Day 3: Analogy

May 26, 2025

(Side note – What did we ever do before the internet and cell service? Thank you to who I will call the Irish butterfly that posts these on my behalf, as I do not get a lot of cell service. It takes me a while to send my posts, and some of the pictures won’t go through, so please note that pictures will be added as I am able to send them to her.)

It was raining in the morning when we started our trek from Skyland to Thornton Gap.

Right before we started, I found out the last 2 miles of today’s 10-mile trek would be downhill and rocky. I thought about suggesting we cut a few miles today because I was anxious that the rocks might be wet and slippery, but decided to just let the day unfold.

We saw some deer on our drive to the start of the trail, but not much wildlife on the trail.

We met a thru-hiker whose trail name is Marbles, and she was traveling with Wing It and another hiker. It’s the first time I introduced myself as Gazelle. I was told they were on Day 56 of their hike to Maine. That was just so impressive to me.

Throughout the day we lingered at three spots with beautiful views where we took pictures with the banner of our kids.

The views at Little Stony Man Cliffs were spectacular. One stop we made to take pictures of the view and of Matthew and Maisa had clouds in the background — standing there, you almost feel like you can touch them. Mary’s Rock was also a great stop — would’ve loved to just relax there and listen to nature, but I guess with the holiday weekend there were just so many people. That didn’t take away from the beauty and peacefulness the views provided. It was a rocky path to get there, but it was well worth it. The elevation also bothered me and I had to take a lot of breaks, but it was worth the hike. After taking pictures with Maisa & Matthew’s banner (from here on will be referred to as M&M), we hung out a bit with the banner between us and had a snack with them. I laid them on a rock and thought about religion briefly. I was told by a few religious people at the beginning of my grief to think about Mary and how she had also lost her child ………

“Our hearts are broken.”

The last 2 miles after Mary’s Rock were very rocky, but I’m glad we did not shorten our hike today just because of fear and apprehension. The grounds had dried and although I can feel my ankle, calves, and quadriceps working hard, it was worth seeing what we saw today.

It made me think a lot today that I would not have experienced or seen any of this if it wasn’t for Matthew.

Parallel thoughts on the path of today’s hike and life – rocky paths, beauty and peace here and there, joy, some anxiety, lots of hardships, pain, hard work, reward, gratefulness. Each step on the hike is a step forward, just as each experience on the path of life contributes to personal growth and understanding.

In loving memory of Matthew—Rest in peace..