Date: 2018-06-17
From: Tom Floyd Shelter

To: DickÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Dome Shelter
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: light rain

I had a great hike today! It was overcast and extremely humid. The black flies seemed to like the weather and hovered in a swarm right in front of my face, getting in my eyes, up my nose and between my teeth as I smiled and walked. Finally I sprayed my hat with bug spray and that seemed to fend them off. Sweat kept dripping off the end of my nose and my chin like a pair of leaky faucets. The trail had numerous lengthy flat sections, but that is only part of what was lifting my spirits. We are so close now to the half way point of the trail and I am extremely excited to reach that milestone. By Wednesday we should reach harpers ferry which is the psychological halfway point of the trail.After a time I begin to think about what I will look forward to after we reach the half way point. I will need continuous motivation to keep my spirits up and my sights on the finish line. What will that motivation be?When we begin this journey I knew that the success rate for thru hikers was very low. At one point I even asked myself, If I don¢t make it to the end, how far must I go to be content with my results? Will 100 miles be enough? Will 500 miles be enough? Will halfway be enough? I never did come up with an answer to that question, and now I know why. Only 2195 miles will be enough. If I don¢t make it to the end, there is no distance that will comfort me. When I sit at home thinking about what I didn¢t achieve, no number of miles, no matter how great, will console my disappointment in myself. Will this realization be the motivation I need? I am not sure.We stopped at Jim and Molly Denton shelter for lunch. It is a beautiful new shelter with a porch and Adirondack chairs and even a solar shower. When I first arrived I was determined to take a shower despite the fact that the water was freezing cold. However I decided to sit and have lunch first. Big mistake. By the time my lunch was finished I had cooled off considerably and there was no way that I wanted a freezing cold shower. Less than a mile down the trail I was once again ready for that cold shower. Too late, I missed my chance.In about 5 miles we came to another shelter and stopped to replenish our water and take a nice long break. With the holes in our water bag, it was very difficult to filter water. I have come to the conclusion that Sawyer sucks at making water collection bags. They all spring leaks within a short period of time.The remaining 4.5 miles of the day seemed sluggish and long. The sun had made an appearance and the Air didn¢t feel quite as sticky. However, I was tired. Very tired. So tired that my eyes were heavy and my head was feeling a little cloudy. I ate a protein bar and drank a half a liter of water to try to give myself an energy boost.With only .4 to go I thought I was going to nod off. So, I did what any sane hiker would do....I started to dance my way down the trail. Under my breath I chanted ¢go girl, you go girl, you do this point four, do this point four.¢ I laughed at myself, stubbed my toe a couple of times and imagined how embarrassed Cole would be if he saw me. I quickly reached the trail leading to the shelter. It was a blue blaze....... point four miles long. Normally that would have made me grumble. Not this time! This time I turned down that blue blazed trail and started dancing down the trail all over again. ¢go girl, you go girl, you do this point four, do this point four!¢We had a strong Verison signal in the shelter area. Cole was able to video call his dad and wish him a Happy Father¢s Day.