Date: 2008-08-20
To: Trail Tunes
Miles today: 0.0

So, I wonder at what point I will make it through an entire day without thinking about the Appalachian Trail. I guess I sort of hope it never happens. Today I remembered that I had been keeping a list of the songs that will always put me right back on the trail in my mind. Each of these songs could transport me instantly to Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, or even to my prior pre-trail life. And that is the neat thing about music, isn't it? For as little as I listened to music in those seven months, it remains such a powerful shove back to the mountains where I mostly heard birds, trees sqeaking and leaves blowing in the wind, footsteps, and zippers. Here's my list.Here I Go Again on My Own - WhitesnakeThis song was my motivational song as I prepped for my hike. I would listen to it on the way to the gym in the morning as a reminder why I was up at 5 a.m. It always helped. Post-trail, I don't necessarily think my hike identified with the lyrics but it's still a great meandering and fiery song nonetheless. Stand by Me - Ben E. KingHa! This song, against my firm resistance, hurls me down the side of a muddy, wet, cold mountain in Virginia to Rocky Gap at VA 601. It was there that Team Average formed a circle for extra warmth and began signing this song as we waited for Brenda to rescue us from despair. Later the same week, we heard in on the radio at a freezing cold Subway shop as we impatiently waited for dinner. When the Lights Go Down in the City - JourneyBoy did I hate hiking in the rain. I always gave Young Eagle a lot of credit for being able to admit he was a "fair-weather hiker" in that he only really liked hiking in nice weather. As slackpacking team Foxtrot Uniform, Young Eagle and I were left out to dry when we got caught in a thunderstorm at the end of Day 2 of the Daleville Slackpacking Extravaganza as we headed to Catawba. I was following Young Eagle, who I was convinced had begun walking slower in the rain, and I was trying very hard not to lose my wits. For a little while, you could smell the tension. Then I decided we were out there in a thunderstom no matter what and if I was going to die, I at least wanted to go down signing. So I made up my own lyrics to this song, "when the lights go down it Catawba..and the rain falls on your face...oh I wanna be theeereee, in Catawba....ohhh..ooohhh..ohhh".Don't Stop Believing - JourneySo I guess Journey provided for some great Daleville entertainment. This one puts me in the purple PT Cruiser as the four of us made our way back to the HoJo. We were all jamming out to this song - the chorus was just so fiery for us and I think I had recently hear that Sen. Hillary Clinton was using the song in an ad for her campaign back in the real world. Good motivation.Man with no Emotion - John MellencampAmerican Girl - Tom PettyThe man with no emotion and the American girl put a spring in my step on on of my favorite sets days of walking along the Appalachian Trail. As Foxtrot Uniform Team trudged up a green mountain toward the Audie Murphy memorial, I listened to "Man with no Emotion" song for the first time ever. I immediately loved it and put it on repeat. And I loved the beginning of "American Girl". Sprightly tunes for a sprightly hike. Far Behind - CandleboxThe purple PT Cruiser was not only a hoot, it also provided a way to sneak in some tunes on the way to the trail. It seemed like every time Young Eagle and I would be driving to our destination, we would hear this song. And I always notice when this song is on because it reminds me of being in seventh grade. Seems this song accompanies me on several adventures - Melk and I heard it several times on the satellite radio station, Lucy, we chose on our Maine trip this summer.I Wish It Would Rain - Stevie Wonder/The Temptations/Marvin GayeOooohh this song. Well, I remember thinking I was listening to a version of this song by Stevie Wonder and I cursed his name that day. But now I'm not so sure and maybe I should have cursed the Temptations or Marvin Gay. It was a tough day in Green Tunnel, VA. I was climbing up to Big Rocky Row just out of Glasgow and, again, looking to my iPod for motivation. It was a cool, soggy day - one of several that week - and my desire to hike was waning. As the sky spat down on me, I listened to this man in my ear sing about how he wished it would rain. The things people say when they don't think about others! Livin' on a Prayer - Bon JoviOoohhh, we're halfway there...ooohhh, livin' on a prayer! Of course this song pulls me back to the midpoint of the trail in Pennsylvania. As Melk and I emerged from the woods, we knew we were very close to the exact midpoint so we started belting out the song and sang it the rest of the way until we met up with Ronin and Young Eagle. Later, in Vermont, we heard the song playing overhead at the Stratton gondola line. That time, different lyrics caught my attention, "we've got to hold on to what we've got cause it doesn't make a difference if we make it or not. We've got each other and that's a lot." At that point, it was still important to me to finish the trail but I would never have wanted to do it without the A-Team. It was that moment I made the realization.Wherever I May Roam - MetallicaThis song takes me above Lehigh Gap in Pennsylvania, specifically walking along the ridge on Blue Mtn. past the Superfund site as the warm sun was setting. Young Eagle had only recently purchased his radio and I could tell he was listening to this, one of his favorites, because he was singing it aloud. I knew he must be so excited to hear it - I think it was one of his motivational songs. A good hiking song.My Wish - Rascal FlattsThis song doesn't just summarize one spot on the trail but rather many. I listened to this song on my iPod when I needed encouragement and couldn't find it from an outside source. Luckily, I only needed to do that a handful of times but it was such a nice song to remind me that I was carrying out one of my dreams. And what they say is true, you never need to carry more than you can hold. What I Love About Sundays - Craig MorganAs I drifted off to a dreamy sleep at Peters Mountain Shelter on our way out of Duncannon, PA, the background was full of music from Coach, Mate', Genesis, and Kimchi. The last song I remember hearing that night was this one sung beautifully by Coach. It seemed such a perfect place for those lyrics to exist. Keep on Rocking in the Free World - Neil YoungOr, as the A-Team sang it, "keep on rockin' en el mundo libre!" My Spanish major pays off! We are the Champions - QueenThe left side of me walks exhaustedly on the summit of Three Ridges just past the Tye River in VA, my feet aching. The right side of me has just descended Katahdin and is hiking with Melk the last few feet past the campground area at the base of the mountain. I'm belting out these lyrics both times, overjoyed with my accomplishment and delirious from the work. The first time I remember singing this song along the trail, I was just happy to have made it to the top of the hill and nothing could have made me happier at that moment in time. The second time was one of the most bittersweet moments of the trail experience - sheer joy that we had made it but sadness it was over. Both times, I felt like I was on top of the world. Bohemian Rhapsody - QueenMelk, who didn't know the lyrics to this song, just listened to my rant as we approached the base of Katahdin after our summit. For whatever reason, this song always puts me in a fun, punchy mood. And what better time for a fun, punchy mood than after finishing my hike of the Appalachian Trail? "Easy come easy go, will you let me go? Bismillah! No, we will not let you go. Let him go!"Big Girls Don't Cry - FergieThis song forever (or until they stop playing this silly pop stuff) will remind me of Snakecharmer and the bar we all sat at the night we summitted. It came on the radio and, though we were all delirious from the emotionally and physically draining day, Snakecharmer's face lit up - "I love this song!", he proclaimed, "it's the only song I could ever get to tune in out there". It seemed so out of place for a rugged guy who just hiked 2,175 miles to publicly express his love for this girly song. I can't get enough of it now...my last night in a trail town. Don't Blink - Kenny ChesneyI had never heard this song before I pulled away from Millinocket with my parents in their TrailBlazer, on our way to Bar Harbor. It made me teary-eyed as I realized I hadn't blinked in seven months.Unwritten - Natasha BedingfieldWhen I got home, I watched a great little video on YouTube about the AT and this song was the background music. I liken it to the same genre as Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" but I thought the lyrics suited the trail experience nonetheless.If You're Goin' Through Hell - Rodney AtkinsThis song was also discovered post-trail but I find it hilariously descriptive of the trail. I'm not sure but Pennsylvania and New Jersey come to mind, probably because of what I imagine the temperature of hell to feel like. I Shall Be Released - Bob DylanThis song, though I will probably never again hear it the way I hear it in my head, takes me back to several wonderfully entertaining evenings on the trail when I was surrounded by the musically talented Coach, Mate' and Genesis (and Kimchi earlier on) - Peters Mountain Shelter, Abol Bridge Campground, The Birches, Baxter Peak. This was the song they referred to as their "sign-off" or "goodnight song" and was always the last one they played after a night of music. They played this song atop Katahdin before starting the trek back down. It was beautifully sung and I wish I had a recording of it - I fear it'll go quiet in my head after long.