To Bee a Flip Flop
tales of
the Sparkle Chasing Mountain Mermaid
called Neck Knife
You’re the only 10 I see
October 25, 2020
Written on day 156, at mile 1797.7
I’m 28 years old! Crazy... I still feel 12, ha. My birthday was the 21st, and I had the best day, but let me backtrack.
I was really on the struggle bus for a minute there. I was tired and just dragging ass. I was feeling lonely, pushing myself one day, thinking I could maybe catch some friends, then barely moving another day with a lack of motivation.
Yoga breaks on all the flat surfaces
Then, I had this big realization, that I was really close to the end, that this whole hike would be over before I knew it. Did I really want to end on a sour note? Did I really want to drag myself to the end? Hell no. It was time to change my routine, my attitude, my motives.
I let go of ever catching my friends. I reminded myself that I wanted a really solo journey with nature and my thoughts. I vowed to do whatever I needed every day to make the day enjoyable and end this hike on a high note. That means sleeping in, or just snuggling in my sleeping bag for an extra hour, taking long yoga breaks, meditating, ending the day when I’m tired of walking and not even paying attention to how far I’ve gone, just cruising at whatever pace is natural and enjoyable that day, landing me anywhere from 6 to 22 miles.
Snuggling in my tent
And wow was that a game changer. My blues faded. I am having fun again. I shifted my mind back to appreciating how special of an opportunity this is. I brought my attention back to the subtle beauties in nature. There are so many subtleties in the changing of leaves, and being able to spend every day watching the process has been really neat. Some leaves change from the veins out, some leaves change in more of a spotted pattern, then add in all the color variations! I started personifying leaves that reminded me of certain friends... I’ve also collected a few leaves of specific colors for future hair color inspiration.
I invented a few new games. One particularly hard one, where you try and eat trail mix one item at a time... you lose when you end up grabbing more than one item or, usually for me, a handful. It’s so hard. My high score for that one is 8... so, there’s room for improvement.
I have been going through a ton of pastures and am still not thrilled by cows. I went through one pasture when the rancher was there and he somehow called all the cows. They came running towards me mooing... it was pretty hilarious and awful. There are some killer views going through the pastures though. For the most part I am in the trees, so it is refreshing when I get to cleared areas and can see farther than 100 yards.
I went through the Grayson Highlands recently, which is an area at about 5k feet with wild ponies. You guessed it- I am not a pony person. It is a very popular park, and every person I passed wanted to talk for like 20 minutes about my hike. I can handle one or two of these a day, but not 15. It was very overwhelming, but I survived, and laughed a lot.
There are still lots of snakes out and about, and big news- I almost picked one up the other day!! But I didn’t, haha, so close.
The fall vibes have been full steam. I catch so many leaves with my trekking poles (another fun game). My favorite is when the wind blows and all the leaves fall in this beautiful, slow motion, sparkle rain.
I scared these snakes, and they ran under a rock to cuddle 🥰
Quiet morning at the tail end of the Highlands. I sat here for a while. So peaceful.
Leaf rain 👏🏽
I love waking up to the leaves on my tent.
I have been hostel hopping through the south. It’s a great way to get a social fix and talk trail things with hikers and former hikers. The hostels are quite spectacular, too. They have some really creative and funky set ups. I treated myself to a cute cabin and got to throw my old shoes in a hiker tree! Fun fact, I’m on my 5th and final pair of shoes.
After 544 miles in Virginia, I finally entered Tennessee! Crossing that border, it really hit me that this thing was coming to an end. Since then, I’ve been averaging about 10 miles a day, really focusing on soaking in every step, sound, view, and simple pleasure of trail life.
Hiker shoe tree at the Broken Fiddle Hostel in Damascus, Virginia
My little cabin at Boots Off Hostel in Tennessee
I got a super special surprise, my girl, Dr. Sauce dawg, came to visit me for a night! She was on her way home from a backpacking trip (she misses the woods life) so she stopped in and camped with me for a night. It was so special to see her again, it felt like no time had passed. It was really nice to have a friend for a night.
🥰
My birthday was a few days ago and wow was it special. I slept by a river, listening to the water all night. I spent the day hiking along the water, in my bathing suit for easy swim access- it was 75 and sunny. I took a 3 hour yoga and swim break at a bridge. I was giggling, singing, and jumping off rocks, just having the best time by myself. I usually get sad on my birthday… not totally sure why, just really introspective and reflective. But this year I am really happy and so proud of myself and where I’m at. I’ve made a lot of great decisions this past year. I have let go of a lot of bull shit and have learned so much. I’m feeling grateful and at ease. I hiked to a little clearing and set up camp in time for the sunset, where I was able to get some cell service to receive lots of birthday love from all over. It was probably my favorite birthday to date.
Birthday vibes ✨
Trees on Wataga Dam, Tennessee
I got to a hostel last night, called The Station at 19e, where they have a trail magic program that allows friends and family to buy hikers beers. This was great because it was karaoke night. And even though I didn’t have any friends to embarrass myself in front of, I still needed some liquid courage. I sang Bobby McGee and Something to Talk About. I killed it... but no proof, sorry 😉
I plan to ride this hike out to December 1st, and enjoy every last bit.
395.3 miles to go!