Today is our 70th day on the trail. It is a bit cool this morning but crystal clear after yesterday's rain. We are on our 7th day of +20miles. Luckily Greg's slack packing us is making it easier
on feet, knees and back.
The forest seems to have exploded into a jungle of green. Most of the early spring flowers are gone replaced with flowering shrubs and trees. The poison ivy for which we have a terrible fear is growing so high that it is sometimes difficult to negotiate passing it without contact.
It will be another 7 hour day. There is the sign to notify us that the 'roller coaster' is about to begin. We have heard stories about it on the trail and now here it is. Again grateful we are just carrying 10 lbs we set out. It is unrelenting. Climbing straight up for 500 feet and then just over the top we are heading down again, I feel like I'm walking the path of a heartbeat. Again and again. I am wondering why 70 days of walking in the mountains is not making this feel easier.
But we are anticipating with some excitement a very important milestone on the trail between the Sam Moore Shelter and a campsite. We are passing the shelter looking up the rocky unrelenting path and see nothing. Walk on, head down because on every step you could twist an ankle or trip on the rocks. We are afraid we'll miss it and are glancing up every couple of seconds. Seems like we have gone too far...there is nothing. We're climbing another slope with a turn at the top and there it is. The 1000 mile/1609km mark laid out with big stones on the ground. Clearly someone understands the risk of looking up when walking on this terrain. We are so happy, proud, incredulous, amazed and overwhelmed that while we have completed 1000 miles we still have 1189.2 miles to go.
I am thinking 'No problem, we can do this. We didn't set out to fail and while there are any number of things that could thwart our efforts, giving up will never be one of them, no matter how hard it gets. Eveready and Unhinged, the 'old' ladies from Canada are just going to Walk On!
