Days 120 + 121

Day 120: Mile 1209.9 | Eagle's Nest Shelter

We had done more than 17 miles a day for more than a few days. We'd made major progress, coming up on 1,200 miles! I was cooked. Exhausted. Dead. My legs didn't want to move when I woke up. I was stiff. My Achilles were tight because my calves were tight because my hamstrings were tight because I had been hiking, of course. The stiff, sore, tightness never really goes away on a thru-hike but I was truly exhausted this morning and the pain felt worse than usual. I got up anyway and early. Our 5am wakeup call was barely after sunrise.

Miles and I had been talking (pretty much since we started hiking together back in Marion, VA (over 600 miles ago)) about being more productive, efficient, and crushing more miles. We were always saying, "If we just get up early we can do more miles and get more daylight. We could even avoid the heat!" But we rarely, if ever, followed through. It was all talk and no game for a while. We had talked the night before about getting up early and crushing it. We were going to hike separately this day at our own paces and go hard. The heat had been killing us and we were ready to beat it for once.

I immediately deflated my sleeping pad when I woke up so that I couldn't go back to sleep. I ate two packages of Belvita bites, chugged a liter of water, and got ready for my day. We were up and out in the cool, early morning air. I walked with Miles for the first part of the day. At this time, we were still sharing a water bottle for filtering because mine broke back in Shenandoah and I hadn't replaced it properly in Duncannon. We moved quickly through the humid morning with clear sun shining overhead. As we walked we chatted, I guess kind of loudly. I truly didn't even think about it. We passed some people still at camp and quieted down. As we passed I commented, "Do you think they're taking a zero in the woods?" Miles laughed and pointed out that it was only 7am. We'd already been walking for two hours but they were just getting up.

It felt good to be so productive. At a time when our day usually hadn't even come close to starting, we had already walked four miles and we still hadn't taken our first break. Even though I was exhausted, getting up early was a shock to my system and I had some kind of new energy. Miles and I split up after our first break. He went ahead with the water bottle and I carried two liters myself to make sure I could make it to the next water source. We agreed he would hide the water bottle by the next water source.

I listened to music at first but it felt like nothing could fit my mood. I was positive and motivated but also dead tired and very hot. Eventually, I realized my battery was dying and that I couldn't listen to music or podcasts or else I would risk not getting to take a photo at the 1,200 mile marker! It worried me that I wouldn't be able to look at Guthook (my guidebook app) and I lamented this to Miles that morning. My external battery that I used to charge my phone was already dead and I had no way to recharge it. Miles laughed and said he'd see me at camp I could live without my phone for a day.

At that point I had only gone one day without looking at my phone and I genuinely didn't realize how addicted to my phone I was until I realized I couldn't use it. I was consumed by social media and listening to some kind of audio content during at least half of my time alone. But most importantly I was addicted to checking Guthook. I always wanted to know where I was, what was ahead, how much further I had left to go to get to my goal, what the elevation profile was, where the next water was. It was ridiculous. I anxiously checked it at least fifteen times a day. It was unhealthy and it was making my hike harder because I was obsessing about how many miles I'd done and the climbs that were coming up. It was truly ridiculous and it wasn't helping me.

I'd definitely gotten better about social media out here. I didn't scroll as much anymore, I mostly just checked up on where my friends were on trail that I wanted to see. I posted only once every other day mostly. I unfriended and unfollowed a lot of negative people and a lot of filler content or advertising that I didn't need to be following. I'd filtered out a lot of bullshit and time wasting that I had been doing on the internet. But I was still addicted to checking my notifications, seeing how many likes I had, getting followers, and comments. I guess until this day I didn't realize how bad it truly was, though.

I went through the day only using my phone to take pictures. It was surprisingly hard to meter my use. I was disappointed in myself and how much I was checking these things that didn't really matter. Here's a couple photos:

I made it to the water source that Miles left the bottle at. I sat and filtered my water. Instead of pulling out my phone to look at Guthook or check social media or read on my Kindle app I focused on my breathing. I looked around me and took in my surroundings. I tried to pay attention to all of the natural sounds around me: warblers trilling, thrushes talking, water trickling in the stream, the light breeze cutting through the humid heat. The sweat rolled down my face even just sitting still. I felt calm and mostly at peace but I also felt this stupid tug to check my notifications.

I got up and kept walking. I made it to 1,200 miles by myself and snapped one last picture as my phone died. The bugs were bad and I dug out my bug net to keep the gnats out of my eyes. I trudged through the humid heat at the end of my long day. By 3pm I had made it 20 miles and walked the half mile side trail to the shelter I had agreed to meet Miles at. He was there, lounging on his sleeping pad and eating. We shared about our days and he pointed out, "See? You made it the whole day without your phone. It wasn't that hard, was it?" On one hand he was right. I had made it and it wasn't that hard, but it had consumed my thoughts for most of the day and not looking at the guide kind of made me anxious. It was this day that I resolved I would need to work on this addiction.

I made myself a Goober sandwich and ate it while we sat there. Krafty and Supersize (of the Woo Crew) came up to the shelter while we were eating. We hadn't seen them in almost a month! Not since Shenandoah. We had, apparently, caught up to them! It felt good knowing that we'd worked hard enough to catch up to a crew that was usually faster than us. Especially after taking a few neros in Shenandoah and early Pennsylvania. They were good company, positive people, and I was so happy to see them again. They told us all about their great day, how they went swimming and how they had walked low miles that day. They both made themselves food and we all sat around and talked about all we had missed from each other in the past month.

Soon after, the rest of the Woo Crew (Blackbird, TNT, and Biscuits) showed up. They all got water at the shelter and decided to move on to a stealth site. I was satisfied with my miles. I was cooked and I didn't want to go any further. Me and Miles decided to camp at this shelter that night. We went and set up our tents in the mid-afternoon sun. Miles let me use one charge from his battery to limp my phone to Port Clinton. We went to bed early.

In the middle of the night I was awoken by one of the loudest rain storms we had experienced yet. It poured and I eventually fell asleep to the sound of rain.

Day 121: Mile 1217.8 | Port Clinton Hotel

It was a rough morning this day. We hadn't showered or done laundry in about a week. We had decided to stay at the not so great and overpriced Port Clinton Hotel because everything else in the area was booked. I tried all afternoon to get a cheaper and better room in nearby Hamburg, but no such luck. We hiked into town and on the way the Pennsylvania rocks bent Miles' poles (the rocks also bent or broke all 16 tent stakes Miles and I had combined...). He got upset and went ahead of me. When I got down to the town he was there waiting for me, still very upset about his poles.

We walked into the surprisingly noisy but small town of Port Clinton and tried to go to the post office first. It was closed. Miles (exhausted, angry, and hungry) left the post office to go get a room. I yelled up the noisy road to him as he ran away, "Wait! What about this B & B here?" I called them as he walked away from me, thinking he was going to turn around and come back. They were about $10 cheaper than the Port Clinton Hotel and they had air conditioning. I called Miles' phone but he didn't answer. I texted him to tell him I'd wait for him at the post office, where he had a package coming, and he could meet me there. He didn't respond. I waited there for almost half an hour. I didn't know where the Port Clinton Hotel was; but when he didn't show up to the post office, I realized I'd have to find it.

I left the post office, where a flip-flop hiker generously shared a banana with me, and tried to contain my anger. To me it felt like Miles had run away from me and rage quit. It was so frustrating. He wouldn't listen to me. He wouldn't stop for a second to help me make a decision. And now he wouldn't even answer his freaking phone so I could figure out what room he was in or if even got a room or what was going on. I angrily walked up to the Port Clinton Hotel along a busy street. When I walked up I saw that the only entrance was through the pub. I went in with my pack on because I assumed I was checking in.

Once inside I recognized Poe was sitting at the bar! We hadn't seen him since Virginia! Like before Shenandoah! He gave me a big ol' hug and said he'd come upstairs and visit us in a few minutes before he took off for the trail. The woman working the bar yelled to me, "Honey you have to take your pack off to come in here!" and then went into the next room to serve some people in the restaurant before I could let her know that I was trying to check in and the sign said to come in through the bar. I stood there and waited for her to come back for a few minutes. When she did come back I tried to explain to her that I thought my boyfriend might've checked in and I was just trying to find him.

She replied, "Do you want a room or not?" I tried to tell her again that I thought my boyfriend had already checked in and was just trying to find him. "Did you call him?" She asked. I told her I thought his phone was dead. "Whatever, Sweetie." She replied with the wave of a hand and sent me upstairs to find Miles, without even telling me a room number. What was it with Pennsylvania hotel people having such strong attitudes?

I went up the stairs and found the only closed door, room 7, and knocked. Miles opened the door with a huff and collapsed onto the bed. I dropped my pack on the floor and felt my face get red and hot. I turned to Miles, who was face down on the bed. "Are you done with your little tantrum now?" I asked him with stinging anger. "No!" He said. I was so mad. "Are you kidding me?!" I responded. I tried to explain to him that we could've gotten a slightly cheaper room (not that it even freaking mattered anyway, my dramatic self was being ridiculous on principle). I tried to ask him what was wrong. I tried to be there for him but I was also mad. But I could tell he was going through something.

He grunted through the pillow, "My poles are broken and I can't replace them. I just wanted to shower. I'm cooked, ok?" I got all of his points but I still didn't understand how that qualified for a temper tantrum and why that made it okay to just run away from me. I prodded him more. I tried to show him how he was making me feel. I was anxious and on edge now because of him and I was also just as exhausted as he was but now I had to coddle his feelings instead of taking care of myself.

What I realize now is that I didn't need to coddle his feelings. He's an adult. I should've just dealt with myself and left him alone to deal with his issues. I can't go back, though. Eventually, he came around. He calmed down and realized he was being irrational. I went and showered and got all our laundry ready to go. I found chafe all over my back. It stung badly but it definitely could've been worse. Around 2pm Miles and I got our wallets out and went out to the road to get a hitch 3 miles up the road to Hamburg, where the resupply options and food were located.

We stood on the street for about ten minutes before a man pulled up to a nearby intersection and offered us a ride. He told us he had hitched across the country in the '70's and all about his vagabonding young adulthood. He once even got a hitch on the back of a motorcycle! He dropped us off at Cabela's, the only 'outfitter' in town. Cabela's was huge, the largest Cabela's in the world. They were very accommodating to hikers and even offered a hiker shuttle. It was huge and overwhelming. There were stuffed animals and vast aisles of jumbo freeze dried meals and ridiculously large tents. We found what we needed, a dirty water bag, on the top floor in a back corner. The only thing they sold that would work for me was a Platypus water bag. It would work but they had been known to leak a little bit because they couldn't make a proper seal with the O Ring inside of my sawyer. I went for the $12 solution anyway because it was really my only option.

After Cabela's we stopped at Five Guys to get burgers, fries, and shakes. On our way to WalMart to get our resupply and new shirts we ran into Knots and Stripes. They needed a place to shower and I offered up our shower. They said they'd text us when they got back to town. After we gathered what we needed at WalMart we went back to Cabela's and they gave us a ride to the Port Clinton Hotel.

I showered again when we got back and put our laundry in. Poe was still at the bar when we got back and he came upstairs to hang out with us for a while before he left. Knots and Stripes also came up to use the shower. We hung out with our fellow hikers for a while and went to bed late after a long day.