Ganarask #3

So here we are. More than 500 km of trail ahead of me. And just me. All alone. And frankly, I am terrified. My husband drove me to Copeland forest and the start of my journey. I am so thankful to have had such a supportive spouse for this trip. He cheered me on, he believed in me, and he knew I could do this, even when I was not sure I could. Thank you Ryan, love you.

I headed out with clear and sunny skies. The trail was well defined. Unfortunately , within a few kilometers I was again nauseous and delirious. What was going on? In frustration I pulled off my buff, and was rewarded with a cooling breeze to my head. There it was. The buff was holding heat against my head, causing heat stroke. I switched to a mesh cap, and never had an issue again.

From Copeland forest I traveled to Craighurst and then down into Midhurst. This is a beautiful section of the trail. The paths are clearly marked and easy to traverse. The only compaint is the section of hot highway walking along Horseshoe Valley road. Really people, can you not move over just a bit so I don't feel like I am goinjg to be hit? Thankfully the trail turned off into the forest and provided a wonderful hike off Gill road and down into Midhurst. I continued down into Fort Willow Depot and was devoured by mosquitos. This nastiness continued down to country road 90 and then into Angus. Trying to cross hwy 90 is interesting, as this is a very busy highway and no one wants to stop for a chubby woman with a huge pack. Seriously, does no one see how awesome I am! HAHA. I had not been through Angus in a few decades, and was suprised by how big it had become. Deciding I really wanted a cold drink, I took a detour to the local convenience store. Well, most people avoided eye contact and stepped to the side. Perhaps I should have packed deodorant after all? It was only once I explained to people in line that I was solo hiking that the attitude changed, and customers began smiling and interacting with me. The real fun began when I attempted to reach into my top pocket on my pack without taking off the pack itself. This pocket sits higher than my head. So there I am, attempting to reach this pocket for my bank card, turning slow circles as I get one hand oh so close, as the line of customers in the store watch with rapt expressions usually reserved for car crashes. The nice gentleman behind me finally takes pity on me and offers to get my card. I am not sure if it was to be helpful or to just get me moving along, but I paid for my drinks and sat in the parking lot, looking very hot and sweaty and propably stinky, and not caring as I enjoyed my well deserved cold drink. I continued into Brentville, and my wonderful mom picking me up for supper and a shower. This is when one of the funniest moments happened, when after 14 hours I took my pack off, and almost fell forward on my face. After a day of hiking my pack feels like it weighs about the same as a grizzley, and as about as friendly. I had spent the day using muscles to compensate for the weight of my pack, and the loss of that weight had me so off balance that I fell forward from the loss of the weight! On the other hand, I am going to lose a toenail from this hike. I have a great video of me pulling off that same toenail in about two weeks. And the fun is just beginning