I hiked 12 miles, but never got my pizza

I’m starting to learn that whenever I plan a trip to The Red, the only things I actually plan are when I’m going to go and what I’m going to eat. For the third time in a row, I didn’t know where I was going to go until mid Friday. Could that be a reflection of a no-worries attitude? Or a sign that I have too much confidence in myself? After reflecting on why this trip ended early, I’m leaning towards the latter.

Why The When? Link to Why The When?

I hit the trail on this particular weekend because it was the weekend of my fiancée’s bachelorette party. She would be out of town and mostly inaccessible the entire weekend. Which was a great opportunity for me to also be gone and mostly inaccessible.

Spending my rare free weekend in the woods seemed like the only way to spend it. I have been excited about preparing for next year’s thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, so very little time was spent thinking of other options.

Why The Where? Link to Why The Where?

Despite having it on the calendar for two months, there was only a vague plan: leave at 2pm on Friday, maybe hike through Saturday and come back on Sunday. I didn’t do any research to figure out what I would hike until I was eating lunch on Friday. I did pack my bag Thursday evening, but it does sound odd to say I packed without knowing what for.

A trail that lets me hike over a two day weekend needs to be at least 20 miles. Additionally, I’m not comfortable with the idea of hitchhiking, so loops are preferred. Unfortunately, those two requirements filter out every trail in The Red. I couldn’t find anything (using AllTrails) that was longer than 15 miles.

For a longer trail, I could section hike the Sheltowee Trace Trail. But that would require hitchhiking back to my car or doing each section out-and-back. Based on what I’ve heard about the Sheltowee Trace Trail, hiking it twice would be an extremely regretful idea.

After lots of search phrase crafting and filter tweaking, I couldn’t find anything that fit my criteria. So I settled on Koomer Ridge and Gray’s Arch Loop. The loop is measured at 11.6 miles. There aren’t any campsites marked in AllTrails, but in my experience, there are plenty of established unmarked sites in The Red. The last thing to note is that there are a handful of river crossings during the first half of the loop. I wasn’t aware of this ahead of time, so I was surprised by my first opportunity to walk through a river.

By the time I had the trail picked out, it was 2 pm on Friday. That would have been okay, but I felt like a cold was developing. The shorter trip meant I could delay until Saturday morning; at which time I was feeling better and headed out.

Why No Pizza? Link to Why No Pizza?

I almost had to change my plans at the last second. Unbelievably, the parking area for the Komer trailhead was full! Thankfully, after doing a 5 minute-loop and trying again, I snagged a freshly open spot.

Quickly, my permit was hung, bag strapped on, and my feet were moving. Once I got to the trailhead, it was really easy to hold my pace. The weather was great, I met a couple other hikers, walked through a bone chilling river a half dozen times, and crushed some good miles.

Some trail highlights included getting lost in the same section of Koomer Ridge that tripped me up back in December. After a long down-climb, I picked up a sweatshirt and sweatpants in the middle of the trail, and then 200 yards later found their owner preparing to nap on a log. Gray’s Arch may have offered some good views, but there weren’t even buds on the trees yet, so I let the young families enjoy brown views on their own.

Around halfway through the hike, I realized that my pace was fast enough that I could probably finish the entire hike before sunset. Incredibly, I thought that was such a good idea that I gave myself an incentive. If I finish before sunset, I can go to ‘Miguel’s for pizza and camp there for the night there.

Pushing through ended up being more difficult than I expected. With a mile and a half left, my legs started to feel the trail. My knees were aware of the weight of my pack. My hips were keen to point out all the ways that my posture was failing. My feet had discovered the support structure of the Altras I had tied to them. The pain of it all was enough that I skipped a mile-long section to see an arch near the end of the trail. Opting instead to get back to the car sooner. To accentuate the desperation, my phone died while I was checking the map to see what I was missing.

In the end, I made it. I did my ten pushups, and I charged my phone enough to figure out how to get to Miguel’s. After a ten minute drive, I found the lid of a pizza box posted on the door: "Out of pizza dough. Sandwiches are still available."

I was so distraught by the realization that I had pushed through the pain for a measly sandwich that I chugged a Red Bull and immediately drove home. I called my brother, who consoled me for half of the drive. Though, I think he was mostly enjoying the comedy of my bad decisions. “How could a pizza place be out of pizza?” But also, “why did you go backpacking if you were going to skip the camping part?”

When pizza? Link to When pizza?

Since this hike (no one would say I went backpacking), I’ve pondered more on what the purpose of a backpacking trip is for me. Generally, I want to be as ready as possible so that my hike of the Appalachian Trail goes as smoothly as it can. I’ve spent enough nights camping that I don’t think that more single and double days would be helpful. If I want more miles with a pack, I can do that without driving two and a half hours. I can try dehydrated food from the comfort of my kitchen.

Maybe I want the chance to learn something only the trail can teach me. Transparently, I think I want to give myself the best chance at moving quickly once my feet hit the trail. Homesickness has never been an issue for me, but I don’t think there is anyone who wouldn’t feel homesick if they were leaving their partner less than twelve months into their marriage. Fear of that feeling is probably the biggest motivator to push myself a little harder.

Regardless of whether it is fear, pride, or determination, I hope that the next time I push myself, there is a consolation pizza.