Sensing Huck needed some time to himself I went into town and left the next day. The shoot three miles afforded me some time to write and get caught up on that. The next morning I met up with Just Jeremy and headed out for a 23 mile day. The smooth terrain was heaven on earth for us.  It easier hard to keep a good pace as we walked and talked for quite some time. Playing music we moved close to three miles an hour over the smooth rolling hills.

My thoughts drifted to leaving my friends behind. In the past month I have pushed hard and made up time on the trail, passing many people. I caught the bubble, which is the big group and passed them. I had left friends in the process and hiker families. I was reminded of a movie quote I often think of, I never saved anything for the swim back. There is only one thing that remains at the end of the day, climbing that final mountain and finishing this adventure for all the reasons I set out with. Nothing will stand in my way of that, including myself, I must push past some of my wants for the big cause.

It’s not that I don’t want to stay with them, if I had the time and money I would have stayed with them all, keeping my huge hiker family growing and alive. I truly miss my friends and hiker families but I had to leave, the mountain calls to me and I have some constraints. Some times I have to make sacrifices to push for what I truly want.  The connections with them are real and strong, the joy I feel when I see them again is immeasurable. Yet for now I have to put those aside I have to finish for there is no other choice for me.

Everything in the past year has led me to this and I mustn’t lose sight of my goal, no matter the distraction. I could easily get sucked into the social bubble, taking time to relax, enjoy everyone’s company and hike slower, yet I fear if I did that, I would be lost. Lost to the social scene, without personal growth and becoming stagnant. Motion is life and I have to move forward on this journey. We all hike our own hike and to me that means we all start at the same place and end at the same place, it’s how we get there that matters.  Everyone is different and takes a road of thier choosing, not better or worse, just different.

The miles disappeared under my thoughts and feet. We donned our headlamps in the evening and made our way the last two miles to the shelter. Just Jeremy and I had done 23 miles in about ten hours. We set up in the shelter and rested from our day. We both hoped it would stay this smooth over the next 30 miles to town, for we wanted to do it in one day and be done with it. The four state challange was within our grasp and we wanted to do it soon.