My First 30+ Mile Day

May 1, 2023

Mile 536- Flagstaff

We woke up at 2 a.m. to start our 30 mile road walk. The road was quiet and dark until around daybreak. It felt exciting to start this challenge when no one else was awake or around. Had a beautiful sunrise through the trees.

The miles flew by quickly and we easily kept a pace of 3 mph for over half of it. It was really cold until at least 8 a.m. and we’d occasionally walk through pockets of air that felt freezing. I was wearing every layer in my pack and slowly shed them as the morning went on.

It’s called style

We stopped for water and snacks at a country store where I ate an ice cream bar and drank a Diet Pepsi. I put my headphones in as we left and rode the sugar/caffeine buzz for miles. I sang at the top of my lungs, people waved from their cars as they passed us by.

When we reached the outskirts of Flagstaff I couldn’t believe it. No part of my body hurt at all and I felt like I could hike even further. By the time we got to our hotel room we’d hiked 33 miles by 1:30 p.m. We’d done 20 miles before 10 a.m. We checked into our hotel, showered and immediately walked down the street to the Cornish Pasty for food. We drank big glasses of ice water and devoured everything.

Next stop was Whole Foods for some snacks and to pick up an Amazon package. By this time the exhaustion was creeping in and I felt like I’d been in the sun too long. We walked back to the hotel room and relaxed in bed with the AC on before ordering a pizza delivered for dinner. It feels good to have made our goal of Flagstaff by May 1st ❤️