Day 20 - 6/22/24 – Begin Recovery from GI Illness

6/22 Rest Day and Travel Home for a Few Days

Well. I got norovirus, so I spent yesterday sleeping and using the bathroom. Norovirus is quite common on the AT because it can spread so easily among hikers, who aren’t always the most sanitary because of the realities of thru-hiking. The virus can also get into water sources. I thought I had been taking good precautions, between disinfecting my water with sodium dichloroisocyanurate and using hand sanitizer, but there’s only so much you can do. 

Washign my pack - holy dirt

I made the difficult decision to go off trail for a bit to let my body recover. I’ll be flying home to Miami tonight, and I’ll figure out where to go from there. I’m hoping to be back on the trail, somewhere, by next weekend. On the brighter side, this will give me a good opportunity to clean and replace my gear, which has definitely taken a beating these past few weeks.