Day 135
Start: Dover Oak
End: Stealth Site
Miles Hiked: 4.8
Miles on AT: 1456.8
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Today was the day. Today was the day I would see if I could get back on trail and continue my thru hike.
I woke up early, eager to get my things ready to go for the long trip back to New York. My sinus infection had cleared up and I no longer had the headache I did yesterday. Everyone wanted me to say a few days longer, but I was ready to go.
I said my goodbyes and gave my hugs to my family. I told them, “Who knows? I might be back tomorrow!” With goodbyes done, I boarded the train to NY Penn Station and then made the journey to Pawling, NY.
Once back in town, I called a cab and got right back to where I had left off: the Dover Oak. I wondered how many thru hikers she had seen walk by in the countless years she had stood there. I was just happy to be back.
As before, I took it really easy to start out. It was tough slowing myself down when I walked a little too fast, but I reminded myself I would get to where I was going eventually and if I went too fast, I might not get there at all. This was such a mindset shift because usually I’m trying to pack as many miles into one hour as possible. Now, I had no choice but to go slow. Speed wasn’t the goal anymore. I took the extra time to admire the flowers and the evening sunlight as I walked down the trail.
I ran into a couple of NOBOs on the trail as well. I was delightfully surprised that I wasn’t the only one out here given how late in the hiking season it was getting. There was still hope!
When I took it slow, my body felt good. I could feel when I was pushing a little too hard and needed to back off the throttle. The nerve pain wasn’t as sharp as it had been in the beginning, but I would definitely get reminders to slow down every once in a while.
I passed through beautiful pasture land and finally arrived at a stealth site in the woods. It was my first day back and I was camping alone. I hadn’t camped alone in so long that it felt weird. Where were all the people? I didn’t have enough daylight to make it to the next shelter, so I would just have to make do.
Overall, I felt good about my first day back on trail. Yes, I would have to take it easy for a while, but the most important thing was that I could still hike. My AT thru hike wasn’t over yet!
And that’s day 135.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.