Today was awesome.
The Mannings were walking with us and it was Jessie’s first day. Two big things happening.
We had a great breakfast early in the morning and then spent a couple of hours shuffling cars around to make the day go easier. We set one car at the 12 mile point and another car at 19 miles.
We were on the Downeast Sunrise Trail. We have been excited about this trail for a long time. 87 miles of off-road paradise. Or so we thought…
The first 6 miles were easy and great. Then the gravel started to get a little thicker and it was getting harder and harder to push the carts on it. We weren’t complaining yet though. We were still all enjoying it.
After about 8 miles it started to get hot and hilly and we were definitely all beginning to fade. We fought to the 12 mile mark and Kim, Greg, and Danielle went to help move our support vehicle ahead for us while Lisa, Dawson, Jess, Stick, Domino, and me all walked the rest of the way. A great team effort.
The Mannings placed some of their beloved Dustin’s ashes along the trail. I was honored to be there to witness this being done. I know Dustin has been watching out for us the whole time and it was a moment I treasured deeply to be able to thank him for it as they placed him in a cool spot on this trail.
The next stretch was brutal. Long, steep hills and thick gravel and sand. It was one of the toughest physical days that we’ve had. We all pushed though. It was important. Every step matters.
We breaked every few miles and cooled down only to get going again and again. The hills were ridiculous. We were beginning to get mad at the trail. We had such high hopes and thought that it would be a smooth ride. Nope. But we were on it and had no other options but to stay strong and fight through it. I definitely was getting strength from somewhere as I wasn’t fatigued at all. I hurt and I was sweaty but I had energy to keep going. I think our loved ones were there to push us today.
We made it to the top of this really long hill and the view rewarded us for our efforts. Two mountain tops overlooked a long marshy bog. We had a spot to sit in the shade and look at the view while a nice breeze cooled us down. I cherished the moment.
We pushed the last few miles after that and finally made it to the second car. We were all beat.
We said goodbye to the Mannings and then me, Jess, and Stick set up our tents and ate stove top dinners. It wasn’t enough food for what we needed but we were all too lazy to make another meal. We were all laying in our tents and falling asleep before it even got dark.
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