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Last night I decided I was done. We had hiked the 20ish miles between Mystery Mountain And Temperance River State Park in about 8.5 hours minus breaks and had been at camp for about an hour when I told my sister I was out.
We were due to head inland the next day and I didn’t want an evac if the pain and swelling in my quad got worse and I couldn’t hobble out. Over the last few days I had started losing interest in eating and drinking. I noted it but kept going, trying to make sure to drink water, consume electrolytes and eat as much as I could. I have never had problems eating on the trail so this was outside my experience! By our resupply on the evening of day 4 nothing looked good. I had the best luck snacking while moving but when it came to mealtime, I had to push myself.
My ankles were swelling around where I had been stung by the ground hornet nest at Andy Creek and the second one on my arm on day two and I felt miserable.
I hadn’t slept well since the start of the hike and we had woken up at 5 in the morning (maybe that is the mystery of Mystery Mountain? Funky latrine, no water and no sleep? Actually the mystery should be WHO HAULED THE GRILL UP THERE?). I could have kept going. I had just lost the ability to evolve.
A days rest and I am already on the mend. Compression socks and potassium fixed the water retention (I had neither of those in my pack, so I will need to rethink electrolytes and recovery). I was too new to understand that the scheduled miles were too much for me and I really didn’t listen to people warning about it. This is the biggest lesson I think I take from this. Listen and trust others.
I am happy that we accomplished a lot in our shortened hike. I bring back SO MANY SKILLS to apply to the future and I know there is always a trail waiting somewhere so I plan to shake it off and keep on hiking.
– Hornet Bait
The smartest decision is knowing WHEN to call it.
I’m so proud of all that we accomplished on this adventure and the things we learned together. I will post about our itinerary, how we revised it and the gear we brought in an upcoming post.
Thanks for following along on our journey!
~WP
Trail Log:
So sorry to read you had to pull out, I’ve been there and done it too. However, you do have to listen to your body, and your move was the right one! You are young and strong and you’ll be right back out there again, before you know it, with a few new lessons under your belt!
Thank you Mike, for your encouraging words. You hear that Bear? We’re young and strong!
Thank you for sharing your journey. I can’t imagine the struggles you’ve had in your head trying to decide how to proceed. I think you made a good call. Better to recoup and live to hike another day.
Congratulations on your accomplishments. The SHT will be there when you’re ready to tackle it again.
Get some rest.
Thank you! We appreciate the encouragement are looking forward to hitting the trail again soon. 🙂
Thank you for bringing us along with Bear and on your adventure. I’m sure that was no easy task given the energy you consumed throughout the day. Can’t wait to hear where the next adventure takes you. Happy Trails to you.
Thanks Luke! This is definitely not the end…<3
You women are amazing! I’ve learned so much from your experiences, and am so impressed with your spirit and passion for hiking. Hope to see you on the trail! Thanks for all your inspiration!
Thanks Bridgit! We sure so appreciate it and hope to see you on the trail too! We seem to have a knack for running into people we know and the nicest folks on the trail. That was my favorite part of the trip!
Hi Ladies! I meet you on Day 3 at camp and have been following your blogs as I was two days behind you. You inspired me to finish my 100 mile challenge. I just got done today. When I read that you got lost too, it made me feel better. When I read you did those 20 miles over the mountain peaks it blew my mind. I went from Onion River to Temperance today (last day) and thought about jumping off of Carlton Peak to save some miles! Just kidding. Don’t sell yourself short. You can finish the rest some other year if you want. The only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself. Great job. Thanks for insipiring me. 🙂 Linda
LINDA! Thanks for stopping by! It was great to meet you at camp and we appreciate the encouragement. That last stretch was a doozy! Congrats on finishing your 100 mile challenge! Thats no small feat, especially on the SHT. We’ll see you on the trail!
They say the trail will be there when you are ready. Sorry to hear you had to cut your hike short but sounds like for good reason. I had a friend on a similar trip with the same problem of lack of appetite, it is no fun. Looking forward to your upcoming post. 🙂
Thanks Snuffy!
GOOD ON YOU FOR LISTENING TO YOUR BODY! I’m sorry you had to cut it short, but in the long term listening to our bodies is probably the best skill we can develop…! <3
Yes! I have some learning to do in this area. Super glad my sister made the smart decision.
Really enjoyed following your training and 100 mile adventure! It’s always hard to make this sort of call, admire you for doing it. Looking forward to the gear reviews and lessons learned posts 🙂 Take care, rest, heal up.
Thanks Melissa. We appreciate it! More posts on the way. 🙂
We are in awe of you both and the miles you were able to cover in such a short time frame! So sorry you had to cut it short but it sounds like it was a good decision. We are plodding along on our much more conservative schedule and are currently taking a motel day in Two Harbors. The trail has continued to teach us many lessons. We imagine there will be many more hiking adventures in your future : )
So good to hear from you both!! So glad you are still on the trail. You are an inspiration and I wish we’d had the smarts (and time) to slow down a bit. Please do keep in touch. Bear and I really enjoy your updates and are rootin for ya all the way! Stay toasty!