Day 36: My longest day: 27.6 miles

Miles traveled: 27.6

Mile marker: 594.1

I shouldn’t have stayed up so late chatting with everyone. My alarm brings me out of my sleep. I fumble through the mess on my nightstand until I find my phone and silence the noise. I fall back onto my pillow, wishing the timing had been wrong.

Lucie is already in the shower. Got up at 4:45 this morning. I get out of bed and begin the noisy process of packing.

I wish I could be faster packing. Maybe I could prepare things at night, but honestly, I’m really tired at the end of the day.

Savannah will be up at 5:45. She kindly informed me that I am a general pig, which is true. Last night I used another blanket to mitigate this problem. However, Socks set the air conditioning to 68 degrees. Being next to the unit, it was quite cold. Savannah, on the other hand, was hot.

I brush my teeth with Lucie in the small gap of the bathroom sink. I return to the room and they ask me to turn off the lamp. Sorry girl. I have to pack my bags.

It seems like Lucie and I would make good roommates due to our early wake-up times and cold nature, and Savannah and Socks would make good roommates due to their late wake-up times and warm nature.

Next time I won’t sleep next to the AC unit.

For breakfast I make a waffle that is fluffy and perfect. Dad’s is burned. Oops. I probably should have given him better instructions.

«Do you have the key to the fourth room?» Lucie asks as she passes me.

«No, I don’t,» I reply.

A burly guy arrives in a 12-person van. We threw our things back and piled them up. He and his wife have five children and like to camp a lot, so he bought a truck for that.

Soon we started walking. Two kilometers flat and on road. Six miles uphill. I definitely thought the elevation was going to be bad, but it’s been good! Sometimes the wind blows strong and cools me down. The clouds look like bird feathers.

We went up the hill and waited for Lucie. His knee has no problem!

“I’m taking baby steps to not overextend my knee,” he says.

We continue walking. It’s rocky here. The large rocks have what look like splashes of orange and green paint.

We all take a break for a few minutes under a tree. I sit on a tree branch with Rafiki. Share a Woodkid song with me. It sounds oriental with orchestra music. It’s deep and calm, slightly unsettling but also peaceful. It is increasing. I like it.

We keep moving. I separate myself from the crowd. I almost fall when my foot slips on the soft earth. My trekking pole is stuck in the ground and my hand is on a rock holding me on a board suspended backwards above the ground. Does it count as a fall if my back does not touch the ground?

The road becomes a dirt road. I review my application to make sure I’m on the right track. I follow the path for miles and miles. The windmills above me sound like the hum of medical equipment.

I text dad to make sure I’m on the right track. Am.

Finally I see everyone sitting under a tree. “Today a 43 kilometer trip is planned,” says someone.

That!? I should have looked at the map yesterday.

We have four miles to go to lunch, so we keep walking. I walk it without music. Good. I still have silence in me.

The path is bordered by a wall of bushes that look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. The dead trees are lying stiff on their sides. As you turn the corner, yuccas stick out of the ground everywhere, looking like a teenager’s birthday cake with too many candles.

It’s breezy under the trees next to the water fountain. Like leftover curry from a ziplock bag. Hmm! I soon fall asleep.

«Eleven miles okay, Kate?» Dad asks.

I sit and nod. Sure. I can do it. I try to fall asleep again without success. Soon I get up and try to find a den for the cat. I have to continue climbing further and further up a steep slope. Going down is even harder because I slip and slide on the rocks.

As I approach the group, Lucie sees that I almost slipped on the loose dirt. We both laughed because no one else noticed this.

We all prepare to leave. Rafiki stays to take a nap.

When we reach a dirt road, Socks is standing in the middle of the road.

«This is the first snake I have seen on the road!»

she says. The snake waits among some patches of grass.

«I think we’re on their way,» Dad says. We walked around the snake and kept moving. The rattlesnake was only half a meter long and relatively thin.

We part ways as we walk and I spend the first five or six kilometers in silence. Just me and my thoughts on what it would be like to live in France.

Dad and Savannah catch up to me. I suspect my feet will start to hurt three miles before the tent site.

Sure enough, four miles before we get there and my hamstrings are tight.

The wind blows strongly on some of the steps. Change to rocky terrain. I forgot how much I hated walking on rocks.

Now I’m behind and going uphill for about a mile. I keep checking my FarOut app to see where the store site is.

I finally find it! There are a lot of people here. I settled in next to Bumper after scouting the area for a more sheltered spot.

I eat bagged salad for dinner. Very good! I need to pack the Bacon Avocado Ranch Salad more often. Luxy Lucie joins in and settles in next to me. Find the hotel key card in his fanny pack! And she thought I was the one who had it!

I’m still a little hungry, so I eat a Bobo PBJ. This was the biggest mile day of my life and I am EXHAUSTED.

We’re all lined up like a pot of enchiladas when Rafiki walks by.

-Rafiki! we say. «There’s room next to Lucie! Come!»

«I’m fine. I just had coffee, so I’m going to keep walking.»

«Are you sure? There’s room!» Lucie says.

Rafiki wears his headlamp around his neck with the red light on. It’s already dark.

«I’m sure! I’ll see you guys later.»

I lie back and look at the stars. They are scattered across the sky, everywhere and in all sizes.

My bed feels so comfortable. I let it swallow me as I watch the shooting stars. A light breeze slips under my quilt, so I shift a little until the opening disappears.

Bedtime for Bozo!

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