Date: 2015-07-23
From: stealth site/Bl;ack Mountain

To: road crossing 4 miles south of Fort Montgomery
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We packed up early today and set off for town. Holiday Inn Express here we come!We were supposed to have a zero, but we are still 9 miles away. We climbed just the last little part of Black Mountain and the views were incredible. New York City was visible as a ghostly apparition, seeming to float on the horizon. There were many tents on this summit, and some hardy souls were cowboy camping. Blueberries were ripe and sweet and abundant. Walking next to the rising sun, sweet berries in our mouths, sun shining- it was a morning to remember.The climb down was rocky and steep in places, but nothing as intense as the last couple of days. My feet were ACHING. Every step was pretty agonizing. We did another climb, passed a shelter, and then I threw the towel in. I told my partners I couldn't take another step. We got to a road crossing and called a cab-cuz HEY! We are in NY and they have cabs here! Cab picked us up and delivered us to our hotel and we were there before 10am so we had breakfast.My brother has the rewards points with Holiday Inn, nearly a million of them, because his company sends crews on the road and all the guys stay at this chain. The points accumulate, and I am one of the lucky recipients of the rewards rooms. He has enough points to keep his whole family in vacation rooms and often does that. Penn Tech International-thank you!We walked in hours before check in time, but the staff voluntarily upgraded us to a jacuzzi room so we could check in right away. They thanked me profusely for my membership and loyalty, gave me a goodie bag and sent me on my way. Red carpet treatment! Tom did just reach the highest level of membership, but I suspect the wonderful service was to get the three reeking hikers out of the lobby and into a shower as quickly as earthly possible.Our goals for the day; rest the feet, wash our mephitic backpacks, look ahead and make a plan. Falling short of our mileage goals is demoralizing, and having a deadline, Sept. 15 is very stressful. That is my deadline and it has a couple of wiggle room days in it, because I want to make it to the Big Big World Gala in Arlington, VA on the 19th. It is our semi annual big fundraiser and it is so much fun. I want to support my board colleagues and be there for them. (My hike is also a fundraiser-I walk for two charities I am involved in that provide direct support for kids without parents-please visit www.bigbigwalk.com to learn more)We washed our backpacks in the bathtub and I dried them on the asphalt while swimming in the pool.We ate barbecue for dinner. We talked frankly about the hike. All of us want to continue. We all realize that we will have ups and downs mentally as well as physically. We get it-and we are in it for the long haul. But we need to make an adjustment to our hike, and we can't figure out what that adjustment is.My package containing my Katwalk meals came today. Thank you Katwalk and thank you to my wonderful husband, who mailed them and always takes care of me. I also got the package from Katwalk with the sleeping bag, jacket, sleeping pad, and a headlight in it. My sleeping pad alone weighs as much as all of the gear she sent. I will be shedding 5 or 6 pounds. That perked me up! She will have to rip it out of my pack if she joins me for the end of this hike for the 100 mile wilderness and summits with us, which would be the perfect way to finish.I spoke to my husband and shared the plan D.No, C.Shell, and I had come up with. We factored in 15 10 mile days to account for the Whites and some of Maine, and the rest we would have to average 16. He thought this sounded unrealistic because we had factored no zeros. He pointed out that I had just had my longest stretch without a zero, 20 days, and seem to be paying a price for that. He said- take scheduled zeros, stay healthy-don't get hurt. He thought finishing the hike with my partners was important, if possible, and that if I made it to the Gala, great, if not, everyone would understand.That conversation made me feel so much better. Having a fixed end date makes this more hard than challenging. Miles come easier if you don't force them. If it were just a matter of walking, no problem, but the climbing and other obstacles make it difficult to determine how far you can hike on any given day. I still want to make the gala- but I don't HAVE to make the gala. That is the adjustment I needed.This hike is like a marriage. I started it on my wedding anniversary because that is a lucky day for me, commitment wise. I started with infatuation, enthusiasm, lust for the physical beauty of the trail, and wanted to do everything right. Then, like getting used to the personality of a partner, I had to adjust to the climbs, the occasional pain, the dry spells. The moments of pure love, of joy and satisfaction, are at the views or at streams, or especially beautiful sunsets. The high points in number are fewer than the steps I take, less than the physical exertion. I can hike a long way in the rain and cold, with aching feet, waiting for the sun. Sometimes I have not been sure I love this experience, I have thought about leaving the damn trail, but never seriously. My love has grown slowly from that immature and clueless infatuation I started with, it has grown quietly to a more mature and giving love. I am just now, over 1400 miles in, realizing how deeply I have fallen in love. What marriage doesn't have challenges? I guess you have to stick it out to get over the hard stuff and into the sweet stuff.I have lost 35 pounds. My legs are strong. My pack weight is down. The 7 year itch is over. I want to hike today.