Mile 125

“I’m Misfit,” she said as they prepared to head out. She’d lost count of how many times she would introduce herself daily. This time it was less of an introduction and more of a goodbye. She is slower than the mile crushers but more dedicated than the party people. It often means that she finds herself with a new crew each day. Today she is saying goodbye to 2 hikers she met the previous day. They banded together to get off the trail and avoid the unexpected overnight lows. They split a room, shared a meal, and enjoyed each other’s company. However, change comes fast on the trail, and these two crushed miles. Misfit had no chance of keeping pace.

Tomorrow she’ll hike with the boomers, talking about, ya know - kids these days. Yesterday, she hiked with the shelter dwellers who go only as far as the next shelter. Today, like many days, she hikes alone. She is slower than the mile crushers but more dedicated than the party people. What she lacks in speed, she makes up for in persistence. She wakes up before sunrise and hikes late into the day. While most are tucking into dinner, she continues hiking. ‘Just one more mile,’ she thinks. Then in the morning, while some are still dreaming, she is clearing her first mile of the day. Her motivation is unknown even to her. There is a driving force that pulls her forward. The thrill of descending on a new location, ticking the next checkpoint, or perhaps slowly chipping away at that unholy mileage count on her way to the final mountain peak.

Five days have passed since she said her goodbyes to her two hiker friends, and just as the day before, she is hiking alone. The daylight is fading, and she is rounding what is probably the third ‘last bend’ for the day. She always thinks, “one more hill… maybe the next campsite… What’s another mile?” But, this bend, unlike those preceding, presents something new. Something unexpected. From over her shoulder, she hears “MISFIT!”

She turns to the shelter she was about to blow past and is surprised to find her two hiker friends sliding over to make some room. Reunited, they lined up in the shelter to share hiking stories and sleep off the day’s hike. She is slower than the mile crushers but more dedicated than the party people. But even Misfit fits in somewhere, if only for a night. For her, these are the moments that matter.