Today was an exciting day for 2 reasons.
One-it was the first day of three day heatwave coming in that all the hikers were talking about.
And two-it was a hike to a place called Richmond which was the biggest village on the walk and the destination of my planned rest day! I would have two whole nights in the same B&B without the need to pack up my bag and a whole day to do noooothinnngg.
All I had to do was get through today.
Today’s hike wasn’t so bad. 11.5 miles (18km) with only one 350 meter climb. I was feeling quite optimistic when I set off after breakfast. The path was fantastic! I was still walking along the River Swale and there was plenty of trees and cool air and just general cheeriness to make me walk with a bounce in my step. It might be a hot day later, but walking under the shade of the trees was so pleasant.
After a few kilometers I heard my name called and looked behind me. It was Anna, the younger woman who waved to me at breakfast 2 days ago. We walked together and caught up on our past several days of hiking. (I confessed I took a cab yesterday and she said it was probably for the best as the 4 mile uphill climb wasn’t fun and she knows how slow I am up hills.)
Before long another woman caught up to us, a Belgium I had talked to briefly at breakfast 2 days ago. So the three of us teamed up and soon we caught up with Hanna, the older woman from day one, who clearly wanted to be left alone. After a quick catch-up she told us to go first but then we took the wrong path and she sped ahead of us wanting to get away from our constant chattering. But then we caught up to her, along with another group of two who were locals walking with their dog, and you could tell she was annoyed (she really wanted to be by herself) so we took a water break under some shade and she went on.
The walk was still quite gorgeous, going through fields and crossing wide open spaces, but it was a heat wave day and it was getting later and hotter. The thing with crossing open fields is no trees to shade you and I began feeling the burn. These two women I was with were strong hikers, both has started a day or two after me and had done some long days to catch up. They clearly slowing their pace for me on the uphills. At one point we had a big climb out of a valley and I told them that I would fall behind and “Please, just go on without me.”
I did fall behind, very quickly, and I saw them reach the top and then stand there waiting for me. I felt super guilty but I couldn’t go faster. You see, I have these health issues and my muscles can’t get the oxygen they need to I literally can’t go faster and need to stop to catch my breath a lot more. And with the heat my heart rate was already higher than normal so I had to stop even more despite my growing muscle strength.
At one point when I was catching my breath I looked up at the top of the ascent and saw they were gone. I was sad because they were good company and distracting me from the heat, but also happy that I wasn’t burdening them anymore.
I continued at my slow pace and finally reached the top only to see both of them sitting down taking a break! “Awww, you guys didn’t have to wait for me,” I said. “Of course we did! We’re not leaving you behind!” Honestly I was touched because at this point I was so overheated I became sluggish. I had plenty of water but my bottles were literally hot to the touch and drinking hot water was not helping me at all, but their company did!
At one point we passed by Hanna taking her lunch break in the shade. I asked why she didn’t leave at 5am today like she has been doing recently and she said it was because she wanted to eat breakfast. (Breakfast is usually served between 7:30-8:30 so leaving early means you need to eat your own snacks and I think she had run out and there was no store in the past 2 villages to stock up.)
She was not taking a rest day in Richmond so I knew I wouldn’t see her again. In fact, out of all the people that had started the same day as me, the people who had become my “gang,” I seemed to be the only one taking a rest day. Today was the day I would lose all my hiking pals.
If I wasn’t so hot I would be sadder but all I wanted to do was get to Richmond for an icy drink. The two women kept up a manageable, but slightly quicker pace than I would have done on my own and rested a lot less than I would have. At one point I looked longingly at the two local women walking their dog sitting peacefully under a giant oak tree. Byt my friends were ahead of me, plowing on, and I was actually grateful because even though I was exerting more energy it was better for me to get indoors with air conditioning. I know left on my own I would have taken many, many more breaks and walked a lot slower.
The last few miles were tough but the two ladies carried me through with chatting and company and I was deeply grateful. One was an engineering professor at Oxford and Harvard and the other was a social worker helping people in England. Very impressive people.
We finally arrive in the outskirts of the city and it felt weird going from these very quiet villages to a bustling town! Richmond is the biggest town on the trail with a population of over 20,000. Meanwhile I was passing through villages with 100-500 residents so being in a place with a gas station, several main roads and trucks rumbling through was a slight shock to the system.
The other ladies and I were all staying at different places, and they were both continuing on tomorrow, so I knew I would never see them again and we had to say goodbye. I was sad to see Anna go but I thanked her for her company, and encouragement, the days we hiked together. She really helped me through two tough days and I won’t forget it.
Richmond was like all the previous villages but on steroids. It was still all stone houses and churches but a LOT more of them
with a very vibrant city center filled with shops and restaurants. I even found a Costa Coffee where I got a large ice tea with extra ice and had a good sit in a/c. Despite the a/c we had arrived early and I had an hour to kill before going to my next B&B.
My B&B was again run by an older couple and was adorable. hey had award winning breakfasts I was looking forward to enjoying tomorrow and even better they had a laundry service that I immediately took advantage of. Clean clothes! And my room for the next 2 nights was large, comfy and clean with a jar of cookies!
After I arrived, showered and relaxed for a bit I just really crashed. I was sunburnt despite using a ton of sunscreen, had a headache and just generally felt quite weak and cranky. I just wanted to crawl into bed but I knew I needed food for my body to recover. Tired of all the “pub grub” I had been eating recently I found a Thai place nearby. I asked for so many refills of water the waitress just eventually gave me a full pitcher with ice, lol.
My fitness watch decided it was too hot to keep track of my mileage but it was about 20km in around 6 hours. Those women kept a quick pace and I think this was my fastest day yet, despite the heat.
But even though I felt so tired and weak I knew I had nothing to do the next day so I wasn’t worried at all. I have been waiting this whole trip for my Richmond rest day and I was proud I had actually made it.
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