Date: 2004-03-14
From: Franklin, NC

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Starting at: Franklin, NC (hotel)Ending at: Franklin, NC (hotel)Miles: 0As I sit here in this hotel bed in Franklin, NC, not yet ready to comit to getting up for the day, I think about why I'm doing this. Last night I dreamt I was getting ready to go off to military boot camp. I guess that's sort of what this feels like to me. Long, intense, physically draining days, but with feelings of boundless freedom, new accomplishment, and camraderie.My feet today are asking me why I'm doing this. They each have a collection of hotspots, blisters, popped blisters, and blisters turned callous. Just two days ago they carried me 12 miles without complaint, ready to do more. But two more days of double digit miles have done them in, at least for the moment. After a hot shower and a long night's rest in a good bed, it's surprising how much better they feel.I look at our daily routine as an outsider might and try to imagine what they might think. Why would I want to:Sleep on the hard ground every nightShare my sleping bag with a stinky, filthy dog (actually, she manages to stay cleaner than we do out here.)Pull myself out of my sleeping bag into below-freezing morning temperaturesChoke down a quick cold breakfast (to save on time & fuel) Pull off all my warm clothes in the frigid morning air before strapping on my pack, in preparation for all the heat I'll generate huffung down the trailCarry the equivalent (in weight) of two large sacks of cat litter on my back up up uphill over and over againWalk, walk, walk all day every day, always trying to pack in more miles and reach the next goal Learn to deal with, tolerate or ignore minor pains and discomforts and just keep goingSubject myself to the whims of the weather. You may get snowed on, sunburned, and rained on all in the same day.Forgo most modern personal hygeine.Accept doing my business in a filthy, stinky, sometimes vermin-infested privy or egad, in a hole dug in the groundLearn how to live in dirt and filth. Resign myself to layers upon layers of grime upon every square inch of my body, most notably my face and hands. Small villages of germs make themselves at home in the think black muck under my fingernails. Remark each day with curiosity and wonder at the progressively intenisifying array of odors produced by various body parts. I am not surprised to discover that the smell of rancid salad dressing is coming from my own armpits.Brew up some formerly dehydrated concoction each night and call it dinnerString all our food, dog food, trash, and hygeine products way up in some tree every night to avoid meeting up with Mr. BearThrow my tired, aching body down on the same cold, hard ground I slept on the night beforeCount down to the next town day, even better-- the next town meal!Hmm, well when you look at it that way it doesn't sound all that glamorous. But the truth is, even the bad parts really aren't that bad. Mostly I feel like a big kid at summer camp. Except it's not summer. You can't beat the peace and quiet out here. So much time to think, to feel the cobwebs dusting off my brain, to begin to become uncluttered.-HeatherArwen & Heather Vaughanvaughan@pocketmail.comhttp://www.hobbithole.net------------------------------Have you ever seen a rock scrapethe sky? www.pocketmail.com