Date: 2015-08-31
To: Hiking while wet
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

A hiker named Red Panda (www.trailjournals.com/dtb) summited Katahdin over the weekend. I've been following her journal for ages and reading her summit post made me a little bit sad that I won't have her hiking stories to read every few days. She and I are close in age and I feel like her experiences on the trail are probably similar to what I'll be going through next year. I'm a lot taller than she is, though, so hopefully I'll have a far easier time climbing on rocks and fording rivers!! (she complains a lot about her short legs )Another thing that stuck out to me while reading Red Panda's journal (and others) is that this hiking season seemed very WET. Red Panda and the Aussie Legs (https://aussielegs.wordpress.com/) talk about being soaked constantly. I guess I did notice that it rained a lot this summer but for some reason it never hit me that it would be raining just that much on the trail, too. I don't usually mind rain or being wet in general, but the thought of 5 months of damp socks and dripping shoes isn't exactly pleasant. I'll probably be heading over to REI after work today to check out some poles and I think I'll try on some jackets and rain gear while i'm out there. Maybe it would make sense to do a wet shakedown hike in the next few weeks while it's still hiking season weather. I really wish that I lived close to the actual AT so I could hike on the trail itself to test gear, but I guess I'll have to make do with the few small parks out here. I tend to read women's trail journals rather than those written by men, both because women are usually more detailed in their descriptions of the days, and because female-specific challenges are just more interesting to me (duh). I love that Red Panda openly talks about her self-consciousness about weight gain and how she looks on the trail. She's obviously much more concerned with the actual hike but it's nice to know that I won't be the only hiker lady who will sometimes wish that I looked good while I hike. I'm a little bit frustrated with my less-than-ideal diet lately and my serious lack of regular exercise. My muscle tone is suffering from it and I feel unattractive in my own skin I went swimming in a friend's pond a little while ago with my hilarious crew of guy friends... they don't care about stripping to swimsuits and jumping in, but I definitely paused and had to work up my courage to get in my bikini and join the party. I'm sure that they don't judge me based on ten measly extra pounds but it did make me wonder about all the activities on the trail when someone might see me in skivvies (bathing, changing, wringing out wet clothes, etc?) and how I can be better prepared and less self-conscious about my body. I hate that we, as women, are so critical and uncomfortable about how we look, but knowing that it's stupid doesn't make me any less awkward about being in the equivalent of a bathing suit in public. Obviously it would be a great idea to get back in my workout routine and proper nutrition - good for my body image and good for my physical hike prep - and it will make me feel so much better to lose the stress weight from the past few months. I suppose I should be grateful that it's only ten stupid pounds!! Maybe I should look in the mirror every morning and tell myself that I'm an amazing smart strong hiking goddess who don't need to meet no ridiculous expectations of physical beauty to be happy? but I'm a bad liar, so I don't think I'll be saying that :PSO! I'm hoping my REI trip is fruitful and that I get some of my clothing chosen and added to my gear pile. My apartment is almost clean and there is plenty of room to spread out now - hooray for throwing away 30 trash bags of useless stuff! It felt so good. I still don't have a pack so I really want to bear down and make a decision soon.. got to take it out for some shakedown hikes before it gets too chilly, right!?I'm so proud of all the 2015 thru-hikers who are finishing now and I'm so excited for all of my fellow 2016 hikers and our prep stories so far. Get that gear! Practice packing! Find a tent you love! Break in that first pair of shoes! It's going to be here before we know it.