False Start/Lost

I did it! I attempted the NCT again. This time, I made it ~7 days. Then, I bailed...again! I don't remember the Appalachian trail being so hard to stay driven. Besides 16 years, what has changed in my drive to backpack long distance? 

Since my college days at Kalamazoo College on the Land/Sea orientation program, I have enjoyed backpacking. As a kid, you could NOT pull me from the outdoors. So, doing the AT just seemed perfect for me. Once I completed the AT, I found the desire to go long distance growing in me more with each passing year. This lead to the Colorado Trail (CT) 8 years later. Still the desire to go longer than the CT was there and growing...or was it!?

Possibly what was growing was the longing for the simplicity of life on a long trail as well as the sense of community/family. In 2005, I met a hiker on the AT who had just been served divorce papers & layed off from his job. He had heard about the trail family of the AT, and decided to come hike. Talking with a NCT trail angel, who is a past AT thru-hiker, while traversing o-HI-o, I was reminded of this sense of family/community. Maybe the lack of this is what is making my attempt of the NCT so challenging.

On Sunday, 23 May 2021, I flew to Pittsburgh, and was then delivered to the NCT at the point where it crosses the PA/OH border.

From there, I hiked ~14 miles, getting into Sprucevale Lock, where I set up camp for the night in an empty group campsite tucked away from the road.

Little did I know the park, which "closes at dusk" was a hot place for teens/college kids to meet up, hang out, party, or go parking. Many seemed disappointed to find a tent in the group spot best suited for such things. Luckily, nobody decided to bother me, and instead moved along. 

The next morning I got up, packed up, & headed off down the trail in an overcast haze. Since northeast o-HI-o is the gateway to the Appalachian mountains, of course I had a variety of pointless ups and downs (PUDs), but at least I was mostly along the Beaver Creek.

It was a pretty, well maintained trail that made it easy for hiking despite the PUDs. Eventually, the trail came to a re-route in Beaver Creek State Park that took me from trail to back country roads. That was alright with me as it had started to rain, and the trails were already muddy. When the sun came out in the afternoon, it made for a muggy hike. I was thankful to get to Lisbon, OH, grab some chocolate milk & cold water from the gas station before working on a hotel room to share with the in-laws for the night. 

It was great to see the in-laws and left me feeling ready like when they dropped me at the start of the AT. One couldn't ask for more supportive family. I was excited for the continued adventure.

As that 3rd day wore on, and I continued to walk on roads, after a beautiful 2.5 miles on a rails to trails bike path, I started to have a sinking suspicion that I had no place to sleep for the night. My plan was to stay at the Inn & Tavern in Hanoverton, so I gave them a quick call in the middle of the day to verify availability. I'm not sure if they're not open during the week or if they truly were full on a Tuesday night before Memorial Day weekend!? Anyway, my suspicion was confirmed. 

So, when I got to Hanoverton, I found that it was so tiny I'm surprised there was any sort of inn. At a loss, I reached out to the NCT Facebook community starting with the women's hiking group to the trail angels and finally asking the general NCT community. Within 15min, I had responses from chapter volunteers and leaders working to help me out. Truly amazing. As a solo female, I'm a little skittish about people knowing where I'm at in the wilds. Anyway, I ended up hiking another 4 miles on the trail and getting a ride for the 2.5 miles to an RV campground.

The day left me feeling blessed with all the assistance being provided, but also with a keen sense of "I'm all alone out here. If something happens to me, how long will it take someone to notice?"

The next day I woke up early and departed from the campground on a 2 mile stretch that was not part of the NCT, but when hiked straight south intersected the NCT. While packing up that morning, I had dry heaves into puking. That set me on edge for the day, as I wasn't 100% sure where I was staying for the night. I had received notice from a NCT trail angel/maintainer that a gentleman in Malvern, OH was going to help me with camping spot. I was really hoping to make it to Waynesburg, which was beyond Malvern. Unfortunately, the sun gods and the miles on open roads past beautiful farm lands got to me causing further puking. No matter what I put in, it came back out tasting worse than when it went in. Therefore, I was wasted by the time I hit Malvern, and decided to get a hotel room for the night. Thank goodness for the trail angel, John, who was a past AT thru-hiker, and wanted to pay all his good fortune on the AT forward to other hikers.

He took me 8miles to the nearest hotel, and even came to pick me up after taking an unexpected rest day. 

So, day 6 of this adventure, after a much needed rest day where I pigged out and slept a TON, John helps me skip the rest of the road section before the NCT joins the Buckeye Trail (BT), and he drops me off where there is actual trail. This is where I learned the true meaning of "be careful what you wish for." As I excitedly started along the BT/NCT, I was glad to finally be on dirt vs pavement. This eventually changed as the trail became less distinguishable the further along I went in my day.

I suppose the consistent rain with cooling temperatures did not help. Despite all that, I was still able to pull off ~22 miles for the day. 

Unfortunately, it was this cold, wet evening that started my next halt in my adventure. As I huddled in my wet tent, tucked into my wet sleeping bag with my emergency blanket wrapped around to keep in the heat, I still found myself shivering. This brought up the thought again of how long would it take for them to find my cold dead body, since I was all alone. After a restless night of passed out asleep to awake and shivering to hip pain that made me switch sides, I woke up to the incessant morning squabbles of the birds. Once packed, as best I could to try to avoid mixture of wet & dry items, I headed out on the trail. The day started with light rain/mist as I broke my way through various thorny bushes and ducked under/over downed trees constantly watching for any hint of blue blaze. 

After 2 wrong turns on trail due to not being marked well or too overgrown, I followed the 2nd wrong turn out to the road & decided to walk on the roads for the rest of the day. With the cloud covered skies, that was the best decision ever. Due to the stress/anxiety of the growing concern about being out there all alone and tough trail conditions, I found myself puking up sour tummy contents. Once on road & resolved to ask my friend if she could drive ~2 hours to come get me - to which she agreed- I was feeling better and trucking along. 

I arrived to Piedmont, OH by about noon on the last day of this part of my journey, and found a place at Clay's Drive Inn to hunker down & wait for my ride. During this wait time, I was able to throw back some chicken strips and coke, while reaching out to my husband and mom. I ensured them I was going to rent a car and just drive the trail in o-HI-o...after resting out Memorial day weekend with my friend. To this my husband drops a logic bomb on me that now has me wondering what in the heck am I doing? - "I would encourage you to think about your why so that you can get what you need out of this summer." I hate it when he's right. 😉

So, at this time, I will spend some time in Michigan, trying not to overstay my welcome, and think about what I really want/need from this summer. Then, I'll hitch a ride with my in-laws to o-HI-o for my husband's 💯 mile race, crew him through that successful completion. Depending on what I figure out during the next couple weeks, I will either be dropped off at the OH/MI border with the intent to hike the state of Michigan (upper & lower peninsulas) on the NCT, or I will join my husband and dog home to Colorado with my tail between my legs, return to my PRN position with the clinic I left, and allow the super hero complex to die out. Right now, I'm leaning towards backpacking Michigan, but why? That is the big question, right now. 🤔🤨😬

Re-Start

 Soooo...They have tested every angle they possibly could to see what is causing my nausea and vomiting while backpacking. According to my Physician Assistant, everything is "totally normal!" I guess it was all just mental; therefore, the best place to work out the mental stuff is out hiking...at least in my mind.

In a few days, I will re-start the trail, just not at the beginning in Vermont. Instead, I will be starting about where I would have been, if I never left the trail. My travels will still take me west to the terminus in North Dakota. A friend near where I am starting is picking me up and delivering me to the trail instead of my husband dropping me off. 

After a month of reflection on what happened, I have realized I worry a lot about my husband, and that may have caused a small part of the nausea and vomiting on my first day. The other part I learned is that I get very nauseous when exhausted. So, the travel to the trail, although I thought I was getting some good relaxation along the way, I may not have gotten the amount necessary for success. 

Another lesson I learned was how much emotion I have learned to pack away for a rainy day. Being an oncology nurse, it isn't always easy to cry or react in ways that most people might react. We oncology nurses end up having to tuck it into a corner where we will hopefully take it back out later and process. I'm not good at processing that stuff...especially when keeping myself extra busy (like working 40-50 hours a week to bank some money for this trip). So, those emotions finally had a chance to come out while at home sitting around doing nothing. 

It was amazing how much lighter I felt after releasing even a portion of those pent up emotions. The pain in my chest that I continuously related to having bruised my sternum in 2009 or the 5 broken ribs in 2002 had resolved, for the most part. I've talked with past massage therapists regarding my posture of protecting my heart chakra, and am hoping by the end of this adventure I will be able to open up again, and embrace people with greater love. Yup! That sounded hippie dippy! :-)

Anyway, despite the disappointment of not doing the entire trail, some great things have come from my being home for over a month. First, I was able to go on the 40th birthday trip to Cancun with my "tribe," 2 lovely ladies that have been my rock both at work and in my every day. This trip was being planned as I was saying adios for the trail the end of March.

This trip just happened to overlap my "wife's", a really good friend who accidentally called me her wife when talking to her co-workers about my husband, trip to Cozumel; therefore, allowing me to hangout with her one more time before I head back to the trail. This combination of 2 trips gave me a chance to figure out solo how to travel and make things work. It renewed my confidence in being able to backpack this long distance.

Then, I was able to be around for my nephew's Sweet 16 birthday. I was on the Appalachian Trail when he was born, so I was happy to be around for this milestone birthday. 🎂  Lastly, I am able to be present for my sister's middle child's graduation from high school. He was awarded a silver cord for academic honors, and has been working on becoming a fire fighter some day by taking college courses focused on getting him ready.

So, it is with a lighter heart that I prepare to head back out there and check out all that o-HI-o, Michigan (upper and lower peninsulas), Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota have in store. If time and weather allow, I may attempt to complete the Pennsylvania part of the trail before the snow flies, thus leaving only New York to complete. I'm excited, and I hope those reading this are excited as well. Cheers! And may I see some of you out there on the trail.

Eating Humble Pie!

 Today, Day 3, my husband dropped me at the VT/NY border with Jasper, and we hiked across the bridge into Crown Point. It was a beautiful day, again, and my excitement was high to finally be in a spot where we had scoped out the trail markers. I was prepared for a lot of road walking, as that is what we found when driving around the previous day. My husband drove to Crown Point and walked to meet Jasper and me as we came across the bridge.

We then took the obligatory photos by the "eastern terminus" sign, and hiked through the park to the next blue blaze we found. It was odd that the route through Crown Point was not marked with blazes or markers, but we knew there was one after the park heading in the direction I needed to go. At this point, I had the National Geographic maps for Adirondack Park, which the NCTA website suggests using for this section of the NCT. So, I felt pretty confident in where I was headed. 

At this point, I was still not eating a lot due to the pain in the roof of my mouth as well as just feeling nauseous. I WAS drinking more water than I usually do, though. So, that was good. Also, I had been able to hold down the raisin bran breakfast I had consumed.

As I hiked along the highway, I enjoyed the views. One yard had a pen with chickens, but there were 2 ducks having sex in the pen. I chuckled to myself as I passed. Along the way, I passed a road sign that said, "Badger Way," and I thought of my nephew. Some road cyclists passed me and asked where I was headed. "To North Dakota," I screamed. They mumbled about that being a long distance by foot. I had to agree with them on some level. It made me smile to think that I was headed to North Dakota from Vermont. That was the first time I had really said it out loud to strangers. 

About 5 miles in, I came to where my map said I should go, but there were no blazes designating it as part of the NCT route. We had NOT driven this section the night before as we were happy with the number of blazes we had been seeing. I took a break on the side of the road to study my map further. Looking at the map, I could take the road I had turned onto and still basically make it to the same location as if I were to continue precariously following Hwy 9N to Hwy 2. So, I took off the way I had drawn on my map based on the interactive map on the NCTA website. The plan was to make it to Stony Lonesome B&B. 

Continuing to walk along the backroads, I made my way to Crown Point Center. I assumed there would be something like a gas station or even a small market, but there was nothing other than a flag post in the middle of an intersection of roads. I took another break to look at my map and make sure I was choosing the right road out of the 5 choices, and continued along Hwy 2. 

These highways are back mountain road highways, where there is no shoulder. So, at times, I feared for my life as trucks came screaming around curves. The nice thing along this route, though, was that it followed a river, and there were small turnouts occasionally. I used one of these turnouts to take another break, realizing that my break requirements were becoming closer and closer together. 

The sun was getting higher in the sky and it was getting hotter. I was drinking plenty of water and was working on the leftover lemonade that I had attempted to water down, but then added caffeinated Nuun to it later in the day. My legs and brain were tired and not having eaten much in the past 3 days was taking its toll. Reviewing my map again, I would attempt to determine how far I had to certain locations. Instead, I ended up frustrated because the mileage was NOT working out right. The distance I had already come looked like the distance I had left to go, and yet it took me less time and it was shorter. Between not having any blazes and feeling like my map was off, I was beginning to get frustrated on top of the exhaustion of not having any food.

Finally, I made it to the Penfield Museum, where I had decided I would stop for the day and wait for my husband. I had made it 13.5miles that day by about 1300. Not bad mileage considering I was feeling awful. It was not long after my arrival that my husband appeared, once again rescuing me from another failed attempt. 

When he found me, he mentioned he had been driving around trying to find the trail based on the maps on the NCTA website. He was not having any luck and getting frustrated himself. We drove the routes he had taken, veering off to drive the dirt road that based on my map I would have been hiking had I continued. There were residences scattered throughout the route, and still no NCT markers. We even stopped at the trailhead designated on the NCTA interactive map, and found no signs designating the NCT. Frustrated and defeated we headed to Ticonderoga, NY to stay for the night. 

Check-in time for the hotel was 1500, and it was only 1330. So, we had time to spare and decided to find a place to walk the dog. There is a beautiful park near downtown Ticonderoga where my husband had attempted to walk the dog earlier, but dogs were not allowed. Further up the river from that park was a nice paved path, which we ended up walking along for a bit. Every so often, I would stop to catch my breath and stop my head from swirling. Eventually, we got to a spot where I simply needed to sit down or I was going to pass out, and my husband was able to take Jasper into the river to cool off and do what he loves best...swim. :-) 

Once they had their fill of the river, we decided to head back to the car and look at maybe heading to the hotel to check in. As we walked back to the car, the city siren went off, and a couple of military helicopters circled the air. We joked about an air raid or something. Then the fire trucks started coming. 

About a block from our car, we found where the action was happening. There was a fire in a building near a gas station. As we watched the fire trucks arrive, we saw trucks from 3 different locations show up to help out, along with I think the entire population of the city on that day.  event was like the most exciting thing for many, it seemed. Admittedly, I have to say we stayed and watched for a quite a bit as well. I had a wild urge to get closer, but as I told my husband, I know how annoying it is when people crowd me at my job, so I stood back taking photos instead.

My husband noticed the smoke coming out of the window first, and pointed it out. This was NOT a fire drill or a practice exercise. We watched as the surrounding departments arrived, as community people attempted to park by a fire hydrant saved for the coming fire trucks. The ladder was secured to a window of the building, and the fire department appeared to be receiving stuff from inside and securing it away from the building. , we grew tired of watching, as it was moving slowly, and my energy level was quickly waning. Also, it was finally 1500 and we could check in to the hotel. 

We got to the hotel and got checked in. The room was nice enough, and I rested on the bed in the cool temperatures. My husband and I discussed what to do at that point, and decided I was returning to Colorado with him. The communities in upstate New York do not open until the 1st of May (most of them). The NCT route through there was not fully completed, let alone marked clearly. The parts that my husband and I walked/drove were populated enough that if I was having a bad day, it would NOT be easy to simply set up camp for the night and rest. I would be forced to do long miles and possibly risk camping on private property. 

So, we packed up the next morning, and headed back to Colorado, where I would make an appointment with my provider to see what might be causing the nausea and vomiting, and to decide what to do next. On the way to Vermont, I did the majority of the driving. On the way home to Colorado, my husband was forced to do a lot of the driving as I was still not taking in very many calories and felt dizzy and nauseous most of the way home. Also, every chance I got, I fell asleep, not a quality one is looking for in a driver. 

What took us 4 days to get there too us 2 days to return home. It was bitter sweet, but definitely the smart move. I thought I had conquered the vomit with exercise issue, but I realized I had not. It was not an altitude thing like I originally thought. It was not exhaustion from working long hours or overnight or multiple shifts. Who knows what the root cause is, but I plan to find out with the help of my provider. This will NOT keep me from getting back on the trail. It will only alter the way I look at the trail and my completion of the entire thing. 

As Chumbawamba says: "I get knocked down, but I get up again." https://youtu.be/2H5uWRjFsGc

A New Day, A New Decision

 Day 2, We woke up late, as I had decided the night before that I would give up on my idea of linking the Appalachian Trail (AT) to the North Country Trail (NCT) via the Long Trail (LT) due to the snow. My husband had scoped out the trail for Day 2 and said it was straight up and lots more of what we had conquered the night before. So, I decided to simply head into Middlebury, VT and start from what was supposed to be the new eastern terminus of the NCT at this point. 

When we got to Middlebury, we grabbed some brunch, which I had trouble eating due to extreme pain in the roof of my mouth when I tried to chew. So, I finished my chocolate milk, and wrapped up my sandwich for later. After that, we walked around the park a little before making a plan to go see if we could find the eastern terminus of the NCT. 

Based on the interactive map on the NCT association website, the eastern terminus at this point should be around Middlebury Snowbowl, so we headed up that way looking for blazes along the way. As we headed up Hwy 7, I saw what looked to be markers at a trail head on the side of the road. After making it to the Snowbowl and not finding anything that officially said, "Hey! Start here/Eastern terminus for the NCT," we decided to head back towards Middlebury until we found markers and then start from there. 

So, we made it back to where I had seen the markers, and I prepared myself to take off on a 15mile hike. These 15miles were basically what I had planned for Day 3 of the trip, so I was ok in shifting forward a little since I gave up on the connecting idea. Happily, I took off on the trail, excited to see actual NCT markers! 

The trail was extremely well marked through the area, and I knew from looking at the NCTA website that I followed what is called the TAM (Trail Around Middlebury) to get around Middlebury. It took me through a forested park, where I think there were people playing frisbee golf. Again, I was happy to be hiking on the trail. I was feeling some of the pains from the previous day, but knew those would work themselves out the more I moved and built muscle. 

Eventually, I came to a sign directing me onto what I thought was maybe a new section of the NCT being built, and followed signs for the NCT. Come to find out, this was the wrong decision as it looped me back to Hwy7 about a half mile up from where I had been dropped off. Frustrated, exhausted, and overheating, I texted my husband to come get me. 

When he picked me up, he mentioned having gone back into Middlebury, and finding that the College campus is closed to outside people due to COVID. So, even if I had followed the right path, which was the TAM vs the new trail, I would have needed him to pick me up and move me past the college campus. My husband also mentioned he did not see any trail markings for the NCT. This got us wondering and looking more at maps. 

Since it was past 3pm, we checked into the Middlebury Sweets motel, and accessed their WiFi to look at maps. Having found one that could be overlayed onto Google maps, we took off looking for NCT markers. There is something called the Blue Trail. According to the MALT/TAM website, this trail was created in 2012 with the plan to eventually be part of the NCT. It joins the TAM to get around Middlebury, but then breaks away on the northwest side to head for the VT/NY border and the next section of the NCT. We found this break and then decided to follow the trail to see if and how well it was marked for the NCT. 

Eventually, the trail came out and started to follow backroads to the NY/VT border and we found blue blazes at road junctures but nowhere else along the route. We found our way to Crown Point, the old eastern terminus of the NCT in NY. From there, we followed blue blazes into NY a bit before deciding to head back to the motel for the night. All this driving had formulated a plan for the next day to start at the VT/NY border, cross the bridge, and head into Adirondack Park. 

We returned to the motel, relaxed for the night, and I finished the half of my sandwich that I had started in the morning, despite the pain coming back on the roof of my mouth. I reviewed maps and websites until I could no longer keep my eyes open. I knew this trail was going to be challenging due to it still being under construction, but I guess I didn't realize just how challenging. 

Starting the Link

 SO...

Day 1:

As with any new start, there is trepidation, excitement, and so many other emotions rambling around in the head. On this day, I was aware of all of them, but most of all excitement. I woke up to my alarm at 0600, and the room was dark. It made me wonder whether I was up too early, and whether I should maybe sleep another hour. After looking out the window, I realized it was just because the mountains behind us were blocking the actual sun, thus making it seem darker than reality. So, I hugged the dog and tried to convince him to come with me, but he wanted nothing to do with being awake at that hour. Once dressed and everything in my pack, I headed out the door, leaving the sleeping boys behind. 

Crossing the parking lot of the Inn, I started hacking coughing, and thought to myself, "just need to clear the city air out of my lungs." I was fine by the time I hit the trail on the other side of the Inn. As I climbed the trail that I had explored the day before, I found I was a little less stable and agile than the day before. Taking this hint, I slowed my pace a little and just enjoyed being out there.

After traversing the 1.5miles of trail that I had travelled the previous day, I reached Maine Junction, the eventual connector point of the North Country Trail (NCT) to the Appalachian Trail (AT) via the Long Trail (LT). My husband had run the first 3-4miles of this next section and told me I was going to have a great time. With that in mind, I happily moved along the trail looking at everything and breathing in the fresh air. It was a gorgeous day and I was feeling good. 

About 3miles in from Maine Junction, I came across a shelter, where I decided to stop and take a break.

In training, I was horrible at taking breaks, and realized I need to focus on making sure I take breaks, if I am to make it 4600miles. So, I stopped, filled my bottle with water and caffeinated Nuun, and took off my sweatshirt to replace it with my long sleeve sun shirt. As I mentioned it was a beautiful day, and already warming up at 0800. With everything packed back in my pack, I got moving again. The LT was reminding me what I disliked most about the AT...PUDs (pointless ups and downs), but it also made me giggle a little, and I kept repeating, "When in Doubt go uphill." 

About 7miles in to my day, I came across an amazing viewpoint and took another break. For about a mile or so I had been traversing a ridge above a big gorgeous lake, and I wanted to take a photo but the trees were in the way. Instead, I decided it would just be one of those images that I spoke of versus sharing with people. Then came this beautiful overlook, and I could not refuse.

At this point, my legs were feeling a little like jello from the PUDs, but I knew that was going to be part of the deal. The break was extremely welcomed and I felt refreshed after resting for a bit. During this break, I took time to move some snacks to the pockets of my pack instead of stuffed in my food bag in hopes of actually eating them. By this point, I had only had the 1 bottle of Nuun and a couple liters of water. At this stop, I made mulberry lemonade, a purchase I had made in Jackson Hole this past September with the intent of using it on my trip. Wow! That was sugary and not as tart as I was wanting, thus I would take a sip of that and follow it with 2-3 sips of water. 

Moving on, I continued to take the PUDs as they came and laughed to myself along the way. Occasionally, I would run into spots where snow covered the trail, but it was so well blazed that I simply had to look for the blazes to get across the snowfield. THEN, it hit. I was about 6miles from the end of a 20mile day when I hit a snowfield that had me postholing with every other step. This definitely slowed me down, as my watch was certain to notify me. :-/ I expected some snow, but was note prepared for what was to come.

Figuring this to be just a small snowfield, I moved across it with determination, constantly looking up to the ridge I was certain had to be my last climb before the decent into my finish line for the day. The sun was beginning to disappear behind the ridge, and I was beginning to worry about my husband thinking I was lost. As I got further into the endless snowfield, I started wishing for my husband to come find me and rescue me. I was tired, and the constant postholing was wearing on me heavily. My pace had slowed to less than 1mph, and the sun kept sinking lower. By this point, I was certain my husband had to be worried, despite being able to see my location on the Garmin InReach mini, or maybe because he could see my location was not changing much?

It was heavily dusk, when I heard the jingle of Jasper's collar and my husband's voice, and I sighed a huge sigh of relief. When he reached me, he asked if he could take my pack, and easily I said, "Yes!" He took my pack, I puked, and then put on his running vest that he had been wearing on the way up to find me. Having puked, my stomach/mind was now on alert to not feeling well. Together, we trekked across more snowfields trying to follow his footprints back to the car as the sun went to bed for the night. As we moved along, I required "sitting breaks" every few minutes as my stomach was lurching with every time my foot sank in the snow and jarred against the solid earth. 

Eventually, we made it to the last mile or so of the trail down, and there was less snow. We were able to move a little faster, but I was still weak from not having eaten too much and my episodes of vomiting. It was nice not to have to deal with the snow anymore. My feet were wet and cold, but my heart was beginning to grow lighter as we made better time. The worst was over, or was it? I started thinking about the next day and having to do it all over again. What was I thinking? I'm 16 years older and a lot more out of shape than I was when I started the AT in 2005. Do I really think I can do this full trail? 

When we got to the car, we threw everything in, and I commented about possibly not being able to do this. My husband closed all the doors to the car, told me to turn off my light (which at that point was the flashlight on my phone), and had me look up into the unadulterated star filled sky. Above me was Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Orion, and even a partial milky way. As my husband put his arm around my shoulder, I cried and said, "THIS! THIS is why I am out here." He nodded and we got in the car.