I looked at the map yesterday while at mile 1354 and was planning to go to 1374, but I saw that Old Station was only 3 more miles. Instead of then waIting for the Post Office to open maybe I could catch it before it closed. So that is what I did. I started at 5:30 AM and needed to do 23 miles before 4:30 PM. I did 20 miles as fast as I could and completed it in only 7 hours – a new speed record for me. So I did all 23 miles with time to spare.

For several weeks I have been having numb fingers on both hands in the morning. It is especially bad on cold mornings. It happened while Justin and I were hiking weeks ago and even before that. It has even woken me up with the tingling occurring at night. I’ve found if I lay flat on my back and put my hands to my sides that it subsides, but I’m a side sleeper so that doesn’t solve the problem. I think it is related to always hiking with poles and maybe gripping them to tightly. However I have to have poles because my balance is so bad. it. As I begin to hike and I get warmed up then it slowly dissipates.

Update: I tried hiking without poles and the numbness is reduced however my hands swell up.