Kuwohi to Hot Springs – The Hike

Mile marker 275
I realized how malnourished I have been from the beginning. I have only consumed between 1,600 and 1,800 calories a day, which is not enough to rebuild and recover. Then I shifted my attention to food.
I decided to take a few extra days for $15 a day to camp by the river, eat high-calorie urban food, and snack on avocados, bananas, and chocolate milk. While bathing in the hot springs at the spa (thanks, Mom), I noticed that my cuts and scrapes weren’t healing. That made me stop and think: if my skin can’t heal without the right nutrients, how can my leg muscles recover? I started taking prenatal vitamins again and made sleep a priority.
I’ve slept ten feet from the French Broad River the last few nights and it’s been amazing for my soul. One night I slept 14 hours and I needed it all. I haven’t slept this well since I was deployed. Now I take naps every afternoon after soaking up to my calves in the cold river for 30 minutes to an hour. I sit alone and think about… everything.
I have started to control food and sleep. Now I’m working on my mindset.
I struggle with the amount of people that have happened to me. I meet people for a night or two and then I’m left behind again. More than 1,200 hikers now have trail numbers later than mine, people who started a month later. My ego reacts every time someone asks me when I started or what my number is. I feel like I’m shrinking. Doubt creeps in about three miles into a morning climb, just when everything from the waist down starts to hurt.
At the same time, I have avoided major injuries and have not had a single blister. I’ll take that victory.
So far I have walked up to 15 miles in a day. In the Smokies, I felt strong walking 8 to 12 miles a day. Part of me wants to try harder, but my rational mind tells me to keep at a pace I can maintain. I’m using this break as a barometer. After five days off the track, I’ll see if the extra recovery time helps. I will share it in my next post.
Leaving the Smokies was a bittersweet feeling. The beauty there makes me want to come back and walk again someday, with my children.
I’m looking forward to the trail festival here in Hot Springs. The 200 miles to Damascus feel daunting at my pace, so I’ll get as close as I can and hitchhike or commute to Trail Days, my next planned extended break.
For now, I focus on what I can control. I listen to my body and pay more attention to the food I eat.
The last two weeks have brought many ups and downs. I’m ready to see what the next 200 miles have in store for me.

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