Date: 2010-03-02
To: Attitude and Lattitude.
Miles today: 0.0

On your marks, ¢¦get set, ¢¦live. It¢s a big month and an even bigger week. Historically, March is when the march to Maine moves into high gear. A bit different this season I suppose with all the snow up the trail and up in the higher elevations, but I¢m sure its not the first time. Weather just happens ¢ snow today, storms tomorrow.Some will go to the Visitors Center at The Approach Trail start and hang their packs on The Scale of Truth to get a tonnage measure. It wasn¢t but a decade ago that 50 pounds was pretty common, those poor souls. Today I bet 35 pounds is the new 50? Some will be heavier and thankfully, some will be lighter. Once some of the winter-weight sleeping bags and extra clothing gets mailed home with the warming temps, nearly 2 to 4 pounds will be shed. Chucking the snowshoes will most likely have legs feeling they finally stepped out of the cement, how joyful it will be to touch tread to trail rather than snow. To don short sleeves and sun screen ¢ Happy happy joy joy.Whether coming up the Approach Trail or the forest service road, getting to that famous copper plaque and the AT¢s first white blaze is sure to be a moment of contradictions. What lies ahead is a true-life adventure, but adventure means facing the unknown ¢ a trigger of anxiety. Some will stand there giddy, others filled with apprehension, still more feeling both. Although some wanted to start as early in the season as they could, the main army of adventures arrive now and for the next two months ¢ as many as 40 on this March 1st. Over the next two months well over 1500 to 1800 will aim their shoes northward from this first summit. Those who had entertained frets of being alone quickly learn that will be nearly impossible ¢ they may be hiking solo, but they¢ll not be alone. From now till Virginia, many will move in lose tribes. The farther north they make it the looser the community becomes, a necklace of hikers expanding north but remaining connected by chance meetings and shelter registers. Old tribes will reform into new ones, old faces from finished States will reappear out of the forests in ones still being walked ¢ the trail is magical that way.   The people one meets during a long distance hike are one of the most cherished aspects of the hike itself. How many ways are there to giggle? Count how many faces there are around the campfire and you'll have your answer.They¢ll meet tall hikers, short hikers, fast hikers and slow hikers. Thin hikers and heavy hikers are always out too, only the heavy ones are always early on and the thin ones are always later on. Some are students full of lightning and spirit while many are retirees full of patience and wisdom. There are men chasing women, women chasing men and men and women chasing Budweiser trucks. On the trail, vegans have been known to share the same booth with a burger eater. Some are retired and some are between jobs. They are from the area while others are from far away. Many knew their mission in life while others are trying to find a life with a mission. Here on the trail the wealthy and the budget minded will gel. The young and old will bridge the gap of generations. They¢ll come from every State in our union ¢ the plains and farmlands to the modern metropolises.On the Appalachian Trail I¢ve met Aussies, English, Irish, Scots, Germans, French, Canadians, French Canadians, Japanese and even Tennesseans ¢ their dialects will add color to the campfire talk. Out on the trail people say ¢Hi¢ and chat. Some become friends; others become lovers, husbands and wives. We¢re really more alike than different and the elements help to remind us of that. When a lightning bolt cracks above, we all flinch in unison. All have gotten here for different reasons, but most are here to do as the plaque states, to seek out and have a fellowship with nature. Their bond will be the shared grandeur and beauty of our land on this narrow slice of mountain land called the Appalachian Trail.Yep, lots of good people from lots of good places all suffering from this hiker thingy.What a great time, what a great feeling to cinch the pack tight to your spine and know that life will be simple for the next five months. No multitasking, no 24-hour news cycle and no selflessness. The next five months will be all about the Self, this grand gift to you. Deciding that life can no longer be postponed; for the next two thousand, one hundred and seventy five miles there will be no meek existence in suburbia. They're about to live large. And although no one can walk the countless miles for them, many will be with their every step in support. Phone calls and letters and even postcards will be exchanged. Some out of courtesy, some out of joy and some out of loneliness. Yes the rains will come and hardships will be faced, but so will the sunrise and brilliant blue skies and star filled heavens. The leaves will be of red and orange and yellow when they close in on this copper plaques more famous northern soul mate ¢ one of mere wood with legs buried in the granite. Those few who stand on that distant summit may look south and reflect back on these first few moments, these first few steps in Georgia and know that this plaque is an impossibly long ways away.