Date: 2023-02-12
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Miles today: 0.0

¢Why Baby Why¢ - George Jones - 1955In earlier entries, I¢ve pretty much answered the five W¢s in some manner or other. One of the first questions I get when I tell someone I¢m going to hike the AT is ¢why¢. I¢ll come back to that in a bit. Another question I get relates to the "who" question. I¢m often asked if someone is going with me. My answer always surprises the questioner. It is, ¢no one, I¢m going by myself". The truth is I would like to have a hiking partner and possibly I will meet someone along the way who hikes at a similar pace to me and we can become partners or connected to a tramily (trail family). But for now, being from the small town of Franklin NC and not really having a broad circle of friends anyway, I just don¢t know who I could ask to join me in this adventure. It¢s not like just anyone can just up and take five or so months off to go do such a thing and very few would actually have the interest to. So for now, I¢m content to get on the trail solo and if a partner comes along, that would be great.Now to the weightier question of ¢Why¢. Of course this is often discussed and I suppose whole books could be written about it. I guess I had a few things pointing me in the direction of wanting to do this. I¢m recently retired and can afford to take the time to do it. I hate to call this a ¢bucket list¢ item but I can¢t deny that I said more than 30 years ago I would like to someday hike the AT (meaning thru-hike it). I am 61 years of age right now and I¢m currently in pretty decent health. So, one answer might be because I want to; and because I can. None of us knows what tomorrow holds so if I want to do it and am able, there¢s no time like the present to do it.Another aspect to it though is that I want to do something that challenges me. I watch very little television but if I do, it usually is something like ¢Alone¢ or some other type show where participants have to survive on their own. I know I will never be a participant on ¢Alone¢ or anything else and I don¢t really have a desire to. But the prospect of doing something very difficult and overcoming it definitely appeals to me. I know already from my previous time on the trail that this is very much a test of fortitude and endurance. Can I do it? We shall see.Another motivator for me is this. I know this may not mean much to some people but very early in my adult life, I completed a Bachelor¢s Degree. After completing it, which by today¢s standards isn¢t really that big of a deal, I wanted to go on and earn a Master¢s Degree. All throughout my adult working life, I enrolled and many times took graduate level courses. But I never followed through with it. At one time, I had completed 12 semester hours towards a 36 hour Master in Public Affairs degree and then life got in the way and I never went back and finished it. At this stage in my life, I could certainly enroll and complete a Master¢s Degree but, for what? It would mean very little to me and would just be an exercise in fortitude and endurance. Sound familiar? So if I¢m going to put myself through something that requires fortitude and endurance, it is going to be something that I¢m committed to.Finally, as a believer, I believe the Lord often grants us the desires of our heart. It is definitely my heart¢s desire to take this on and complete it. A guiding verse in my life is: ¢Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.¢ Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV. I can¢t really articulate why the Lord has laid it on my heart to want to do this, but I¢m committed to seeing it through.