Date: 2015-02-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

First journal entry! I have been procrastinating for a while now and have finally created an online journal. I know most hikers have been updating their journal for many, many months now but since I¢m assuming that my Mom will be the sole reader of this journal, my late start is without great consequence.If there are any other readers, I thought it would be fitting to elaborate on our past Appalachian Trail experience. In the spring of 2013 Shrugs and I decided to take a month or so off during the summer to hike a portion of the AT. No particular reason as to why we chose the AT; it was partly due to its proximity and accessibility. I had never done anything that remotely resembles any type of camping/hiking. Shrugs had gone on family camping trips when he was young, but this was, as I call it, ¢patrician¢ camping (i.e. with minimal discomfort). After doing what I now know to be minimal (read: insufficient) research, we borrowed old camping gear from Shrugs¢ parents and headed down to Harpers Ferry.A few minutes into my very first hike ever, it became painfully obvious that my pack was extremely heavy. (Also: Shrugs and I were lugging similarly weighted packs, which was quite an injustice considering that Shrugs is a 6¢1¢ tall male and I am a 5¢3¢ female-who-obviously-lacks-the-necessary-muscle-mass-and-testosterone-for-this-type-of-continuous-physical-effort /end rant).My overburdened and aching body was not the only issue. We did not have cooking fuel and it took five days to finally acquire a butane canister. We had tried going to a couple of off-trail campsites and a large grocery store but they never had any canisters in stock. Those trips were ¢costly¢ because, at the time, we had never even imagined that we could hitch-hike our way back to civilization - we walked superfluous miles on highway roads. I had not seen any wildlife in those first few days, but what was lacking in live animals, was made up for in road kill: a couple deer, various birds and a turtle. I interpreted the sight of these dead animals as an ill omen. Summary: five days of cold food eaten, of course, in the cold, wet rain. Misery.We marched on and, thanks to the kindness and wisdom of fellow hikers, we maintained a basal level of optimism. (Special shout-out to Crazy Wolf and Brave Rock who, like us, had neither experience nor proper gear, yet still managed not only to cross the entire state of Pennsylvania but enjoyed the journey). We were ignorant about AT culture and had not found a ¢trail name¢ at this point. I had remarked that we were ¢like snails¢, seeing as how we had our homes on our backs, went extremely slow and how our skin was perpetually covered in a sticky, unpleasant exudate. We collectively introduced ourselves as ¢The Snails¢. About two weeks into our trip, we saw an actual snail, resting on a log and we were ecstatic. A group of hikers pointed out that this must be a ¢good sign¢ for us. Finally!I wholeheartedly credit the SNAIL WAY for successfully helping us reach Bear Mountain (NY), our final destination. The principle tenant of the Snail Way is to go at a slower pace, especially in the beginning. It avoids physical exhaustion and limits injury. The principle applies to emotional health as well: it¢s best to accept your pace not succumb to despair when you are not, say, at the next shelter within the time frame you had anticipated. I realize there are many variants of that philosophy (e.g. ¢hike your own hike¢ or ¢be one with the trail¢), but the Snail will again be my totem animal for my upcoming thru-hike.