Guess Who’s Back… Back Again

Pringles is back.. Tell a friend. Gah, I’m so lame.

After one month off trail, I feel recovered, confident, and able. I traveled to Hanover, NH, on Tuesday July 19 to begin my second leg of this journey. I am jumping ahead of The Whites until my knee feels stronger. I will go back and complete them in a couple hundred miles. Last one to Springer wins, right?

Words cannot describe how good it feels to be following white blazes again. Vermont has been the most forgiving state. I feel like VT will be my favorite because it will be my first fully completed state. The terrain is nice on the feet, the weather is a breezy 70 degrees, and the people are generous and loving. The trail is so nice that I’m cruising at about 3mph with no pain what so ever! I met a soon-to- be triple crowner (AT, PCT, CDT), and as he passed me, he did a double take and shouted back, “hey! That’s a super light pack you got there. And you’re freaking cruising! Keep it up.” Ugh, that’s the kindest words I could ever hear out on the trail. Now, just because I’m cruising doesn’t mean I’m crushing. I’m doing fairly small mileage for a week or so- just to ease back in. I won’t lie, I kind of look forward to doing big miles here soon.

Reunited with some trail family. Experiencing incredible trail magic. Meeting new people. Growing in love and generosity. Enjoying every step I take. Breathing fresh, mountain air. This go around, I am enjoying, stopping, breathing, and learning. This hike, to me, is a learning experience, and I want to take in as much as I can. I might not make it to Georgia until January, but I can guarantee that I will be the hiker with the most stories of adventure and love.

Edit: I wrote the beginning portion of this blog a few days back, and I would like to add more. I’m not really good at this whole write while on trail thing. My brain works so differently out here. The days blend together, I forget what I had for breakfast, and I can’t really ever sum up in words what I experience out here. It’s all so strange. I feel bad that I can’t articulate to you all what I see and do. It’s hard to explain. But do know that I’m having the time of my life. This is hard, but this is worth it. *shameless plug* follow my Instagram to get more interesting posts. I sporadically mass upload when I’m on wifi, and I feel like those posts are more full of what I actually see and do on trail. @ashschellhase.

Edit number 2: The weather is no longer breezy and 70. It’s more like humid as heck + 90.

320.4 miles down. Miles to go before I sleep. Miles to go before I sleep.