Tonight, I am laying in my tent, with a smile on my face. I feel so much more calm & at ease after taking advice from my friends & the hiker community. I slowed down significantly. I began doing 25 miles a day, rather than 35. I now honor what my body is telling me. If I feel called to take a break, I’ll stay for an hour & massage my feet & legs & won’t let myself follow thoughts that try to convince me I’m not doing enough. I skipped around 200 miles. I plan on reaching the border around the 15th & will make my way southbound to complete the miles I skipped. It’s important to me to finish what I started & be true to myself in doing what I told myself I was going to do. I want to try my absolute best, but I want to do it out of love. It took me 4 months to realize that I was hiking the trail mostly out of fear. I was making comparisons to other hikers, I felt myself rushing, I didn’t take the time to be still & truly enjoy what was in front of me. It wasn’t until the moment I took a hitchhiking adventure to skip those miles that I actually felt myself slow down, catch my breath, & see that I was doing it all from the “wrong” state of mind. I’m so glad I didn’t quit. This hiker community has a way of holding each other up so strongly that it feels like you can find the strength to take one more step… & then another & then another. Onward to Canada. ❤️