Date: 2008-02-02
To: Insomnia, what a wonderful side Effect to quitting
Miles today: 0.0

Why the title....well, thanks to my withdrawal symptoms I can't sleep!!! Yes, since midnight, I have uploaded a bunch of pictures, went to the gym, and now I am writing down some thoughts in my journal. As I said earlier, I want to start focusing on people I know from the trail, and so in that vein I have gone back and uploaded pictures of people that I know from the trail, I should have more...but...sometimes I'm lazy about pictures on the trail, something I regret later on. Anyways, some good shit has happened in the way of finalizing decisions regarding my hikes this year. I now have a new sleeping bag for summer, a new tent, and new trail runners. Yep, I went gear craaazyyy!!! Well, I don't actually have the tent yet, but I did order it today, so it counts. What tent did I get??? Well, I was thinking about waiting for Tinman's new tarptent to come out, but I changed my mind thinking about how wet Maine may be come June and so opted with a tent that had a bathtub floor. I had decided that if I'm gonna spend about a month in a tent then I want to be comfortable, and so I upgraded to a bigger tent but gained zero weight from my solo Hubba Tent. That's right, I ordered a Big Agnes Seedhouse2 SL. It is the same weight as the Hubba...and I can drag everything inside if I want, and plenty of room to wait out rain if need be.That brings me to another point, I don't get why more people don't just buy off of Ebay...alright, maybe I do(returns, etc.), but I saved $70-75 on the tent buying from Ebay. My shoes I saved $40 on...I could go on but I think anyone reading this gets the idea. Granted I did go to REI today to try setting up the tent, before I ordered, so I still do my research, I figure I spend enough money at REI on other stuff. It's the Hiker Trash way, so get with it!Another thing that I have been thinking about in my insomniac haze is the issue of how section hikers are treated by locals, etc. on the trail. I'm not talking about other hikers, they've always been fairly cool. What I mean is...what do you tell a local when they ask you where you're headed, and you get the feeling that your answer could influence getting a ride, etc. Well, my answer to any aspiring section hikers is to lie your ass off!!! That's right I said it...if they're not other hikers then tell'em your going all the way. And before you get upset with that spirit of thought, I learned it from thruhikers I know with over 10,000 miles hiked. It has served me well these past two years. I mean look at it this way, I start on Katahdin this year, let's say there are three other hikers starting on the same day. One has done a bit of section hiking, but the other two have done minimal hiking on the AT. So looking at us 4 there is a good chance I have the most AT miles of all of us as I hope to be somewhere around 500 miles hiked by June. Now even if we ignore this thought, then we can look at it as we are all starting from the same spot and so anything positive that is offered along the way in terms of magic or aid should be equal opportunity as we will have all hiked the same miles until I get off the trail after a month. Ya' see what I mean? Why bring it up, well, I just got to thinking about a day in Va, where I was hiking and came upon a cooler with sodas, now I was around 2 thru hikers, and one of them was just an entitled little turd. Anyways, I had been out for a few days at that point and I was just as dirty and tired as they were. Well, I went to get a soda and this little turd tells me that the sodas are for thru-hikers, it says so on the note in the cooler and that I should leave it for a thru. I stood up, popped open the soda, smiled at him and said, "I am a thru-hiker, (pointing back down the mountain I moved my hand and pointed to the cooler) I hiked from back there right thru here." Then I took a sip of my soda and sat down on a rock while they hitched up and left. Look, if anyone actually reads my waxings for tips or advice, you are brave souls!!! But seriously, thru hiker or section hiker just remember no one is better than anyone else out there, we're all family on the trail, and I respect you if you respect me. As for the lying to locals, well many an aspiring SOBO will be done by Vermont, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm attempting a thru-hike, but know that I'll have to get off the trail as I can't make it in a month...not fast enough!!!Anyways, I have a song of the day to list, and seeing as I am sitting here feeling nostalgic looking at old hiker trash pictures, and going through this shitty withdrawal I figured I would take a song from back in the eighties that sums up my relationship with the trail....I want to thru hike one day, but right now it isn't possible. Is it anyone's fault? Nope, it's just the way it is, and so the song of the day is:No One is to Blame-Howard JonesYou can look at the menu but you just cant eatYou can feel the cushions but you cant have a seatYou can dip your foot in the pool but you cant have a swimYou can feel the punishment but you cant commit the sinAnd you want her and she wants youWe want everyoneAnd you want her and she wants youNo one, no one, no one ever is to blameYou can build a mansion but you just cant live in itYoure the fastest runner but youre not allowed to winSome break the rulesAnd live to count the costThe insecurity is the thing that wont get lostAnd you want her and she wants youWe want everyoneAnd you want her and she wants youNo one, no one, no one ever is to blameYou can see the summit but you cant reach itIts the last piece of the puzzle but you just cant make it fitDoctor says youre cured but you still feel the painAspirations in the clouds but your hopes go down the drainAnd you want her and she wants youWe want everyoneAnd you want her and she wants youNo one, no one, no one ever is to blameNo one ever is to blameNo one ever is to blame