going to happen. He did get me worried that I was wrong, so I googled pictures and definitely feel like it’s heat rash. If it was something that could spread, I’d have it head to toe because I don’t know how to leave things alone! Plus it’s quite literally only where my shorts rub and where my backpack sits and causes sweat to pour out and rub, TMI, I know- but isn’t that the whole point of a blog-to tell you way too much information haha!
Anyway, we got what we needed and caught a Lyft back to the motel. Lizard and I gathered our stuff and walked down the street to the holiday inn express. TownLegs and TBird are just a couple doors down, so I went to chat with them about my rash, since TownLegs recently had a horrible bout of poison ivy. They agreed that they think it’s just a bad heat rash and that DoubleDecker has it bad, too, all over her legs from hiking wet in pants.. but good news, it’s healing up quickly. Maybe I do stand a chance. When they went to Walgreens they picked me up a sponge to bathe in creeks with at the end of the day. I’ve just been using my bandana, and honestly never thought about wiping off so high on my legs. I was more or less just washing the dirt off, not thinking I needed to wipe the sweat from everywhere to keep my pores from clogging. Makes perfect sense.
Lizard and I ended up having a “spa evening” lol! She showered and took a bath with the aromatherapy bath salts that help achy muscles, with epsom salt. While she did her thing, I rearranged and packed my gear for tomorrow. I got a small thing of nail polish, so when she was done in the bathroom, I went in and did the same (along with a scrub for my heat rash), and she painted her nails. That bath was incredible. And the soaps/shampoos from the hotel actually smelled fantastic! When I got out, Lizard had already ordered dinner, so we ate and then I painted my toenails. There’s something about painted nails that just make a woman feel.. pretty again. I know I must look like a walking disaster, but the polish boosted my morale way more than I expected it to. The shaved legs and armpits helped a lot, too. Lol I’d be a real shitty hippie!
Now that my toes are dry and I’m in the huge, comfy bed, I see that it’s already after 10pm! That’s way after hiker midnight and I’m pooped. I have to get up and be at the motel up the street by 8am to catch a ride to the trail with Derby, Cholula, and Curmudgeon. Lizard will get to sleep in (I hope she takes full advantage of this awesome room), because she has to wait on her shoes to arrive tomorrow. This whole getting shoes has been a nightmare. I won’t have mine until Monday at the earliest. Such is life I guess.
I hope y’all sleep as well as I’m about to! Goodnight!