Date: 2018-06-29
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 0.0

What a sweet sight...my Next Step running across the field to get to me!! From my car I couldnt really tell where in the woods he would be coming from, I just knew where the trail crossed the road. I had looked down at my phone to check the time and when I looked back up, there he was, in a dead sprint! Didn't matter that he had just hiked 20 miles in rainy and treacherous conditions. I couldn¢t help but tear up just knowing that we were going to be back together again in a matter of seconds! Made me think of another time I had been waiting for us to be back together, but that time it was for HIS return. Back in 1991 when he was returning from a deployment to the Gulf War, I was at an Air Force hangar waiting for his plane to arrive. Many of the spouses were there, standing on the pavement watching the sky. And then, way off in the distance we saw a tiny light and we all started cheering because we knew that was their plane! Our loved ones were just moments away from us! All of the soldiers got off the plane and were still quite far from where we were all gathered. And of course, they were all dressed in their BDUs and maroon berets. You would think it would have been impossible to tell one from the other from so far away. But I knew his walk as soon as I saw him and I took off in a sprint to run out to meet him! Had lots of tears in my eyes that day!! I was so thankful he made it back safely. As he mentioned, I had quite an adventure of my own, on my drive back to our meeting spot. I left Mount Sterling, KY around 10:30 am on Wednesday. My precious parents took me to the rental car agency and sang ¢Happy Trails¢ as I got in the rental car. We all held up our ¢I love you¢ sign as I drove out of sight. They were so happy that I was going to be able to finish the journey with Next Step. But I know it was hard for them to watch me drive off not knowing if I had healed enough to be able to actually hike another 700 miles with my full backpack. We¢ll know soon enough :-)I had planned to drive until about 8:30 pm on the first day of my trip. Didn¢t want to overdo it. I pulled into the first motel I found and was disappointed that the only room they had was a suite. Way more than I needed for just myself, so I decided to drive a bit farther. As soon as I got back on the interstate, there was a sign indicating that there was a fog alert. No worries, I¢ll just get off at the next exit with a motel. By that time it was starting to get dark and the farther I drove, the thicker the fog was getting. I saw a sign for a motel at the next exit, but the fog was so heavy that I literally passed the exit ramp! I was driving on the shoulder and thought I was on the highway until the shoulder came to an end!!! By this time I was white-knuckled and only driving about 40 mph when I got back on the actual road! I saw another sign for a motel and slowed down even more so that I wouldn't pass it up this time. When I made it to the lobby, the clerk told me that she had just given the last room to the couple in front of me, but she could give me directions to another motel not far away. Sure! No problem! I can barely even see my car, I¢m sure I can find it!!! At this point, I could only see the dotted lines in the middle of the highway. Not sure if the lines on the shoulder were there or not. I had decided that if the next motel did not have a vacancy I would just drive across the street to the Mc Donalds and sleep in a booth. Fortunately she had one room left. It was a Smoking room, but that was no longer an issue. Just give me the key so I can lie down before I pass out from fright! Of course it started pouring as soon as I got ready to get my stuff out of the car. I just grabbed my wallet and keys and decided anything else could wait until the morning. After living in the woods for three months my ¢needs¢ have greatly decreased!! By then it was about 10:30; way past hiker midnight. I was just thankful to be there all in one piece. I headed out on Thursday around 8 am and made it to Miss Maria¢s Place in Salisbury, CT at noon to pick up some Next Step¢s gear. Had a BEAUTIFUL drive thru New York and Connecticut. Amazing what a difference a day can make?!?! Drove on to Great Barrington, MA and found a great little lunch spot, the Bistro Box. Did a re-con to find where the trail crossed Route 7 so I wouldnt have any trouble finding Next Step. Of course I earned my trail name all over again. Enough said. Found us a motel and got my gear unloaded. Then headed back to wait for him to arrive. We¢ve already covered all of that, but it still makes me smile to think about it. We¢ve had a wonderful zero day today which started with breakfast at the local donut shop. Ghost and Epic came in while we were there, so we were able to take them to town to get Epic some new hiking shoes and then drop them at the laundromat. They were planning on hiking 30 miles today, so that might be the only time I ever get to see them. By then it was time for lunch so I took Next Step to the Bistro Box for burgers, which were amazing BTW. We decided to keep our rental vehicle for a couple of extra days, just to make sure my back is going to cooperate. So we drove out to where we plan to finish our hike tomorrow to see if there was a good place to leave the car. There wasn't, but Next Step came up with Plan B and talked our motel owner into giving us a ride to the start point tomorrow morning and then he¢ll yogie us a ride back to the motel tomorrow to pick up the car. Fortunately, some things never change. LolWe ended the zero with a movie...shocker. Perfect ending to our Zero! Now time to call it a day and just hope that everything goes well tomorrow. But for right now, I¢m just glad to be right where I am at this moment, with my Next Step!Hugs, Which WayElevation Data: N/AWeather:Day - 92 / SunnyNight - 62 / ClearOver The Horizon: Mount Greylock, MA