After waking up at the trail angels’ house, they also made us breakfast and dropped us off at the trailhead. These people are just amazing.
Today is PK’s last day on the road, before returning home for two weeks. He will follow us again and wants to catch up, but since we will continue to move, he will have a lot to do when he returns. So it will be a long time before we see him again, if we ever see him again. Things like that are always complicated on the road.
Mike, one of last night’s trail angels, offered to take PK into town so he can get home, which is further away. PK also received a message from Facilikate, another tracker angel from before. We’ve been lucky with all those super nice people along the way. Anyway, he mentioned that Ferdinand just passed «The Orb.» It’s good to know it’s still out there and just a day behind us. Hopefully it can reach us soon.
PK didn’t pick a big day to be his last. The mountains we had to climb were very hard and today the sun was relentless. We are drinking water like crazy to stay hydrated. The heart rate is high, he is sweating everywhere and he is going at a snail’s pace. My dad has been the one who has been struggling the most with this type of terrain and weather, but he pulled through.
The dragon resting in PK’s hammock.
At the next water fountain, we were all feeling a little sad. Just a couple more miles with this crazy guy. We sat by the pond and looked at all the bullfrogs. We counted at least 20. Dreamcatcher joined us and couldn’t contain his emotions any longer. You never really get used to goodbyes on the AT. It’s like you’re mourning someone who’s still there. It’s strange how your emotions feel amplified on the road.
Taking it all in
During this heartfelt moment, my mind was also wondering elsewhere. My dad walked a little behind, but he’s not there yet. What is happening?
A sad 800 miles
PK’s plan was to walk 800 miles with us and be picked up on the next road. So we did it. The only problem: there is still no Dutch Dragon anywhere to be seen. Dreamcatcher and I said goodbye (hopefully temporarily) to PK and sat on the 800 for a while. I’m already remembering it. That’s when she ran up and down 2 more times because she forgot to give us some letters to mail and give Dreamcatcher her headlamp, which is infinitely better than hers.
After this little moment, we left. On the hunt for a dragon. The agreed end point was a couple of miles further away. It’s probably there. But we did not reach him before he first fell upon this path. I took a wrong step and sprained my ankle. It was painful, but fortunately I was able to continue walking. We found my dad, along with 1000 bugs. It’s late and it’s an emotional day. It’s time to set up a tent and go to sleep.
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