Day 6 on trail: 31.5 trail miles, 31.5 actual miles

My day started in the dark. My tent walls were sagging with condensation. I turned my headlamp to red flashing mode before hitting the trail.

The bridge over White Oak River had almost no shoulder, but nearly every car heeded my flashing headlamp and moved over. The sunrise behind me was beautiful as were the misty clouds settling over the farm fields.

One road led to another road and another road. The ongoing problem for the day was where to pee when I needed to go. I was either on an exposed road or walking through a residential area or beside private property.

I stopped in at a Dollar General to use the bathroom and get a cold coffee and some snacks. I stopped at several convenience stores to use the bathroom during the day. I got a cold drink and/or ice cream from each one.

I walked past Camp Lejeune’s main entrance and onto the Jacksonville Rails to Trail path. It was nice and had many benches and trash bins but no porta johns. I turned onto the Lejeune Trail, another greenway, which led me through several underpasses beside the Camp Lejeune military fence all the way to the Lejeune Memorial Gardens. I turned off my music and paid my respects to the fallen. The park was a beautiful tribute.

Downtown Jacksonville was next, but there wasn’t much to it. After crossing a bridge over another river, I spotted a public boat launch with trash bins. When I walked over, I saw there were also bathrooms and water! I sat beside the bathrooms and ate lunch, aired out and massaged my feet (again), filled up with water, and used the restrooms.

The afternoon hours were gruelling: 95*F and stagnant. The pavement radiated heat back up towards me, making the overwhelming feeling of stickiness worse. I had to repeatedly sit down in the shade where I found it to rest my increasingly aching feet throughout the day. I was elated when I finally completed my longest trail day ever: 31.5 miles an ultramarathon hike!

Greggers picked me up at 6:45pm. He was a super accommodating host, taking me to dinner and then to his home. He let me shower and fill my water bottles. He was truly the angel I needed at the end of this long day!

Music:

Daxten / Late Nights / courtesy of https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com

Tomas Skyldeberg / Souls of Time / courtesy of https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com

Daxten / Make It Rain / courtesy of https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com

Hallman / Fortune of Hearts / courtesy of https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com

dvine / Vast Highlands / courtesy of https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com

Daxten / No Worries / courtesy of https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com'>https://www.epidemicsound.com