Day 2

 My Challenge is to walk - Your's is here!
Terrain: Road / Bike Path
Path: Cape Cod Sea Camps to the National Sea Shore and back
Time: 8.5 hours + lunch
Mileage: 21.30 miles
Blister Count: almost 1...

My alarm went off at 5:50 this morning. Good thing too. I did a double take at the time, tried to orientate myself, and remember what time we were leaving. Jill’s alarm was supposed to go off at 5:30am, but she never switched it from ‘weekdays’ to ‘weekends.’

By 6am we were both stirring and readying our day. Jill worked on taping her feet again while I did circles in the room trying to remember what I needed to grab.  Becky and I walked out to my father’s car at about the same time. It is important to note that this was the second time in Becky’s walking career she has been ready before us.

Jill came walking out with my water bottle in hand (oops), her feet taped, and her new Fit Flops on. She said she had too much tape and wrapping on to fit into a sneaker. We went to Bagels & Beyond right down the street for breakfast and then continued to the Sea Camps where we met Rachel.

Once we were all together, we took off. The route went down the road and then onto the Cape Cod Rail Trail where we spent much of our time. Maybe too much…all the trees start to look the same after a while.

Rachel and I channeled our grandmother’s pace and left Jill and Becky trailing behind us. They stopped at the first rest stop area and almost took home a baby squirrel. The rodent had been lost or abandoned. It was in the pathway crying. They cooed it and it let Jill pet it. Later, as they walked away, they heard someone scream. That’s all we know…

We waited for them at the impromptu second stop. It was really going to be a stop on the way back but everyone was stopping now for the bathrooms. Jill and Becky come hobbling up; Jill shoeless and Becky taking care with each step.

Jill was going to get taped up by the medics at the next stop down the road. Becky told us she didn’t mind if we went ahead. So after refueling, making sure Jill made it to the Med Tent, and Rachel’s toe wiggle, Rachel and I continued down the trail.

Crew members had decorated the trails and roads with chalk drawings and saying throughout the walk. Rachel and I were just moseying along when we looked down. The chalk read ‘25 miles in.’  We kept walking a few steps, then we realized that that was significant. It was half way!

Along this section of the trail there was supposed to be a geocahce, ‘CCRT Bare Boned.’ The hint only said ‘bison.’ I had done a pocket query the night before, as Rachel suggested her older son would be interested in geocaching. We took this hint and kept our eyes peeled through the walk.

At the end of the section where the map showed it should be was the Mother Hen. She stood by two large rocks and a stone bench. Rachel thought that might be the bison, but as we approached it definitely was not. We considered asking the hen if she’d seen a bison…the mere notion of it made us laugh too much to make it happen.

We continued on the road to Herring Pond and around the corner to ‘Care-a-lot’ where I went to the gallows. The team at this rest stop goes above and beyond. They were decked out in their medieval garb and even had the porta-potties decorated. Rachel verified the inside was also decorated when we passed through on the way back.

Somewhere between ‘Care-a-lot’ and the National Seashore, Rachel decided that we need to do ‘Segways for MS.’ It’d be much easier than walking. At the Seashore, Aunt Marylen joined us for the walk to lunch at Duane Rock. Rachel explained her segway idea to her, and being the English guru she is, her mind went right to the literary term, segue. Once she knew it was the transportation device we were referring to, it made much more sense.

At  lunch we met up with everyone. Jill and Becky arrived not long after we began to eat. Jill’s feet were done, and Becky was aching. They decided to take the afternoon off.

A loop to the ocean followed lunch. Rachel’s family, Aunt Marylen, and my mother joined us for this loop. We left most of them at the sand. My mother trailed off from us after the loop to meet up with my father and sister.

Everyone wanted to know what we were doing after the walk. Rachel and I didn’t even know what we were doing during the walk; we were just doing what the arrows told us. Don’t ask questions. Follow the arrows.

Walking back through the National Seashore, Rachel had to stop for more toe wiggles. It was the downside of wearing point shoes in ballet she kept saying. This path seemed to be the most hilly of the day. The bikers were encouraged to test their brakes. I suggested we do the roller-skate-stop-stretch down the hill.

The path for Saturday was mostly and out-and-back. However, we were quite confused when we did not go past the pond again, rather stayed on the trail. We took it as a sign to pick back up our bison hunting. Again, we had no luck, and this time there was no Mother Hen to ask.

What we did find though were Conchitas and Condoms. Teams had their names chalked on the trail encouraging them to continue on. One of the teams Rachel kept reading as ‘condoms,’ and the other as ‘conchitas.’ I wonder how she read ‘Palmer’s Pals.’

We crossed the 25-mile mark again and knew the rest stop at the District Court was near. We could hear the kids blowing horns and ringing bells. It seemed like a mirage. The bells reminded Rachel of the Olympics. This stop meant there was less than 5 miles left in the day - single digits on a single hand! I was excited.

At the second to last rest stop (it was the impromptu one from earlier) we did a quick stop. A gentleman was handing out ‘Stop Multiple Sclerosis’ orange tie-dye bracelets and we got more stickers on our name tag. It was one of the last times I saw Rachel before the end.

We had less than 3 miles to go to the end and I was done walking. I went into what I realized was Nascar-mode. My pace quickened. People would pass by me, and I drafted them before making the pass back around them. Then I eyed the next group and did the same, draft and pass.

The trail crosses over Rt. 6 on a bridge shared with cars. When we crossed the bridge earlier in the day, Rachel had said this would be forgotten about later. I was so confused when I got to the end of the trail and the arrows pointed to the left.

Across the street it appeared the path went off into the woods and naturally that’s where we should be going. But once I peeped my head around the corner and saw the bridge I realized where we were. I waited a minute for Rachel to catch up to share this with her, before taking off again.

Crew members positioned themselves along the final part of the path. The 2 miles they said we had left seemed to take forever! I continued with my draft-and-pass method. Bikers passed by me and I heard one of them comment, ‘They’ve walked further then we’ve biked.’ It was then I realized how much we’ve walked and how cool it was.

I could see Colbie’s ahead with a crew member. We had joined the trail about here in the morning. I expected she’d be telling us to turn right here and continue out to the road. But yet again the arrows threw me off. They were pointing straight ahead just beyond her.

Don’t ask. Just follow the arrows.

As I passed by her, she told us we had .53 miles left to go. Sweet, I thought. I turned to someone I was passing, and said, ‘That’s less than ½ a mile.’ And then I thought of Becky and our fraction issues….

Finally I was at the end. I crossed the street at the Sea Camps and walked along the string of balloons. The crowd was cheering and people were high-fiving all over the place. My support crew wasn’t there yet so I hung out on the corner and waited for Rachel.

Rachel came across about 5-10 minutes after me. At some point, Robin, Declan, Patrick, and my parents pulled in. Guess they didn’t see me at the bottom of the driveway. Rachel and I walked up to our families and enjoyed some popcorn on the grass while they worked out whatever was next.

Thank you everyone for all the support you’ve given, and continue to give us! 40 miles closer to a cure, 10 to go!