Sacrifice

Day 124

This afternoon I stood for the first time in the land of Oregon. It was a surreal feeling to FINALLY be out of California. It's not that the state had been bad to us in any way, quite the opposite really. It took us over four months to trek over 1,700 miles through an arid desert, the snowiest Sierra on record and a balmy, but beautiful northern Cal.

As our feet fall apart, the finances dwindle and Fall comes crashing in (frosty mornings already!) I am reminded of the ending to our Appalachian Trail Adventure. The last two weeks on that trip had us going crazy, not sleeping and calling home to loved ones referring to the trail as "a prison with the key always dangling in front of us." A bit melodramatic, but we were burnt out.

As of tomorrow we tie the AT for longest trip out, but we are not feeling the same way at all. We have slowly picked up our miles from 17/day to 25-30/day over the past few weeks. It's been a great transition minus our gear starting to feel the damage from the long miles. Ian's feet are a concern with the amount of blisters (today's picture), but our day off in Ashland tomorrow night and Saturday, along with securing new boots should do the trick.

Besides all the physical sacrifices and mental drain we face out here everyday there are many people who miss us and we miss at home. We are sacrificing moments that could be spent with the people who have always supported us to share moments with strangers who support us out here. In either place we are surrounded by people always getting us to where we need to go.

It's a nice feeling knowing what's back at home- not the physical place, but the people.

-Andy