December 30th: Drowsy but excited is good way to wake up. Drowsy with nothing to look forward to is not as fun. Much less pain all around this morning, thankfully. Stretched, packed and got out quicker today again.
I am getting a pattern to my mornings that feels solid. Bill tells me it will get to the point that it is all just automatic. I am not there yet. The thinker is still fully engaged to get morning underway. This morning, I got a glimpse of myself. Bill had been taking all the photos and videos because my phone died. At some point during week one of the AT, I will add charging electronics into my evening routine.
Unfortunately, I have been knocked out by the time we got to camp every night this trip. As my miles add up, I expect my energy will too. But back to the way I looked. On the trail a beauty routine is somewhat limited. I have lived on a boat for the past eight months, so I am used to my natural beauty. I just laughed-hard-and that got Bill laughing. We laughed in and uproar and had a photo shoot for about five minutes before we took off for our hike.
Most of our hike had been overcast and gray, but today was bright and beautiful. I was down to my t-shirt before I ate my Cliff Bar for breakfast on mile two. Rehiking the wide trail was much the same, a relaxing walk.
But when we got back to the river, it was transformed. The water no longer looked like chocolate milk. It was white and sparkling as it gushed over the rocks. Water gives me energy. I soaked it all in, gazing at the glory. When we finally climbed down the rocks, I felt ready to tackle a good long day. Unfortunately, my knees started hurting again. So we decided to take a good long break for lunch and redoctoring my knees.
