Advice from an old man we met in a town:
"Don't run when you can drive. Don't walk when you can sit. And don't reach for the check first."
We woke up just after 7 am to an earthquake! Well, maybe it wasn't an earthquake but the entire building was shaking as the morning train sped by. I thought it was really cool but Heather and No Whistle (we shared a room last night) didn't seem amused.
When my mom heard that we were sharing a room with another hiker her voice immediately became skeptical and she asked if that was okay and if we would be killed in our sleep. I assured her that No Whistle wouldn't hurt a fly. Well, maybe she'd kill mosquitoes or those horseflies that chomped on your skin...or the black flies that kamikaze your eyeballs all day. I made sure to tell my mom not to tell my father, though. We've survived excruciating miles, unbearable heat, infection and one really scary mountaintop lightning storm - you think people would trust our judgment by now. But, when no whistle told her parents she was staying with us they warned her we may be "swingers.". Damn, they blew our cover!
After 8am we stuck moleskin on our feet, placed Band-Aids on blisters and taped our toes before sliding into our new boots - very exciting. A walk through town would be our test to see if Heather's feet were good enough to move on (and a chance for me to return the book I accidentally stole from the library yesterday when I picked up my things from the table). A few days ago she probably would have beared this pain and hiked on but we decided it would be better if we zeroed and gave her swollen, red, blistered, hamburger toes more rest.
I think Heather and I are beginning to realize this is our trip - to free ourselves from the expectations of others, real or imagined.
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