Day 22 & 23

Day 22 & 23: We stayed in a hostel with every amenity a thru hiker could ask for for a couple of days to wait out storms. Jacob was caught between two simultaneous lighting strikes on his own thru hike, which traumatized him, so he likes to wait them out in civilization. Fine by me. .
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I’ve been wearing new Vasque shoes and also breaking in some new orthotics, switching between those and superfeet insoles, and even Chacos, which feel the best, so my feet have also been traumatized. I’m stretching and elevating, but no matter what, I end each day in terrible pain, and wake up in the middle of the night from it, too. So a few days off are a-ok with me. .
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Silver lining- there is a hospital bed that elevates your feet and/or head in this hostel, so I spend a LOT of time there 👵🏻 .
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First pic is the distance we’ve gone. It feels like it’s been months, and the ratio of completed vs total miles is laughable. Pic 2 is the roadside diner we ate in 4 times while there. We are in the middle of nowhere, but the diner is attached to a convenient store where Jacob eats ice cream after every meal, his favorite he calls “breakfast ice cream.” Pic 5 is @blazing.sandals giving me a foot massage, which he promised if we took some zeroes for the storm.
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This was also the time we learned about the attacks in Virginia. I woke up that Saturday to read about it on the private AT Women’s group I’m a part of on Facebook. I spent most of those 2 days unhealthily glued to my phone for updates. Rumors were flying that there were multiple victims. It took more than 24 hours to learn the details of the one fatality and the other attack, and even longer for it to hit national news. Everyone’s hearts out here were broken in half. .
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I shared this fear with multiple people before my hike, and everyone said things like this don’t happen.
I’ll think about it for a long time, how I wish mental health issues were taken more seriously, and that there was a better way to handle aggressive people before they do something “worth” pressing charges for. This type of aggression hits home with lots of people, mostly women, and I’ll be talking through it with others a lot more. #at2019