Date: 2010-06-21
From: The Free State hiker hostel

To: Deer Lick Shelters
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Today I entered Pennsylvania. I walked from Georgia to get here. Today I completed my sixth state. Today I threw my pack down and cried. Today I pushed myself and conquered thoughts of giving up. Today I learned that two dear friends are engaged. Today I drank a Diet Coke. Today I dug deep and found an inner sticktoitiveness. Today was a good day.I'm tempted to leave it just a this, but no, I'll add more details. I know I'll want them later. I took forever to leave the hostel, since I left my internet stuff, food reorganization, and several other chores until this morning. I also had another long chat with Braids and Mama. I finally got our around 11 and soon felt yesterday's new chafing again, felt where the bottoms of my pack straps rub against the sides of my rump. It almost felt like for some reason my pack was riding differently. I tried a couple of times to readjust things, but to no avail. It hurt horribly! After hiking just over a mile this morning, I literally threw my pack down and cried. Some people will tell you that they loved ever single moment of their respective hike. This is not the case for me. Don't get me wrong-I have had at least some happiness ever single day, and I am so happy and lucky to be out here. That said, sometimes I absolutely hate it. It's hard to even the remember the feeling now, because I feel great, but I guarantee you-at that moment today, I hated hiking with every fiber of my being and just wanted to quit and go home. For numerous reasons, though, that all turned around, and as I said, now I feel great. I got the chafing problem figured out, at least for now. A few miles after my meltdown, I called Mountain Crossings (at Neels Gap in Georgia) to ask Cool Breeze for advice. He said this can be a common problem in the heat, so it may not be a problem with my pack after all. He suggested Body Glide. I have some, but somehow didn't think it was okay on open wounds. (Of course it says right on the stick that you can.) I covered my chafed spots with it and had actually been hiking for a few minutes before I realized that it didn't hurt AT ALL. Thanks so much, Cool Breeze!Factor #2 in feeling better was simply my mental attitude. Although there are moments I want to quit, I never really see it as a viable option. I know what it feels like to quit, and I know the big hole it left. Here's the thing-even if I hate every single remaining day (which is, obviously, not going to come even close to happening), after mid-September or whenever I finish, for the entire rest of my life, I will be an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker. That's pretty incredible. I have worked way too long and hard to give that up. The more I thought about this and similar concepts, the better I felt.Reason #3 for my frowny face turning into a happy one goes back to the advice certain game me: If it's not fun anymore, find out why and make it fun again. That's exactly what I did. Today, the Summer Solstice, is also referred to as Hike Naked Day. No, I did not hike naked. I did, however, hike about 3 miles with my top half covered in only my sports bra. This was a small gesture, but felt quite liberating. Later, I hiked 5 miles to the shelter with just my bright blue underwear on bottom. It was a blast!Finally, big thanks to today's trail angels! Corporate (class of '09) was a mystical appearance in a field with his lawn chairs and box of drinks and ice. The Gatorade was perfect! A group of three was at High Rocks for their annual Summer Solstice magic. The two slices of sweet, juicy watermelon were absolutely divine. Thank you!!!