WHY IS MY LEG DEFORMED? oh it’s a muscle…

What has it been now, a week or so, since my last post; time slips by so easily when your alarm is a squeaky sleep pad and hiker midnight is 9:30pm. Lots of things slip away actually, like manners and modesty, the memory of what a bed pillow feels like.  My hiking partner, Trial, and I are now in Duncannon, PA now resupplying and doing another unintended, but very needed zero day at Trail Angel Mary’s place.

On to my lists of things I have learned and observed:

1. The enormous bulging things on my calves are perfectly normal and it happens when you trudge your backside repeatedly up and down ridge lines day after day.
2.  Pennsylvania is beautiful, the shelters here are beautiful, the people are amazing. DO NOT LOOK UP WHEN YOU ARE WALKING. You will fall down.
3. Eating too many dates all at once is a very bad idea… enough said about that…
4. Trail Angels are just that, Angels. What they do for us is just mind blowing. I will never forget their kindness. This landscape can be as unforgiving as it is beautiful and without even the smallest gifts, words and the big helps from the amazing people, I really don’t know how some of us would get up the next hill some days.
5. To all of you jerk sauces that keep littering up the trail with your candy wrappers and cigarette butts and plastic bottles, curse words to you. Trial has been stopping the whole way just picking up after you and it is sucky. He didn’t come out here to be your trail mommie. I know that your trash seems small in your hand, but it causes a massive impact on this land. Pack it out. I will now take off my judgey pants.
6. This is HARD. I MEAN HARD HARD HARD. I hurt every morning, I hurt every night, I have two families of blisters on both of my feet and a married but separated couple on either side of my toes, and my pinky toe has decided to do some weird Mohawk blister thing now also.
7. Ibuprofen is now a vitamin.
8. I get stronger every day.
9. I hate climbing mountains; I love getting to the top of them.
10. I am not a person to follow up the trail…you will not get to the top.
11. I no longer have to sit on every single juicy rock on the way up the hill.
12. I am super glad that I came with Trial.
13. My support people Dave and Lolly are the most wonderful and patient people. We are very lucky to have them. The calls they get from us are ridiculous.
14. Everything I have smells like bad cheese, and I am pretty sure it will forever.

Well, I guess that is it for now. Until I can get to another town with internet

Random AT sign

, I will hike on and hope my feet don’t fail me now.