I don’t think I’m exactly taking this hiking thing seriously anymore... I mean, we didn’t start until 11:30AM this morning. I skipped up some of the trail. A couple of hikers heading the opposite direction remarked with a laugh, “You’re way too happy to really be hiking this!” But honestly, how can I not skip, … Continue reading Day Sixty Three: 1269.9 – 1287.2km
It’s good to be back. After so much time off, I was dreading walking again. I was more than a little worried about Kearsarge Pass - although beautiful, it is a crazy climb. We’d just resupplied as well, so loaded down with a weeks’ worth of food and staring up at a four hour climb … Continue reading Day Sixty Two: 1269.9 (+ 12.2km)
I’m almost embarrassed even to write it... We’re still in town. BUT I PROMISE WE LEAVE TOMORROW MORNING! It’s just - it’s Fourth of July. Which, yes, means we’re on our fourth zero, but it’s the Fourth of July! This basically doesn’t count. We needed the first zero for rest, the second for resupply, then … Continue reading Days Fifty Eight – Sixty One: ZEROES
I know I’ve had a lot of good days out here. The standard has been set high. I’ve gone from desert wastelands to rocky mountains to bubbling creeks. I’ve touched the Mexican-United States ‘wall’, walked just about thirteen hundred kilometres from there, and climbed one of the country’s highest mountains. Even so, I think it’s … Continue reading Day Fifty Seven: 1245.8 – 1269.9km (+12.2km)
I reckon every day has something special to offer. Sometimes it’s like a treasure hunt and you have to search for it (admittedly, I don’t always find it), but sometimes it’s served to you on a silver platter. Today, I had that something special served to me in ziplock bags, by some very special people. … Continue reading Day Fifty Six: 1234.4 – 1245.8km
The Prodigal calls it ‘Type 3 fun’. He explained: Type 1 is fun to do and fun to remember, eg. playing with a puppy Type 2 is fun to do and not fun to remember, eg. a big night out at a bar... Type 3 is not fun to do, but fun to remember, eg. … Continue reading Day Fifty Five: Mt. Whitney
IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! 😁 (Here, in America.. Because I know for my Australians it happened yesterday. Time zones, right?) And it’s been an absolutely beautiful day. Maya woke me up with a cup of coffee. Thibaud - who left KM sometime after Jefé and I but hasn’t been seen in two days - caught us up. … Continue reading Day Fifty Three: 1195.7 – 1212.9km
A blur of climbing, tears and a growing hiker family is how I’ll remember today when I look back on my last day of being a twenty seven years old. I am not used to this elevation. Dario told me repeatedly, “Don’t worry; in a couple of days you’ll be used to this and feel … Continue reading Day Fifty Two: 1166.8 – 1195.7km
Well, it wasn’t the best day, but it also wasn’t my worst. I got up early to try and catch M&D - Jefé and I didn’t get too far last night, and without reception or any way of contacting them I really had no idea how far ahead they were. With the rivers and the … Continue reading Day Fifty One: 1134.1 – 1166.8km
I really could have done with two full zeroes. I probably should have, to be honest, but trying to stick with Maya and Dario is higher on my priorities than rest right now. I love those two! Dario gave me the biggest hug yesterday as I arrived and cried out my disappointment. Brad, the Prodigal, … Continue reading Day Fifty: 1130.1 – 1134.1km
“So do you get splash back on your shoes when you pee, too?” “Every time! Do you scuff dirt on them to disguise it?” “Yes!” *cue belly laughs and a deeper sense of sisterhood We bond a lot on trail. And about such a variety of stuff that is completely taboo to acknowledge back in … Continue reading Day Forty Eight: 1095.8 – 1130.1km
It’s easier to keep myself motivated when I’m motivating someone else. I guess it’s a little like love; the more you give it out to others, the more your heart is full of it as well, right? I met Al as I powered past he and his son Pops mid morning. It was downhill, hence … Continue reading Day Forty Seven: 1055.8 – 1095.8km
Learning all over again just how much of a fight it is to intentionally be happy. Granted, most of the day, I was fine. I got up early, managed to retrieve my dry undies from last night’s ‘clothes line’ without drawing any more blood from that vicious tree, and set off quietly into the early … Continue reading Day Forty Six: 1015.3 – 1055.8km
Can you tell I was inspired yesterday? These are the moments I have come out here for. These are the moments I don’t think I could find if I were anywhere else. And yet, I know these moments are how I should be living every day. I don’t want to get so bogged down in … Continue reading Day Forty Five: 980.0 – 1015.3km
I walk, letting the tall grass run through my fingers as my hands brush past, and I see me. The real me. The me that is so often obscured by distractions of everyday life, responsibilities and to-do lists. The veil of familiarity and monotony has fallen away. I begin to see the woman inside me … Continue reading Day Forty Four: 954.0 – 980.0km
There is a smile that plays at the corner of my mouth; a twinkle in my eyes as I walk in wonder and fascination of the world around me. Recently, in my grit and determination to push out miles and speeds that defied the pain my body was feeling, I hadn’t realised how much my … Continue reading Day Forty Three: 923.7 – 954.0km
I hate that a ‘zero day’ is called a zero day. Generally, I spend so much of it running errands, resupplying food and trying to catch up on sleep I feel more tired than when I just have to walk twenty miles. Which is how today went. I woke up feeling refreshed and alive. Heading … Continue reading Day Forty One: ZERO
My 5AM alarm was much nicer than yesterday’s 2AM one, and after sleeping soundly, I set off pretty quickly. As the sun started to rise, I stopped for a moment to soak the moment in. What a difference six minutes makes! Just imagine how much a few hours does! This is why I try and … Continue reading Day Forty: 870.6 – 898.9km
The alarm was set for 2AM. 2AM. Holy mooooley. And after having three days off, I was 100% NOT looking forward to getting back into this. But, the desert is brutal, and the aqua duct even more so, so, we had to beat the sun. A group of us left at 3AM, straggling and altogether … Continue reading Day Thirty Nine: 833.0 – 870.6km
It’s hard when you have to follow up days like meeting the tenth Doctor Who (I love you David Tennant!) or driving a Ferrari, because really - how do you do that? How does it get better than this? I’m sorry if you’re expecting a huge big brilliant OHMYGOODNESSTHISACTUALLYDIDJUSTGETBETTER answer... I don’t have one. Today, … Continue reading Day Thirty Eight: ZERO
Remember last week when I thought I had the best day of my life meeting David Tennant? Well, that is still a highlight of my entire existence. But... That was also before I had driven a Ferrari and had lunch at Trump’s National Golf Club. Which happened today. And I’m still not even sure how … Continue reading Day Thirty Seven: ZERO
I woke up around 4:30AM to go pee (as you do after downing 6L of water daily). When I tried to climb out of the tent, I realised I couldn’t walk. My right foot, which had nearly done me in yesterday, couldn’t bear any weight at all now. Using Wilson (my trusty stick) as a … Continue reading Day Thirty Six: ZERO
Today was the day that nearly broke me. Yesterday, my feet were bad. By 6PM tonight, I could barely walk. Maya, Dario and I left at 5:30AM so we would have a head start on Speedy and meet up 11km down the track at the 500 mile marker together for breakfast and photos. I felt … Continue reading Day Thirty Five: 793.4 – 833.0km
The chilled-out, anything goes vibe of Casa de Luna worked its way into the others and our morning was not rushed. It was the very opposite of rushed. I already knew I wanted a sleep in and that pancakes were being cooked right up until 9; I needed the sleep after yesterday and my feet … Continue reading Day Thirty Four: 769.6 – 793.4km
Apologies for the long post yesterday; hope you had a comfy chair to read in! Finding it a challenge to keep up with writing in between adventures, and got a bit carried away 🙈 In the short time it took us to eat some dinner and settle down last night, we could feel our belongings … Continue reading Day Thirty Three: 739.7 – 769.6km
Story time! And one to go down in the books: The best day of my life. June 6th, 2018 It started off like any other day. The sun woke me up as it warmed my quilt, I went and poured a cup of coffee, and joined a handful of hikers gathered around a map to … Continue reading Day Thirty Two: 731.5 – 739.7km
Tonight, I’ll be in Hiker Heaven. After all my research; my blog scrolling and YouTube watching and internet scouring, it seems surreal that I’m reaching the places I’ve read and dreamt about. Before, they were long off waypoints. They weren’t even real. They were names on pages, pinpoints on maps. Yet here I am, checking … Continue reading Day Thirty: 701.8 – 731.5km
Naomi, you deserve to set yourself an alarm! Didn’t we just go over this last week?! 😫 It was after 8AM but the time I rolled myself out of the tent, and past 9:30AM when I had my pack strapped on and started walking through the campground towards the trailhead. Last night, I hadn’t cared … Continue reading Day Twenty Eight: 632.9 – 660.4km
The record has officially been set: six bugs. Six bugs that I inhaled. Not swallowed. Inhaled. They’re little tiny fruit fly type things that get all up in your grill, and when you’re walking up some pretty steep never ending elevation and puffing and panting and trying to make your legs work, continually swatting them … Continue reading Day Twenty Four: 558.7 – 594.5km
We were promised that it would be super easy to hitch back to the trail from town. We were also told there was an hourly bus that went directly to the trailhead; if the times matched up we were happy to do that instead. I was with three of the boys who agreed that we … Continue reading Day Twenty: 428.3 – 460.0km
