Miles today: 13.9

Trail miles: 303.9

Elevation: 4007

Spinning on the turntable: U2: Slane Castle

The priority topic today is hitting 300 miles! It’s hard to believe that we’re at 300 miles! We both slept terribly last night, so this was a nice bonus to a long grind of a day. The picture captured the moment but it didn’t capture the knee pops and groaning emitted as we crouched for the picture.

My hat is seriously sweat stained. I rinse it out fairly often in the creeks when we cross them but it’s getting a bit dingy. I like that I can crank up the tension to crazy levels to keep it on my head in the wind. The world does take on an oval shape when I over tighten it though…

Still trying to get the health insurance coverage (Cobra) set up. I’m swapping emails with my old employer trying to track down the enrollment paperwork. Health insurance will be our single biggest monthly expense as we move forward. (I do laugh a little (quietly, to myself) at the Europeans complaining about paying $300USD for six months of US health insurance as they hike the trail. “You know nothing John Snow.” )

I managed to have cell phone reception at one point during the day so I sat down immediately to work on sorting it out. I made some progress but need to swap a few more emails. The trail would be much simpler to hike if we only needed to hike! Trying to get this sorted out before a coverage lapse. Fingers crossed.

Somehow, while we were walking down a steep, soft and sandy road I fell down and turtled. I managed to whack myself in the back of my calf with the treking pole during my short trip down to the dirt. Once on the dirt I was a bit trapped with a pole behind one leg and one arm pinned behind my back.

The pack weight plus the angle of the hill and my position equated to my one free arm and one free leg waving in the air as I tried to right myself. After a moment of panic I recalled what to do and rolled over to my stomach and then eased myself up off the ground.

When I’m really tired, I often trip over myself or a rock and go flying down the trail. I strive to stay focused on the path immediately in front of me, living in this exact moment.