My First Ultramarathon Hiking Day: MST LASH Segment 15 Stella Post Office to Haw’s Run Road
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ส.ค. 2024
- Day 6 on trail: 31.5 trail miles, 31.5 actual miles
My day started in the dark. My tent walls were sagging with condensation. I turned my headlamp to red flashing mode before hitting the trail.
The bridge over White Oak River had almost no shoulder, but nearly every car heeded my flashing headlamp and moved over. The sunrise behind me was beautiful as were the misty clouds settling over the farm fields.
One road led to another road and another road. The ongoing problem for the day was where to pee when I needed to go. I was either on an exposed road or walking through a residential area or beside private property.
I stopped in at a Dollar General to use the bathroom and get a cold coffee and some snacks. I stopped at several convenience stores to use the bathroom during the day. I got a cold drink and/or ice cream from each one.
I walked past Camp Lejeune’s main entrance and onto the Jacksonville Rails to Trail path. It was nice and had many benches and trash bins but no porta johns. I turned onto the Lejeune Trail, another greenway, which led me through several underpasses beside the Camp Lejeune military fence all the way to the Lejeune Memorial Gardens. I turned off my music and paid my respects to the fallen. The park was a beautiful tribute.
Downtown Jacksonville was next, but there wasn’t much to it. After crossing a bridge over another river, I spotted a public boat launch with trash bins. When I walked over, I saw there were also bathrooms and water! I sat beside the bathrooms and ate lunch, aired out and massaged my feet (again), filled up with water, and used the restrooms.
The afternoon hours were gruelling: 95*F and stagnant. The pavement radiated heat back up towards me, making the overwhelming feeling of stickiness worse. I had to repeatedly sit down in the shade where I found it to rest my increasingly aching feet throughout the day. I was elated when I finally completed my longest trail day ever: 31.5 miles - an ultramarathon hike!
Greggers picked me up at 6:45pm. He was a super accommodating host, taking me to dinner and then to his home. He let me shower and fill my water bottles. He was truly the angel I needed at the end of this long day!
Music:
Daxten / Late Nights / courtesy of www.epidemicso...
Tomas Skyldeberg / Souls of Time / courtesy of www.epidemicso...
Daxten / Make It Rain / courtesy of www.epidemicso...
Hallman / Fortune of Hearts / courtesy of www.epidemicso...
dvine / Vast Highlands / courtesy of www.epidemicso...
Daxten / No Worries / courtesy of www.epidemicso...
Very impressive, especially in the heat! 🎉🎉
Thank you! It was definitely a challenge!
Wow!!!! Such an amazing accomplishment! Congratulations 🎊🎈🎉. Thanks for sharing all of your experiences.
Thank you for following along!
Bravo to your 30 mile day. Impressive achievement. A company called Exo Mountain Gear does a 50 mile day hike challenge. Up for that next? 30 miles is nearly the length of the Greenbelt Trail across the width of Long Island including miles of road walking. One of my hikes to do. With no cars, the AT was safer to hike. As a veteran, thanks for paying tribute to the Vets Memorial and thanks for your appreciation. Kudos to Snickers Ice Cream Bars. Thanks for the views and pleasant commentary. Wishing you peace and good fortune. Happy Trails!
I’m not sure I’m ready for a 50 yet, but I’m definitely thinking more in terms of bigger mile days for trips now!
@@cobwebroseonthetrail2447 30 miles is great! Cheers to your achievement👏🏻⭐
Crazy impressive to do these long days.
Thank you!