Beyond the Blog Day 26 (May 23) - By Land and By Sea, to OKI We Soon Shall Be

Before recounting this third-to-last day of the Ruck, I want to relate something that just happened, which is kind of Ruck-related....It is August 17th, almost 3 months later, and I am still recovering (about 75% there).  My runs are shorter.   Tonight I was out on a 6-mile power run at Sunset Beach, where we are staying for a few days after dropping our daughter off at Chapel Hill.  I was running on a wooded section of road that connects a fancy new neighborhood to the Intercoastal.  I run this stretch whenever we are here, and the woods are full of critters, with deer aplenty.   Today, as I was trying my best to motor down the road, I came across four or five deer on the left side of the road, no big deal.  As I looked closer (deer are sneaky) I realized there were at least two dozen head, probably more.   I’ve never seen a herd that big, and as I got closer, they started to run parallel to me through the woods, then crossing diagonally right in front of me.  No exaggeration to say I found myself running with the herd for a few seconds as they panicked when they saw I wasn’t changing course, and started running beside and ahead of me in order to cross the road (there was no traffic at all, so no danger to the deer).  It was exhilarating, although I was aware of the potential downfalls as well.   Our friend David S. got clocked by a deer running Kiawah Marathon years ago, and it was no joke.   Well, actually, it is kind of a joke now and he will never live it down, but he did get bloody at the time (and finished despite the deer smack-down).

My point is, even a few months after the Ruck, moments like these are where you find them.  Or they find you.  Just be open to the universe and the weirdness will happen.

 

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I was really looking forward to this day when mapping out my route so many months ago. I thought it would be cool to run down Carolina Beach, through Kure Beach, to Fort Fisher State Park, where the ferry to Southport embarks.  I loved the idea of including nautical miles on my Ruck.  BTW, if you are interested, a nautical mile is basically 1.15 land (or “statute”) miles and it’s calculated for ocean navigation purposes.   “At the equator, one degree of latitude is around 69 normal miles. In nautical miles, it's exactly 60. So one minute of a degree, at the equator, is one nautical mile. They just picked that size to make it easier to map things out on nautical charts used for crossing the oceans.” (thanks Quora).  There, now you are smarter! 

 

Anyway, as I said in my blog post for that day, “The day has started off with me tired, sore, and in a bad mood. Coming down from such an amazing day yesterday, it was natural to have a slight dip. But totally worth it for such a fantastic day with friends.”  I get tired even writing this well over months later, much less having to wake up again for another full day of rucking. 

 

Our second stop of the morning outside of Carolina Beach

 

We started at the Federal Point History Center right in Carolina Beach, with a full complement of support staff...Michael, Matt, Mike B., Becky and Stephanie. It was still early when we started, I remember the sun low in the sky but rising fast.  It was Sunday, and the streets were quiet, with vacationers undoubtedly sleeping off a big night before and few stores open.  So down the tranquil empty street I rucked, my slow pace matching the general tranquility. I did a little detour into a townhome development built around a pond, as it offered a nice little greenway and access to bathrooms. Then it was on to Kure Beach, which is really hard to tell from Carolina Beach...but they are both nice spots, very developed but in a beachy fashion, and welcoming to visitors, tourists, and families. I make that point because later in the day, visiting Oak Island, I felt like an invader, with their exclusive parking lots, high-end developments, and golf courses.  I prefer the more family oriented spots that open their beaches to people from all over.  

 

The ruck into Fort Fisher State Park was easy going except, of course, for dogs

 

I picked up my pace a bit through Kure Beach and had a few check-ins with the team.  Kure Beach gives way to Fort Fisher State Park.  Fort Fisher,  7 miles from my starting point,  was easy running with lots of sidewalks and running paths to choose from.   I almost got bit by a nasty dog in the beach parking lot, saved only by a leash that tightened up an inch from my calf, but I was too tired to even bark back at the dog’s owners.  I really wanted to make the ferry and enjoy a rucking-in-place ferry crossing.   Everybody was waiting for me at the debarking point at Fort Fisher, and we had three cars between us, while Cheryl was waiting for me somewhere in Southport on the other side of the channel.  

 

While Michael, Mike, Becky and Stephanie made arrangements for the vehicles, and traffic started to back up in the parking lot, I made loops around the park.   I know I must have looked like a complete lunatic, but I had lunatics for company.  Everybody was wearing their bright yellow event t-shirts so we at least we looked coordinated and combined with all of our “official event vehicle” car decals...we were downright official.

 

Coming into Fort Fisher the long way

 

Plotting our course for after we cross the river and disembark at Southport

 

Getting in my miles while we wait for the ferry.  Becky, Mike and Michael look on, wondering, why?

 

The ferry crossing was a lot of fun.  It is an easy 30 minute ride on calm water, at least on that day.  The staff allowed me to stand up front and “ruck in place” while we crossed, and the support crew answered questions from people who were wondering what the hell I was doing.  There was even another “autism connection” when it turned out one of the other travelers on the ferry had a clinical connection to autism, although I am hard pressed to remember what it was.   All I know is that it was time for “king of the world”, my Leonard DiCaprio moment that I wanted to share with Slappy.

Because being King of The World is no fun alone.

 

Michael is actually making fun of me in this still from a video, jogging along.

We had a perfect day for being on a boat with friends

 

We only had one incident on the ferry crossing...poor Fuzzy McMikeface got crushed by Slappy.  Fuzzy was the name Matt and I gave to the ever-present microphone he clipped on me each day.  I’m still not sure why as I rarely said anything of interest, but Fuzzy became a regular presence for us.   Sometime during the crossing, when I took Slappy out to see the water, Fuzzy never came off my backpack, and when Slappy came down, Fuzzy was destroyed.   Matt had a back-up, but still, it was hard to see one of our own go out so close to the end.   RIP, Fuzzy McMikeface.

 

The best part about the crossing was that the captain let me run off the ferry first, before any of the cars.   The front gate came down, and the crew member who was about 80 years old counted down for me, then said “GO” with a drop of his hand.  It was awesome that he was so into it, and it was sort of a dream come true to be the first one to run off the boat.

 

 

Stephanie enjoying a moment on the water, a break from all the chaos

 

 

 

 

Ready, set….

 

The rest of the team disembarked at Southport and headed into town, while I followed the coastal road through some beautiful, historic areas.  Southport is an old town, founded in the 1700’s, and is beautifully preserved.  I tried to take it all in as I slowly rucked through the neighborhoods, but I was distracted by the ever-increasing heat, AND the fact that I was meeting Cheryl there in town.  Needless to say, it was great seeing wifey and I know she was happy to be a part of our exciting group.  She had tracked me down on Life 360 and we met in a random parking lot.  Our group knew this was the last day we’d all be together...Michael was leaving at the end of the day, Mike Bledsoe was going away for a day or two, as was Becky and Stephanie.  So we enjoyed the togetherness as I struggled through the heat to the other side of Southport.  The team set me up with a heat-relief station and I thoroughly enjoyed a smoothie….why hadn’t I discovered these before???  So good.  So very good.

We had a second “autism encounter” on this day.  Becky went into a beach store near the parking lot where they had set up a relief station for me.  She was looking for one of those little fans that spray mist to keep you cool.   She struck up a conversation with the store manager, and the woman said her daughter Molly was actually going to school to become a teacher to autistic kids.  Her daughter explained further, doing it for all the right reasons.  They just gave Becky the fan and their blessings.   When Becky explained what had happened, we just had to return so I could thank them personally.   It was just one of those moments where, once again, the universe reassured us of the righteousness of our mission.

 

Hot...but this smoothie was the best thing I have ever had.

 

We continued on to Oak Island, making one last stop before the bridge over to OKI.   We were all getting pretty hot at this point and it had been a long day.  Carolina Beach seemed so far in the past.  So we sat in a parking lot across from one of the many small airports that dot the coast, and enjoyed watching a group of insane skydivers make their ascent in para-gliders.  They swooped and pinwheeled with grace and obvious expertise, but all of us agreed we would never, ever do such a thing!  It just made what I was doing seem almost sane.  After about 15 minutes, the team packed up the cars for the last push, where I would be rucking over the bridge and ending at the lighthouse.  

 

I was a little harsh in my blog post regarding Oak Island’s exclusivity, but there is clearly a big difference between OKI and other spots like Holden Beach or Ocean Isle.  There are many restricted communities on OKI and public parking is non-existent if you want to stay longer than 30 minutes.   There are reserved spots for golf carts, but only if you are a member, owner, or guest at one of these communities.  I saw lots of expensive cars but they were less courteous in giving way than any drivers I met in the foothills and sandhills.   I felt like an intruder.  

 

But it is still, of course, a beautiful North Carolina beach complete with historic lighthouse, and this monument marked the end of a very very long day.   The previous day running with Charlie, Jeff and Jeremy seemed like a dream.   As I approached the end of the Ruck, in fact, the last month seemed unreal to me.   Was this really coming to an end?

 

Beautiful lighthouse...but can we just be done?

 

I finished in the parking lot across from the lighthouse, and everyone was there to celebrate the end of another epic day.  We had covered a lot of ground (and water), and this was it for the tribe.   Michael was leaving for home and I was going to miss him and his acerbic wit.  It was great not only getting to know him better but also seeing how he was impacted by the Ruck and all it entailed.  I know he really enjoyed the previous day’s run at Wrightsville Beach, and certainly the autism encounters made an impression.   The Ruck, particularly in the end stages, took on a life of its own and changed us all in different ways and to different degrees.   At this point in the day, I was just grateful for all of the support, the autism encounters, safe passage, and being together with my wife and friends.

A cold beer with a friend at the close of a long day.   Simply the best.