A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim

"Walk from place to place, meet people, get in adventures." Jules Winnfield, Pulp Fiction

I planned to do a post of this sort a while ago, but since the adventure went haywire last week due to injuries and family quests, every day has been so different that there wasn't really a consistent itinerary to each day. Nevertheless, a general pattern has emerged in the way my days are going on the trail.

5-6am: Wake up. I usually don't move out of bed until its absolutely necessary around 6. Note that although this sounds early, they don't do daylight savings time in Japan, so by the time 6am rolls around the sun has been up in the sky for more than an hour and its already super bright out.

6-7am: Breakfast and packing up. I was starting to believe in the Japanese breakfast for a while. This consists of miso soup, rice, various pickled vegetables, a raw egg a la Rocky, and the kicker, a slice of cooked fish. Especially when the quest began and my body was in shock over how hard every day was, I was desperate for every nutrient I could find, and I dutifully ate the piece of fish. My mom is so proud right now. Unfortunately, I have become more used to the grind, and my body has remembered that I can't stand fish. Let 'em swim in the sea, I always say. I'm gonna start packing my own breakfast from convenience stores the night before, since its cheaper and they sell things I can eat like packaged danishes and wussy coffee.

7-11am: The Grind. This is the prime hiking time in Shikoku, and Japan in general right now. In the morning its fairly cool, the humidity is manageable, and the sun isn't bearing down at full power yet. Probably take a short break to rest feet around 9, then forge on to get some more kilometers under your belt. Try to knock out at least 15km in the morning. Probably visit a temple or two, hopefully.

11-11:30pm- Lunch. I usually aim to land in some random town by this time, where I go to whatever podunk restaurant is around for some noodles, a fried pork rice bowl, or a plate of curry.

11:30am-2:30pm-The Grind Part 2- Try to knock out a couple more kilometers, hopefully like 10km, during this time period. Hopefully you get to the next lodging destination by 3, because if you dont, you`re gonna end up in...

2:30pm-5:30pm- THE DEATH ZONE. During this part of the afternoon, the heat is murderous, the humidity is oppressive, and the sun is bearing down on you so brutally that it feels like you stepped into a microwave oven. Trying to push through the Death Zone begins a chain reaction of injury and pain: you start to get sunburned and dehydrated, which makes you disoriented, which makes you make bad decisions, which makes you get lost, then the rashes come back, then your ankle and knee stop working, then you panic, then you start screaming for help, then scared old ladies call the police on you, then your visa gets revoked, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe uses your case as an example to pass more anti-foreigner legislation, etc etc etc. It's really best to just follow the lead of our Latino companeros and go into siesta mode during this time. The worst, and most disastrous days I've had on the trail were a result of trying to hike through this part of the day. It just isn't worth it.

530pm to 930pm- Dinner, rest, and regroup. Eat some chow, massage your ankle ligaments, take a shower, hopefully take a dip in the local bath or hot spring, and try to plan out the next day. And then sleep. Repeat until enlightenment. Or debilitating injury, which ever comes first.