MM 120.5 The terrain changed drastically after Lordsburg. I started to enter rolling hills with a mixture of sand, cacti, pine trees and snow.
I also hit MM 100!!! 🎉🎊🥳 It felt much easier compared to the CT and PCT. Not easier perse, just a better idea of knowing what kind of physical pain to expect by that time.
I got some gnarly blisters on my toes. I smile when I look at them because I think of my friend Orange Man. We had the same start date on the PCT and he hiked hundreds of miles with me. One day I broke down in the desert from the apparent pain I was experiencing. He held space for me as I cried out of frustration. Later at camp, he did the honor of popping each blister. I remember feeling frightened of the experience since it was completely new to me. I thought that would be the end of the hike.
And here I am, with the same sized blisters, smiling. Recognizing that it happens and it’s part of the experience and that they will eventually turn into calluses. I’ll probably pop them with the wire wrapping of my tortilla bag and make a video because someone in my tramily group requested it. 😂
I set up camp in the midst of a pine forest. As it got dark, the individual stars came out and the trees turned into silhouettes. My mom called just as I was about to go to bed. She said it was time for me to come home so she could handcuff me to my bedroom so I would stop running away and doing all these hikes. 😂
My biggest test on the trail, specifically the past couple of years, is leaving my family behind. When the inspiration hits, it’s time to go. And although they might not see it, I do a lot of these trails for them. Partially because the little girl inside of me seeks their approval. I know I didn’t turn out the way they think they wanted me to be. Married with kids, living in a home with a white picket fence, etc.
And so I collect these photos to scrapbook and have them at the house so they can see the way I smile when I’m traveling. I can feel how excited they are to show off my pictures to their friends even though it follows with them telling me it’s time I live a normal life.
Still, they are the ones I look forward to talking to at the end of the day. To hear the voice of my mother, father, grandpa, and brother is a blessing. I must’ve been blind as a teenager when I thought I wanted something different.
I also hit MM 100!!! 🎉🎊🥳 It felt much easier compared to the CT and PCT. Not easier perse, just a better idea of knowing what kind of physical pain to expect by that time.
I got some gnarly blisters on my toes. I smile when I look at them because I think of my friend Orange Man. We had the same start date on the PCT and he hiked hundreds of miles with me. One day I broke down in the desert from the apparent pain I was experiencing. He held space for me as I cried out of frustration. Later at camp, he did the honor of popping each blister. I remember feeling frightened of the experience since it was completely new to me. I thought that would be the end of the hike.
And here I am, with the same sized blisters, smiling. Recognizing that it happens and it’s part of the experience and that they will eventually turn into calluses. I’ll probably pop them with the wire wrapping of my tortilla bag and make a video because someone in my tramily group requested it. 😂
I set up camp in the midst of a pine forest. As it got dark, the individual stars came out and the trees turned into silhouettes. My mom called just as I was about to go to bed. She said it was time for me to come home so she could handcuff me to my bedroom so I would stop running away and doing all these hikes. 😂
My biggest test on the trail, specifically the past couple of years, is leaving my family behind. When the inspiration hits, it’s time to go. And although they might not see it, I do a lot of these trails for them. Partially because the little girl inside of me seeks their approval. I know I didn’t turn out the way they think they wanted me to be. Married with kids, living in a home with a white picket fence, etc.
And so I collect these photos to scrapbook and have them at the house so they can see the way I smile when I’m traveling. I can feel how excited they are to show off my pictures to their friends even though it follows with them telling me it’s time I live a normal life.
Still, they are the ones I look forward to talking to at the end of the day. To hear the voice of my mother, father, grandpa, and brother is a blessing. I must’ve been blind as a teenager when I thought I wanted something different.
