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Now that I’m in school the weekends are less open, at least they are as I adjust to the workload.

We haven’t been out of the city for a couple weekends but thankfully the snow in the city has been good for skiing so we’ve been enjoying #parcmaisonneuve this winter.

Here is @toesalad at the gate between Parc Maisonneuve and the Jardin Botanique. The botanical gardens have free access in the winter and it’s a lovely place to walk, ski and bird watch.

So grateful for this oasis in our neighborhood.#jardinbotanique

@toesalad and @hammerhead making supper for their respective wives and hiking partners. About an hour after this photo, just after we cleaned up supper and hung bear bags we got a downpour. First rain in 4 or 5 days. We’re both tenting tonight, so I hunkered down in tent, listening to rain, writing today’s journal entries. Now I’ll walk the phone over to my parents tent, who are without books or podcasts, and let them listen to a podcast on my phone to pass the last hour of the day. We’ll all be lights out by 8:30.

Day 40 - Campbell Hollow Road to Upper Laurel Fork

9 miles

Our most significant injury to date happened this morning, while @toesalad was sitting in Blythe's living room. He got stung on the top of his foot by a yellow jacket. His foot swelled quite a bit and he is in some pain.

We hiked out of Campbell Hollow at 2pm.

Lots of streams along the trail, more than we're used to.

We're camping tonight along the river close to the side trail to Harmony Hostel. Bloodroot, Red Hawk, Little Bit and Oregon are also here.

A little bilingual middle school humour. @toesalad and I went skiing today at Cap St Jacques on the west end of the island.

This sign at the ski centre there is not telling us about the fart of the day. Fart is the French word for wax (as in for your x-country skis).

And if you’re a skier you’ll know this was a really warm ski day. But just like the sign says, the ski conditions were good.

We’ve managed to go x-country skiing every weekend of January, all within city limits. City skiing for the win.

Day 71 - Zero at Daleville

0 miles

Our second zero in Daleville. We decided to take another zero today because Otter is still recovering, he didn't wake up till 10:30 this morning.

It's another beautiful, sunny day. And by mid-morning it already felt hot for this northern girl.

The motel room is dark, quiet and warm (too warm, the AC doesn't work well). It's also a little stinky with the warmth and hiker gear strewn about.

We sprayed our pants and tents today with Sawyer's Permethrin spray, an insecticide which kills ticks (and other bugs).

@toesalad actually spent time relaxing today, first time in days. The extra zero provided some time for relaxing since all the re-supply and work of a town stop was done.

Last night @toesalad and I had a long heart to heart talk about this adventure. (Another advantage of today's zero is that we could talk late into the night and still get enough sleep.)

We talked about my struggles and life's challenges, in general. We are two very different people in how we see things and deal with things. I see that so clearly on this trip, more than I have before in our marriage. Yet we love each other, are committed to our marriage, and belong together.

So we struggle, and we talk things out and talk things through because marriage, life, hiking, raising kids is hard work and takes everything we've got. It takes all of who we are.

There is no half-ass thru-hike and no half-ass living.

@toesalad changing the wax on his skis. I have wax-less skis which have pros and cons. One pro: not having to fuss with wax. Con: I can’t adjust the “grip” or “glide” in my skis. I have to rely only on pressure and the scalloped etching. I won’t win any races but that’s not my jam anyway. I love the ease. Also, my preferred terrain is non-tracked woods in which I really love the functionality of my skis. I don't ski for speed but for experience. I'm not exactly a Birkebeiner.

Anyway.... back to skiing.

#laurentides #leptittraindunord

Somewhere on the climb up Burnt Rock Mt. The easy part.

After this I didn’t take my phone out till we had safely “scaled”, summited and descended Burnt Rock man. Wish I had taken more photos, but I don’t take photos when I’m scared or especially stressed on the trail.

Burnt Rock Mtn was as hard as anything I’ve ever hiked before, which I was not expecting. The conditions were crappy and the exposed and slippery summit in the wind and fog and light drizzle was treacherous. And then came the rope and ladder... maybe @toesalad has more photos of this.

A black duck (American Black Duck) takes flight as we paddle through the canal leading up to Poonamalie lock.

When @toesalad first proposed this route to me months ago I was not interested. The Rideau Canal sounds like this looks - a man made structure.

Paddling through that for a week didn’t sound fun.

I didn’t realize that the Rideau Canal is bodies of water linked together with short sections of canals and made navigable through elevation changes with locks and dams.

Most of the “canal” looks nothing like this. This is one of the most canal-like looking sections of the entire journey so far.

Gear to share with @toesalad.

Smart water bottles are for holding “dirty” water. We find they are the perfect bottles for squeezing with sawyer filter.

Sawyer filter.

MSR reactor stove and pot system. Stove nests in pot with fuel canister, kitchen towel and cooking spoon.

Red MSR Dromedary water bladder. Will use if we can scoop water from river (we couldn’t, too dangerous)

Blue Sea to Summit “Kitchen Sink” - will use for holding and melting snow for water if we can’t scoop from river. This is what we used.

First aid and repair kit.

Knife

Toilet paper and trowel.

Damien took pot and stove kit and I carried everything else.

Day 39 - Doll Flats to Campbell Hollow Road

6.6 miles

Resupply day. We were down to our last bars and handfuls of trail mix. Probably time to start packing more food.

Coming down from Doll Flats to US 19E was green and lush, so different from Roan and the balds.

Took our breakfast break at the road, lots of people around, setting up trail magic.

The terrain in this area seems to be old farm lands; hollows that are pronounced hollors. A very domestic feel to this part of the trail.

Blythe and her boys and dogs met us at Isaacs Cemetery and we walked the trail down to Campbell Hollow Road, where they live. So cool to be hosted by someone who lives right off the trail.

After arriving at their home around noon, we did our usual resupply gig - mail, laundry, groceries, plus a long drive to Johnson City for fuel. We didn't notice in the A.T. guide that fuel was sold nearby at the hostel. We are blessed to have such gracious hosts that drive us around.

The computer we ordered in Erwin was sent here and @toesalad got it all set up. We hope this will be the answer to some of our technical problems which contribute to relational and emotional stress and strain. A computer will be a better tool than our iPads to manage our off-trail life (bills, banking and such), our online work and social media, and my writing.

Uploading photos to Facebook tonight (using iPad while @toesalad was setting up computer) was a huge effort, exhausting on top of everything else.

Blythe made burgers for supper, they were fabulous. And she is letting us sleep in the master bedroom of this beautiful mountain home. I feel spoiled.

Late night going to bed with all the work we have to do.

Eating breakfast and leaving campsite 2.

We’ve decided to do an easy paddling distance today to give @toesalad’s foot a chance to heal.

Yesterday during one of the portages something irritated the skin of his inner foot, just above the arch. As he walked, his shoe rubbed the irritation and it became more inflamed.

As it happened we had 5 portages yesterday and every time we had to walk the area became more inflamed.

So we’re taking a rest day today, planning to paddle for a couple hours to the last designated campsite before the largest portage of the trip.

We’re hoping a day of very little irritation, keeping the foot clean and dry will heal it sufficiently for the big portage tomorrow.

Day 21 - Russell Field Shelter to Silers Bald Shelter

14.7 miles

Today is Easter Sunday but when you're on the trail you don't notice holidays, just as you don't differentiate between weekend days or weekdays.

It was beautiful today, the trail was picturesque in many places, the wildflowers are blooming, the sun was shining. But even all this did little to ease my mood.

My calf discomfort from yesterday worsened and because it was too painful to walk with a pack @toesalad carried it for me, the last 10 miles of the day. It would be nice to simply stop and take a long rest when you experience discomfort and pain but with five of us, if we did that, there would be many days we wouldn't hike at all. To make sure we can keep moving forward and not run out of days to finish the trail @toesalad bears the extra burden when necessary, to lighten our loads, to keep us going. A day off trail would be ideal, this is second best I guess. I'm thankful he does this. In truth, I feel we couldn't do this trip if he wasn't willing to take care of us like this.

I took my first ibuprofen today.

The trail today was lots of ups and downs, not as rolling as the guide had me believe.

We were all tired when we arrived at the shelter tonight.

After such a difficult day and the bit of shame I feel for not having carried my pack for most of today, I was not looking forward to a shared sleeping space, but I think it will be ok.

I perked up after we arrived and ate supper.

Everyone here is so kind: the Lost Boys, Gandolf, Lover Boy and Belch, a dad with his daughter (not thru-hikers), Nooga, Muzzle and the Military Men.

Leaving Colonel By Island with its strange, dilapidated (and boarded up) house.

This is the kind of place made for haunted house stories.

We weren’t bothered by ghosts but we were visited by the resident mink in the night (our houseboat neighbors told us about her).

Sometime in the middle of the night we awoke to loud sniffing outside the tent. @toesalad thought it was me, I thought it was him. But it was not either of us. We whacked the side of the tent and shortly afterward heard a loud splash as it entered the water to swim back to its beachhead home.

It was really loud as it entered the water. We heard it twice in the night. I would have thought it would be more stealthy.

View from Bluff Mountain, more Virginia ridges.

We got up this morning at 5:30 so we could get to water as soon as possible. @toesalad had a fitful sleep and suffered a panic attack around midnight. He came over to the Hilleberg, where I was sleeping with the girls. He was pretty anxious and wasn't thinking straight (who does when they wake up alarmed in the middle of the night?) and I reassured him we did in fact make the right decision, everything would be ok. That was a little unnerving for me as he is usually the solid, stable, and steady one.

But morning came, we got up, packed up and now we're on our way to eat breakfast and drink lots of water.

And it never did rain last night.

Day 69 - VA 311 to Daleville, VA

19.8 miles

Left Four Pines at 8 am this morning. Got a ride back to VA 311 with a couple other hikers, who rode in the box of Joe's truck as we took up all the space in the cab.

We started hiking at 8:15 am and got into Daleville around 5:45 pm. This was our longest day this week and it felt like it, even without packs.

Hiked McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs today. Loved Tinker Cliffs with the trees to our right and cliff on the left. Hiked a long ridge after Lamberts Meadow Shelter to Daleville. We kept asking, "when will this end?" That 10 mile stretch seemed to take forever.

We expected an easier hike down into Daleville but it was challenging. I think the miles into Daleville and the rocky ridge around Hay Rock would make for a great day hike.

@toesalad left us at around 4:30 and went ahead at a faster pace to get into town before the outfitter closed and Otter took the pack for the last hour.

Kids and I hiked down into town, finally emerging out of the woods onto US 220 at 5:45. We walked down to the Howard Johnson Express, which is really close to the trail. Discovered the pool was filled and ready for guests, checked in, and got pizza across the road at Pizza Hut.

@toesalad and I did the math and decided that we will zero tomorrow because we have a lot to get done and it doesn't make sense to have the added stress of leaving the motel and trying to find free wifi, etc.

I was so relieved with this decision and so happy for the kids that there is a pool here and it's even filled with water.

This evening we started to watch a movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, to help us unwind from the stress and exhaustion of the day. And just as we started watching Otter threw up.

Looks like it might be another long night in a motel room with a sick kid. Poor Otter.

Day 31 - Spring Mountain Shelter to Jerry Cabin Shelter

15 miles

Today was hard. Terrain was not very inspiring and we were feeling the pressure to make 15 miles to this shelter.

The Ridge trail was as strenuous as described and we went hard to get over the ridge before it started to rain, which it did. I strained my feet on the rocks, pushed harder than what felt comfortable in my soft soled boots.

We came into Jerry Cabin Shelter shortly after 6 pm in the rain and fog, tired out from our long day.

I managed to give myself a nice sponge bath while @toesalad was cooking supper.

We ate an apple cobbler for dessert tonight, something we picked up on our last trail stop. We went straight to bed after doing up dishes in the foggy dark.

The shelter is full of people we've never met.

Day 60 - Laurel Falls to Jenny Knob Shelter

18.8 miles

This has been three hard days, a particularly low time on the trail (seems like a common refrain).

I am feeling the strain of sick days and zeros on our mileage. I am tired of hiking. I am tired of the physicality of this adventure. I find the terrain uninspiring.

I am angry at @toesalad for bringing me out here but I'm upset also because I choose this.

This last stretch from Marion to Trent's Grocery, where we plan to stop tomorrow night, is the longest stretch we've been on the trail, without a town stop, due to Padawan's (@celine) sick zero day.

We've started going longer distances without water, 8 miles has been our longest stretch.

My parents are having a good time, which I'm very grateful for. Our immediate family quarrels seem petty, fighting over food, really?

Padawan has been low, Tenacious Bling as usual (which is to say a lot of our interactions are emotionally difficult), and Otter is easy going and happy.

The highlight for sure of the last three days has been Laurel Creek last night. How many Laurel Creek's are there on the trail? Will we find one again?

It was so beautiful and refreshing, yet in my pain and disappointment it was hard to appreciate, but I tried.

@toesalad and I have been having hard conversations. Lots of time for those. We know we are committed to each other but we're not sure we're committed to the same vision for our future. We want to walk the same path but the reality of that is hard!

I decided in these past few days that it's time to quit blogging and Facebook for the remainder of our hike. The demands of hiking and our video series are too much for me to continue blogging, and this feels like a huge loss for me. This will be the longest interruption to my writing flow and publishing for years. The writing is too difficult right now anyway, having all my pain and discomfort come to the surface. I need to be fully present for the work going on in my life right now. And a hard work it is.

I recommend this trail area in the Lantier municipality for winter day hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

@toesalad and I have been here a few times over the past couple winters.

Things I like about the area:

• free access
• not too well-known which means not too many people
• decent cross-country trails including good blue trails

I wouldn’t hike here in summer, not enough elevation for me but it’s great for winter sport.

Today I introduced my friend Kim to the area.

This is the first time I’ve snowshoed the trails here and I have to say I recommend the skiing more than the snowshoeing since a lot of the snowshoeing is on a multipurpose trails laid by snowmobile. However you can just tramp through the woods on your snowshoes if you like.

Best access for snowshoeing is parking lot on chemin Lac de la Montagne Noire (see map in this post: https://outsideways.com/journals/entries/3724/)

#laurentides #troislacs #lantier

Day 72 - Daleville to BRP 95.3 (near Harvey's Knob Overlook)

16.1 miles

Another sunny day.

Left the Howard Johnson Express at 8am this morning. Stopped for a second breakfast at Fullhardt Knob Shelter. There is a cistern at this shelter that is fed from the roof run off. No wonder the guide book says to treat your water. I was reminded of the cistern way back in North Carolina before hiking down into the NOC. That water was the most beautiful cistern I've ever seen. This roof-run was a decidedly different water experience.

It was uninspiring terrain early today and the conditions were hot and humid, though when summer comes in earnest this won't feel hot.

As we approached the Blue Ridge Parkway the terrain improved, more rocky outcroppings, and the temperature increased. It was easily 90 degrees in the parking lot. Thankfully we didn't spend much time there.

All the Lindt chocolate balls are melting in our food bag.

We ended the day at 4:30 with a dry camp at approximately mile 95.3 off the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Harvey's Knob Overlook. We set up our tents on an old overgrown road.

Today's hike felt completely manageable, in terms of miles and I was in a good mode the whole time. Amazing what two days of rest will do. Today I feel rejuvenated and at peace with hiking for the next few months. A feeling I didn't have last week as we were grinding the miles into Daleville.

Life on the trail, and at home, in never perfect and someone in our family of five is always "off", just today it wasn't me!

I've been feeling a little worried about our lack of attention to our video project, "shouldn't we be filming more stuff?". But @toesalad is emotionally drained from the last couple weeks and doesn't have the creative energy or inspiration for it. And the editors are still producing from the footage we've given them.

I'm really hoping I'm through the worst of my angst, for now, so @toesalad can focus again on the video series.

I felt really good today, best I've felt on the trail for weeks. The day didn't drag and I didn't want want to end my life for the agony of hiking.