I wish I could write a day by day novel, because it was an epic journey, but I'll try to summarize in a million words or less. Springtime in the Midwest meant I had everything from 30 degrees to almost 80 degrees. It made for a variety of gear, but I didn't die, so I must have done it right. Almost had a tornado, but instead, just high winds and lots of pop up thunderstorms. As I crossed the bridge in Boonville, I was glad I wasn't a lightweight or I'm pretty sure I would have blown away or had to hold on to the handle of my beefy cart for life as I laughed hysterically to myself as I made it to the other side. I would very often start out the day in my puffy coat and be in short sleeves by mid afternoon. My face and hands are fried to beef jerky. Sometimes I wore rain gear for most of the day, but most of the time it was a contest to see how often I could take my jacket, hat, buff, gloves, etc, on and off throughout the day compared to the day before. It was nice not to have to stop and stuff it in my pack--I could just throw it on top of my cart til I put it back on 5 minutes later. Speaking of my cart, I got asked a lot what was in it (nope, not a dog or a kid). No tent, since I had a place to shower and sleep each night, but I had my sleeping bag for the bunk houses. I slept anywhere from 5 hours to a luxurious 8 hours a few nights. Each day was between 40-58 miles and I had a final 73 mile push to the finish so I could stay under my goal of 10 days. I had all my food for 10 days, including a dry bag and a soft cooler so I could have some fruits and veg in there. Totally worth the extra weight. I most often carried all my fluid for a full day (12-17 hours a day depending on the day) because the trail head faucets weren't open for the season, yet. I was able to keep clothing to a minimum, not because I revel soaking in my funk, but because I stuck to fast hiking and was able to not sweat through multiple layers and worry about chafing. I did laundry half way through in St Charles so just needed 5 days worth of underdones and socks (I brough a few extra of each and glad I did for rainy days). Also, the usual toiletries, first aid, gear repair (electric bike pump totally worth the extra weight) and vitamins and drink mixes. I also carried pepper spray and my hand gun. That being said, I've been out on the Katy Trial numerous times by myself and haven't had to use either, but have had stand offs with a few dogs but we agreed to let me pass. I only had one flat tire but dealt with MANY downed trees and debris. Not sure how I didn't puncture or tear the canvas on my cart and blow more tires the amount of off-roading I did around trees where I could or pulled it backwards, up and over after I broke off branches. I got to know the State Park guys pretty well out there as they were cleaning up after a few major storms while I was out there. They did an amazing job with the miles of trail they had to keep up with. Don't know how my spokes survived as well, driving over vines and branches, etc. This is just a no-name dog cart and I have literally put thousands of miles on it and it is a trooper (we talk to each other:D) There was only one tree that was impassable on the west side of Marthasville, and I had to back track, find the road, try not to get run over, and make my way back into town and on the trail. They were in the process of removing it when I came back through, but still had to go around. There was a detour also in St Charles, but it was just into the parking lot beside the trail. There was also a bridge out on the way back, but after making it through a ditch onto the road, there was an access road back onto it not that far down, THANK GOODNESS.
I wanted to do this route, because I know (for various reasons) I can't run and race long distances like I used to so if I go longer and have a steady fast walk/hike pace, I apparently can still endure a noteworthy distance. This also takes a fair amount of planning, which I love. It still took a lot of mental grunt, because things never go as planned and you have to adapt. I only ever really wanted to quit once, and that was on day 6, in the pouring rain, on a section of trail that wasn't just soft, but straight up muddy and it was a motherfletcher to push my cart through it. It really took it out of me. By 3pm that day, it finally stopped raining and I still had 20 miles to go. That's where the mental games come in. I can give you a moment by moment, but most ultra dumb assess know all about it, and this was just one of those times. Somehow you get to the other side and you realize: I did that. The overnight on the last 73 miles wasn't easy, either, especially the last 8 miles when my left calf seized up and then my foot and then my hip, but it was DEFINITELY too late to quit then. Sweet victory at Clinton, that felt like it would never come. And I had almost 4 hours to spare for my 10 day goal! Glad to get this one on the record:)