Te Araroa day 101 – I'm not going anywhere today
March 13th 2017
0 miles
Total distance: 1454.3 miles
I had to make a decision in the morning about what I was going to do. I knew I was taking the day off today, but Colin and Sandy were taking today and tomorrow off as Colin had a physio appointment tomorrow. (Colin saw the doctor in the morning and he doesn't have a stress fracture, the inflammation on the top of his foot is a result of him changing the way he walks to compensate for the pain he is feeling in his arch, so he has been given some pain killers, a physio appointment and was told to put insoles back in his shoes.) so it was hike out on my own or wait an extra day and stay with them. There is a tendency to feel like you always have to keep moving when you're thru-hiking, and taking a day off feels like a bad thing to do, and two days off feels like you've practically given up. I find myself concerned about what people will think of me for taking a day off, which is ridiculous because most people wish I would have a day off. I'm not in a rush, I have plenty of time to complete the trail and I've been walking for 8 months. It's ok to take a day (or two) off!
So with that decision made I took a shower, chucked my socks and shirt in with Sandy and Colin's laundry and hung out with them and Rory for the rest of the day. Other than a quick trip to the supermarket and to the charity shop – where I splashed out on a $2 book to give to Rory for his birthday tomorrow – I spent nearly all day on the sofa, chatting and updating the blog, and it was great!
I made a hearty bowl of pasta with a healthy dose of veggies in which I ate by the fire while it continued to be wet cold and miserable outside. It really was a good decision to get off the trail.
A British guy called Matt arrived in the afternoon and it was the first time in a long time that I haven't been outnumbered by French speaking people! I love talking to my little French Canadians, but it was also nice to have some proper british conversations. Rory and I were chatting and Sandy was trying to keep up but we were talking so fast with so many britishisms it was impossible for her.
We all settled in for a movie in the evening – Changeling – which was good but very heavy. A little 3 month old puppy came in and I had a great time playing with him, I wanted to keep him in the room but unfortunately he was way too excitable.
I've been a bit worried about how we are going to get back to the trail, it's a road with less traffic on that our last hitch out of Coleridge, but I might have convinced Matt to take us back to the trail.