Date: 2019-04-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

During our zero day in Damascus I have a few random thoughts from the trail. My least favorite trail chore is filtering water. It takes too much time and always seems to interrupt us when we¢re in a good hiking groove. That¢s why we try to lunch at a place with available water. Not enough thanks is given to the volunteers that maintain the trail. One thing that has surprised me about the trail is how many downed trees there are out there. Yet there are very few that have not been cut up to allow hikers to get through. Some of these trees are miles from any road which means these volunteers have to lug heavy chainsaws up into the woods to do their work. So THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO. I¢ve been surprised at how many thru hikers are from other countries. I don¢t know the exact percentage but to say 1/4 of the hikers are from foreign lands would not be too much of an exaggeration. I have a lot of respect for them. For most, it¢s there first trip to the US. After 8 weeks on the trail there have been maybe 2 or 3 people that we¢ve met that haven¢t been friendly.  That¢s pretty amazing considering how many hikers we¢ve met. Everyone is friendly, inviting, and helpful. All you have to do is meet someone once and the next time you see them it seems like you¢re seeing a long lost friend. We are so glad we started off doing under 10 miles a day and have slowly increased our mileage. We are doing in the range of 13 to 16 miles a day and it¢s really no big deal. Our bodies are noticeably stronger. Climbs that killed us a month ago are not a problem now. I am so thankful to be hiking with MJ. Besides loving her dearly she is also my best friend. We have become quite a team out here. We both lean on each other for support and encouragement. We are co-existing without any major disagreements. One of the things I worried the most about before beginning was pooping in the woods. Georgia and most of NC were fine because there were privies at every shelter. Even though the privies were basically a toilet seat in the middle of the woods with walls that barely came up enough to cover the pooper. The last 100 miles there have been no privies so it¢s pick a spot in the woods and go. With practice it¢s not so bad, except when it¢s raining. I basically have only 2 rules for my thru hike. And I¢m not naive enough to think they may not change as we move north but as of now they are: 1) touch every foot of the AT. So when we go off trail for anything; water, shelter, town visit, we get back on the trail at the exact point we exited. And of course no skipping sections. 2) always hike northbound. Some people slack pack by getting shuttled to a point north then they hike south back to the original point. I don¢t mind slack packing but I always want to hike north. Both of these are my personal rules. It doesn¢t make me right or better than others, it¢s just for me. Hike your own hike. I¢m not sure why but all of my day to day ailments I have in normal life, heartburn, tendinitis in both shoulders, sour stomach, diarrhea, etc, virtually have disappeared on the trail. It can¢t be my diet, since that consist almost entirely of fat and sugar. Must be the 10 straight hours of physical activity each day.