Unionville, NY —> Connecticut
Gone. They were gone. Everyone was gone, actually. I thought I had woken up in a sci-fi movie where aliens abducted everyone in the middle of the night or the Blip in Infinity War happened or something and I was the only person left in the entire state of New York. I didn’t see anyone so I couldn’t be sure. I crawled out of my tent and saw an old lady push open her curtains across the street. “Okay at least there are two of us,” I thought and my heart rate went down as I broke down camp.
I started walking and this section of the trail went through some neighborhoods. It was eerie. No one seemed to be home. It eventually connected to some trail and I started walking, scared that the old lady and I were the only people on earth but also not wanting to run into any unsavory characters. It was always a Catch 22.
I walked all morning feeling uneasy then I got some phone service. My phone was blowing up with texts and calls. All from Lionheart. He got in a car accident. He might have whiplash he said and needed to go to the hospital but needed someone to watch the dogs. That someone was me and he was there in forty-five minutes to pick me up. I liked feeling needed and wanted. He desired me and saw me for who I was - the parts of me my boyfriend either didn’t see or saw but didn’t value. And he used my weaknesses to manipulate me.
We drove to the hospital and I spent time with the dogs while they evaluated him. Four hours later he walked out in a neck brace, but fine.
I was falling further behind my friends so we decided he would slack pack me through the rest of New York so I could do big miles and possibly catch them.
I passed dozens of hikers a day moving too fast to talk to anyone. I stopped making friends with other hikers. I stopped sleeping in shelters. I stopped calling home. I stopped calling Sam. Lionheart had to meet me at the end of each day with my stuff so we spent more time together. He was always where he said he would be on time, waiting for me with a smile on his face. Sam rarely smiled when he saw me. We cooked dinner in one pot. The flames made his green eyes twinkle. We sat in the back of his Jeep and talked while I pet his dogs.
He was so protective of them. He said he didn't let just anyone get close to his dogs because they needed stability and consistency. He was highly selective about who he allowed to be in his dogs life and he said he could sense that we would know each other for a long time. I felt that too.
He always pulled over when he saw a car in the emergency lane on the highway to ask people if they were okay or needed help. He picked up every small piece of trash on trail and packed it out. He was tender.
Every conversation was interesting and intellectually stimulating, something I craved. We mostly talked about personal growth, and growing together. That was why I came on trail in the first place - to make connections and become the best person I could be. Lionheart knew me like he has known me my whole life. He was perceptive in an uncanny way.
We slept in the back of his Jeep every night on soft Walmart pillows with two dogs.
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