Generous Support Along the Alabama Road Walk
This morning I heard Fresh Ground start cooking around 5am. Then he got the propane fire pit going and I could see the glow through my tent. So I began getting packed up and ready to roll. Then sat over by the fire and enjoyed a hot mocha and some delicious breakfast.
For breakfast we had blueberry and banana pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, and bacon! It was all so good. Then we sat around for a while and just enjoyed the warmth of the fire pit. Lately we really haven’t been feeling rushed at all. If we’re only doing 30 miles a day, then we don’t have to be starting super early. Unless for some reason we want to finish up extra early for the day. Even if we start around 7am I know we’ll see be done before 5pm.
Eventually we decided to pack up and get back to walking. The spot that we got picked up at yesterday evening is about 10 miles back down the road. So Fresh Ground drove us back down and we got moving again. Luckily today is a Sunday, so the road is going to be much more quiet today! Yesterday was ridiculously busy and there was a constant flow of cars along the drive. I’m excited for a slightly quieter morning and day.
Once we got dropped off we began walking once more. Fresh Ground headed back to the KOA campground and we will see him in a few hours when we walk by there. Our route brought us by some gas stations, fast food places, and a Walmart. But we really didn’t need anything. So we just kept it moving. Time flew by along the road, which was super quiet to start. It was nice to enjoy some peace and calm while we could. The never ending sound and feeling of cars whipping past you can definitely be a lot.
At one point I wound up talking to my dad on the phone for a little while. It was nice to get caught up while he was on his way to work. Then just before 10am we passed by the KOA and Fresh Ground was parked there in the dirt waiting for us.
He had chairs out for us and the cooler full of cold drinks, as well as some fruit. I had a sprite and sat there to stretch briefly. Then we kept it moving! We had another 20 miles to go for the day to get to our stopping point. Which will be a little bit shy of the city of Troy. But Fresh Ground will be able to pick us up and bring us into town so we can find a place to stay.
Leaving there it was a whole lot more of the same. Walking along highway 231, which was now pretty busy by this point in the day. Certainly not as busy as Saturday was though. This next stretch of road actually had some pretty big hills too! Which was actually really nice. It felt good to use some muscles which have been sitting on the side lines for the last month. We made really good time while we were climbing over this next section. Rather than a 3MPH pace we were moving closer to 3.5-4MPH. I could feel it, but that actually felt good too. And meant that we made a lot better time over those next couple hours.
By around 1:30pm we made it through an area with a church and another dirt pull off. Fresh Ground was parked there waiting for us once more. He had the chairs out for us and the cooler with drinks and fruit. I ate a couple pickles and drank a cold coke. And he let us know that a man named Jeff who follows me actually reached out. We’ve been in touch since I was on the CDT because he was contemplating doing the Eastern Continental trail with his son. So I answered some questions for him and we stayed in touch along the hike. Apparently he knows this area and reached out to offer to put us up in a room for the night! Which was so ridiculously nice of him.
Once again, there aren’t really a lot of tenting options around here. Because we’re doing the Alabama road walk on this different route along 231, it’s a whole lot busier than the quieter roads along the actual ARW route. Which means being able to stay in the room tonight is a life saver! That will make things a lot simpler for us.
When we got to this break spot we only had about 9 miles to go for the day to hit our 30 mile mark. Which meant we didn’t have long to go now. We would get into town pretty early, which is always nice. Maybe we’ll even be able to do laundry again. You have to use the opportunity whenever you can. The first few weeks of the hike we hardly did laundry or got the opportunity to shower much. But because we’ve been walking highways and roads we’ve had to stop in town more often. Which won’t always be the case over the course of the year. So I’m enjoying the comforts and relaxation while we have it. Plus we’re still getting in the same amount of mileage. This past week we’ve stayed in rooms probably 4 times. That’s a whole lot! This stretch of “trail” isn’t going to be like the actual triple crown trail. Where town stops and fewer and further in between. And I know we’ll be roughing it a whole lot more. I’m just enjoying the comforts while we can.
After sitting there for a while and having something to drink we got moving again. It was around 2pm so we would likely get to the pickup location a little before 5pm if we continued making good time. As we walked I ate a snack and listened to some music. Then watched some videos to distract myself and help the time fly by.
We passed by a dollar general after an hour or so and decided to stop in quickly. We got some chocolate milk and then kept on going. This dollar general didn’t have a bell to get the employees attention. Instead it had a rubber pig that said “squeeze me for cashier”, which I thought was hilarious. Of course I had to squeeze the pig.
After we had our milk break we kept walking for another hour or so to finish off the day. We picked a gas station as our stopping location because it was right at our mileage goal. And we wound up making great time and getting there right around 4:30pm. Fresh Ground was waiting for us when we arrived. Then he drove us about 8-10 miles into the city of Troy. Where Jeff had already booked a room for us at the days inn! What a guy! That is so incredibly generous and much appreciated. We reached out to him to let him know how grateful we were for the support. It’s crazy how something like this can make such a big difference for us along the way. It helps us greatly, and every room that we can save money on is going to save us for a moment when weather is bad and we have no choice to stop and stay somewhere. So a huge thank you to Jeff for hooking us up and taking such good care of us!
Once we got into town we headed to the motel and checked in. They even had laundry right down the hall from our room. So we showered and then got everything together to do a load. It hasn’t been that long since we did laundry last, but maybe 5 or so days. It’s always nice to start fresh and be able to shower and do laundry on the same day. That feels so good.
Then we ate leftover spaghetti and garlic bread at the room from dinner last night. And just relaxed and watched TV at the room. Later on we headed next door to a place called Jacks which made milkshakes. Then brought them back to the room to finish off the night with even more luxury and relaxation. What a treat.
I stayed up a little late watching TV and getting some writing and video work done. Then eventually did my stretching before calling it a night.
If you enjoyed this blog and would like to support my hike by buying me a soda or a snack along the way, there is a “Tip the Author” button below! It links directly to my Venmo. Any and all support is incredibly appreciated!
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Comments 11
Shamrock farms for the win!
Yes, enjoy the luxury while you can! Fresh Grounds & a room & laundry, too!!
Lol Tip the author 😆 Another hiker who chooses to hike. Yet makes it out to be hard, and ask working people for money 😆 🤣
Haters going hate while pretending to laugh. Stopping to be rude on someone’s blog is the opposite of kind. Jerkish behavior needs to be pointed out and shamed. Please move along without your two cents and know your assholery has now doubled my donation.
Michelle, As one of those “working people,” I am perfectly capable of deciding if I want to tip the author or not. I have chosen to do so. It was my choice and my right. As a hiker myself, to say what Pegleg is doing isn’t hard, shows how much you really don’t know about thru hiking. Trail angels help hikers all up and the AT, so why are you being so critical of Pegleg?
There’s nothing wrong with asking for a tip. Between the hike, blog, Instagram and YouTube, she’s putting in a ton of effort, and probably getting little reward. If people want to buy her a drink, or a hotel room, more power to them. It’s a simple way, to thank her, be part of her story, and feel good about yourself.
Gotta go with Lish on this one. You may not value the effort and time that goes into blogging and vlogging while hiking, though you are here reading, but a lot of us do. If people choose to buy a soda or a night in a room or just give money to go when and where it’s needed that is none of your business.
Talk about “reality stress”. Try figuring out
“NPR”,s “Morning Edition” (sunday)”puzzler”.
As to the importance of having “over-arching”
goals, note the following. Diana Nyad (long-dis-
tance swimmer), once failed on an attempt.
When a heavy fog rolled in, it prevented her
from seeing the shoreline to which she was des-
tined. When she could no longer see the “goal”,
she said : ” I just gave up”.
Fantastic job! What a great day of trail love. So glad you’re getting some great support ❤️ As for these folks who seem to think it’s okay to come on to your page to be critical, they really do need to find another platform to voice their concerns. You are a much better person than any of them could even dream of being. If you message me the next town you’d like to stay in, I would be honoured to pay for a room – I’m still struggling with my venmo and can’t for the life of me work out why I can’t get money to transfer ❤️
Negativity is not hate… just sayin’
Keep moving forward and leave the negativity behind. You’re doing a great job and I look forward to reading about your adventures every day ❣️