Date: 2004-04-01
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Hiawassee, GA
Miles today: 0.0

April 1, Zero DayHiawassee, GARabbit, rabbit, rabbit. (There, now we¢ll have good luck for the rest of the month)!Today was a ¢zero day¢ which I spent primarily doing laundry, enjoying a BIG country breakfast, sending mail, and reading a package of emails that had been forwarded to me in care of the Post Office. I¢m doing phone duty, updating my journal at the Hiawassee library, washing my tent, repacking, having dinner with fellow hikers ("Norway" and Craig from Maine), and generally getting reorganized for the next several days in the woods.It¢s also been a day to take a deep breath and do some reflection. There are a couple of things that I realize that the AT experience provides that we don¢t often get, at least not as clearly, in the course of our normal lives. The first of these is the opportunity to face fears. There are always bears and vipers, hillbillies and/or raptors in one form or another in our lives for all of us. But unlike ¢normal living¢, the AT doesn¢t give us the chance to avoid our fears ¢ they¢re there. There¢s no place to go and hide. You have no other choice but to face them when you¢re out in the woods.Back in our normal live we have routines, other opportunities, places to party, all sorts of other distractions (TV, email, all that stuff), and comforts that allow us to avoid having to deal with ¢things¢ like our fears. In striking contrast, the trail puts them right up in your face. When you¢re alone, you can¢t not, not deal with being alone. When the weather turns on you in a nanosecond, you just have to deal. That¢s the beauty of it: You just have to face the fears and the uncontrollable realities of your life ¢ whatever they are ¢ physical, mental, spiritual, whatever - and deal with them. Postponement is just not an option.Over the past 48 hours, my biggest concerns in terms of weather conditions (rain, cold and the possibility of snow) have all been presented, and I¢ve had a chance to learn that I can deal with each one of them successfully. I had also been concerned about spending time completely alone ¢ a state of being that contrary to my gregarious, extroverted nature. For over 24 hours (between Blue Mountain and Dick¢s Creek Gap) I hardly saw another person, and had no conversations with anyone I knew. The few hikers I passed along the I engaged in only the usual trail greetings of ¢Hi¢¦ What¢s your name?... Where are you from?... Where are you going today?... Bye.¢. Here too, on this score I learned that being along is not necessarily something to be feared or dreaded, but something to be actually be enjoyed.Another opportunity that the AT experience provides is the chance to create very strong friendships very quickly. Perhaps the high spot of my day today was when I spotted "Turtle Don" outside the Laundromat, looking like the poster boy for Backpacker Magazine! Gone were the blue jeans and ¢killer cotton¢ tee shirts. Instead he was wearing a bright blue ¢Windshirt,¢over polypropylene wicking under-layers with wind pants. He was looking fit and ready to go back to the mountains. Don had spent the night before last in the cold and snow on top of Tray Mountain. Because he was properly attired he survived quite well. Not only did he take all the advice on clothing given to him and was reinforced by Winton, the owner of Mountain Crossings, but he was also able (by taking more that I had of Winton¢s advice) to have taken ten pounds out of his pack, reducing its weight and making him much more comfortable while hiking.It also felt really good when I saw another of my trail friends, "Blue" come piling out of a truck after hitchhiking down to town from Dick¢s Creek yesterday afternoon. I thought, ¢Great, there she is, she¢s ok¢ --the same kindred feeling that I had for Don.The point is that the friendships- deep connections with fellow hikers- are quickly forged on the trail are due to our shared experiences. Regardless of age, gender, background or whatever, we¢re all facing the same challenges, and there¢s a definite tie that exists out of respect for someone else who is enduring the same kind things as we are. We don¢t get this in our normal lives. We meet people and we talk with them, and it takes a while to find a common connection that builds trust and creates friendship. On the trail it¢s almost instantaneous. We are all kindred souls united by a 2000 mile long footpath beneath our feet and everything that it represents and dishes out.Now, by the way, to the subject of trenching! While talking to Tom today on the phone he mentioned that someone from Ohio who has been following my journal raised a concern about me trenching around my tent in anticipation of rain while staying at Low Gap. Both Tom and I stand corrected. Trenching violates the principles of no impact/no trace camping, and should not be done. When I said I had ¢dug a trench¢ around my tent in anticipation of rain, I had scraped a shallow trough with the heel of my boot which I filled back in the next morning before I left nevertheless, I appreciate the concerns and provided by our fellow hiker from Ohio.Oh yes, a brief note regarding my trail name ¢Bumpo¢. It¢s been brought to my attention now a couple of times (first by my cousin, Lee Shaffer, and secondly by ¢Meanderthal¢ one evening around a campfire) that the real Nathaniel Bumppo spelled his name with two Ps, whereas I only have one in the spelling of my Trail Name. Why is that? Well, the answer should now be obvious to anyone reading this journal¢¦ I had to drop one P to reduce my pack weight. ¢If it don¢t keep you warm, and it don¢t keep you dry, and you don¢t use it every day, you don¢t need it.¢ So, (no pun intended here!), out with the P!Well that¢s it. Now to bed (another night in a REAL bed!) and tomorrow it¢s back to the mountains, the woods, and the Trail, and who knows what else.