Date: 2013-05-29
From: Petites Gap

To: Lynchburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Day 78: Today we woke up in beds and they were so comfortable. We all had a big breakfast burrito and fruit breakfast. With laundry done, it will be a day of relaxing and enjoying good company. So, I was asked about what a day was like when out in the woods and thought that this would be a good time to explain.For the most part, we don't have a designated time to get up. It just when someone starts to stir and it can be anywhere from 7:30-9:00am. We may get up early due to going into town that morning or it may be a day that we have to put in a lot of miles so the earlier start the better. If we are not on a schedule, it usually starts with someone in our group airing down their sleeping pad and I guess it is usually me. Once you hear the air release, we all start to get going collecting your things and stuffing it into your backpack. We don't cook in the am but either eat something quick like a protein bar, etc at the campsite or just down the trail. Before we leave, we collect our water from a stream or spring, make a quick dash to the woods, brush your teeth and look at the map to see what you may encounter for the day before you go (mostly determining where our water source will be). As we complete packing, we may leave at different times or sometimes we leave together. We may hike for a couple of hours before we stop for a break. Mostly, our breaks are centered around the water source. Since for the most part, we are hiking by ourselves, we meet up again around either a water source, shelter or on top of a large hill. If we are near a shelter, we will plan lunch so we can sit in the shelter or on a picnic table. We sometimes leave written paper messages on the trail indicating to those in our group behind us where we are stopping, i.e. a shelter. When we arrive at shelters, there is usually someone there that we know and this allows us time to visit before we hike on. We don't spend a whole lot of time here - 30 minutes is typical.Sometime around 3pm we determine where we are going to camp although we may have determined this in the morning. So we take a look at the map and determine how many more miles we all want to go and decide where we are going to stay. Many things drive us to where we are going to stay. If it is raining or going to rain, we will try to hit a shelter so we don't have to set up the tent in the rain. However, once we arrive to a shelter, it may be full so we have to put up tent. I personally like the smaller shelters because the larger ones are much noiser. We definitely find out who snores and who doesn't on the trail and no one in our group does...thank goodness as you really need a good sleep at night. For the most part, we like sleeping in our tent better than the shelter however now that it is getting warmer at nights, we love to cowboy camp (sleeping on the ground under the stars) instead of setting up our tent. We also like to "stealth" camp which is not near a shelter...much more quieter and private.We never like to get into our camp too early. If you can continue to hike, then keep going however there are times that it just feels good setting up camp early say around 4pm and getting all your chores done so you can just relax. But typically, we get into camp around 6-7pm and typically, we all roll into camp at different times. For quite a while, there has been just the three of us but in the last week, there are five us camping together now so whoever rolls into camp first, starts with their chores. Yes, you heard it right, we do have chores. First thing on the agenda is to start collecting firewood. Silly Sobo (completed AT 2012 - friend from the first three days of hiking) gave us great advice and that as soon as you sit down your pack, you collect firewood to help with stretching your muscles. We like fires so every chance we get, we have a camp fire for the night. Then after the firewood has been collected, we set up our tents, sleeping pads, sleeping bag, etc. Water is then collected and then firewood is then broken down before beginning to cook our meals. Twix and I usually set up the tent together then I usually get the water while she cooks the meal. After we eat, cookware and food is cleaned (sometimes) and put away. Since the Smokies, we have not been hanging our food at night unless we are in a shelter. We hang it on these string or cables that have like a tuna can hung upside down half way down the cable or string. This is purely so the mice will not get into our food. In the shelters, we also hang our backpacks but the mice still get into them so sometimes you just leave it open so they can go in as they please and don't chew through anything. If we are not in the shelter, we just leave our food in our backpack or tent and hope that a mouse does not chew into our tents.When the fire is going and we are sitting around it, we discuss about the hike for the next day and our possible destination. Like I said, we sometimes have a schedule or not but what drives everything is the need to re-supply for food. So if we are carrying five days worth of food, then that is our schedule. Lately, we have been pretty efficient it seems i.e. hiking 15-20 miles per day and still getting plenty of really nice breaks throughout the day. When the sun goes down, it is very soon when we crawl into our sleeping bags. Sometimes, we work on our journal but mostly, I just get comfortable and put on my music for about 15-30 minutes. I have never slept so good as I have since starting this trip. There are only a few nights where I couldn't sleep and those were the times when I was in a large shelter or when I was sick. I figured if you can't sleep, then you didn't do enough hiking for the day. Someone asked me what I thought while hiking all day long. I never can recall what I think about but I think about a lot of things. Some are pretty good but I don't have anything to write it on so I forget. Mostly I think of past memories. I think a lot of young adults think about what they are going to do next after this hike i.e. jobs, where to live, what to do, or mostly how can I get enough money so I can go on another hike! Oh, how I wish I have hiked the AT when I was young. I would definitely be planning on my next long distance hike. It is really something magical being out on the woods for a great length of time and it is hard to describe. When we are hiking, we usually don't see too many people. Solitude is wonderful. There may be a few that you may pass or they pass you but for the most part, you are alone. Hiking with someone is wonderful. Getting to know others and just being with others where everyone is watching out for each other is comforting too. All in all, you know where everyone is whether it is just five minutes up the trail or five days up the trail. You constantly skip over people due to zeros, resupplies, town visits, family visits, etc. There are so many new things to see i.e. views, old structures, flowers, rock formations, memorials, etc. each and every day. As you walk, you sometimes are in pain but you just live with it and hope that it may not hurt the next day. Everyone hurts but it usually goes unmentioned and everyone deals with it in their own way. It is funny, you are excited about going into town only to eat something special that you long for such as chocolate malt, fruit, pizza, etc. Once you get that, you have to do chores such as laundry, resupply your food, clean your cookware, fix your gear, visit an outfitter, etc. but in just a few hours, you long to get back to the woods and when you do, you feel like you are back home. However, there are times like right now when you are fortunate to be able to relax, heal and spend time with great people in a wonderful home. Thank you Mark, Sharon and Bluegrass for your generous hospitality. I am so enjoying this time. Oh, one more thing. This morning, I was reading a family journal who just completed the Camino hike. They shared 10 things they learned from their experience and it is so right on the very thoughts that I have had. So please take a few minutes to read their insights, I think you will enjoy it and it is exactly what I feel. http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=411167So, I probably have dragged on enough, but this is pretty much what we do. There is so much joy and comraderie out here. We have a lot of fun and plenty of laughs. But let there be no mistake, this is hard work. It is the hardest work that I have ever done in my life. There are days that I sometimes have to look at it as going to work i.e. there is work to be done (getting from A to B), you must perform it the best that you can (without getting hurt and be as efficient as you can) and there is a goal to be completed be it short term (daily) or long term (Katahdin). Even though this journey is a personal goal to all of us, the truth is that there is definitely an underlying sense that we are all working together and we all want everyone to succeed. This journey has been incredible so far and am so very thankful that we were able to have this opportunity.Salsa