Date: 2018-04-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Four days til I relaunch on the AT! Last summer I hiked the northern half. Now it's the South's turn, starting from Springer Mountain in Georgia. I'm eager to see what the trail has in store for me this year. Last year I experienced the awe-inspiring beauty of nature from the rapids of the Potomac to the bogs of New Jersey to the alpine peaks of New Hampshire and Maine. I crossed the Hudson at 120 feet above sea level and summited Mt Washington at 6300 feet. I was continually humbled by the kindness of strangers, and the earnestness and friendliness of hikers and locals alike. I met people of all ages and backgrounds, each with unique stories to tell. I was blessed by trail magic when I stumbled upon an abandoned sleeping bag miles from anywhere at a time I desperately needed one. I hiked through stifling humidity in New York and awoke to near-freezing temperatures in Maine. I was soaked to the bone innumerable times, dodged lightening on top of a mountain in New Hampshire, and fought off tropical storm-force winds, freezing rain and hypothermia on another mountaintop in Maine. I watched molten sunrises over lakes and twinkling sunsets over alpine balds. I jumped in ponds and waterfalls on a whim, and stumbled through hundreds of miles of mud, roots, and rocks. I hiked 39 miles my first day and was rewarded with terrible blisters. I gazed 120 miles to the horizon in every direction more than once. I pushed myself to exhaustion day after day with dawn-to-dusk hiking, yet found time to drop into quirky and quaint towns like Duncannon, Port Clinton, Delaware Water Gap, Unionville, Ft Montgomery, Kent, Salisbury, Bennington, Manchester, Hanover, Lincoln, Gorham, Andover, Stratton, and many more. I ate gourmet sea bass on the summit of Mt Greylock in Massachusetts, feasted on home-cooked meals at The Cabin in Andover, Maine, and competed for leftover scraps in the huts of the White Mountains. I ate an entire half gallon of ice cream in one sitting on a chilly Pennsylvania day, then ate a big dinner an hour later. But mostly I ate tuna and poptarts.Notice how this reminiscence ended on food?Unlike most thruhikers I've had a few months in the middle to reflect on how I could get more out of this experience. But, like most reflection, there are no black-and-white epiphanies. Still, there are some changes I want to try in the South.1. Learn how to enjoy camping. I am a hiker first. I like to keep moving. I'd often hike sunrise to sunset (during the long days of summer!) Ending my day at a shelter at 3 in the afternoon was unthinkable. I would tell people "I'm hiking the Appalachian Trail, not camping the Appalachian Trail!" So I've resolved to use camp downtime to master some skills and make it more interesting. Knots. Fires. Story telling. Bear bag hanging. Practicing my high school German on unsuspecting foreign hikers.2. Exercise daily. I am horrible at keeping a regular routine at home. Use the routines of trail life to my advantage. I'm talking about upper body exercise. My legs will be getting plenty already!2a. Stretch daily. Ditto.3. Experiment with camp cooking. I may be limited by my one pot setup, but I can surely improve on tuna-mixed-into-instant-potatoes.4. Take more detours. Ambitious daily goals meant I often passed on side trips that didn't involve food, like that waterfall half a mile off trail. I walked through all of Maine without even hearing of the Gulf Hagas trail, which goes through the most spectacular canyons along the entire AT corridor. Now I have a list of must-see blue blazes (side trails) annotated in my trail guide.5. Slow down and smell the roses. This will be my toughest challenge. Even as I write this I am unwilling to commit to it. Stop, sit, and enjoy the moment. The miles will come. They have never been my problem. My personal challenge is not to rush through this unique journey. So if you see me rampaging down the trail with blinders on trying to reach the next shelter before dark, please drop me a note in the guest book to remind me of my trail resolutions!