Date: 2009-09-07
To: My List of Surprises
Miles today: 0.0

Dear readers,After almost two weeks since my summit of Katahdin, my thoughts are drifting to memories of the trail less, but that is relative. It is still countless times a day, and the decline is simply due to real life picking up pace and thoughts pertaining to my life in the immediate present are crowding out thoughts of the AT that dominated my first few days post-summit. I frequently find myself encountering situations that make me miss trail life terribly. The grandest of all occurred today, when I braced the crowds (a feat in itself!) to shop at the outlet mall to get great discounts on cute clothes I've been deprived of shopping for the last 6 months. Naturally, at some point during my shopping extravaganza I had to pee. Of course, the nearest public restroom was across a parking lot in a different strip of stores (annoyance #1). I follow the sign only to find a line of about 20 people waiting to use the two stalls (annoyance #2). I waited in this line for approximately 20 minutes. How long does it take to go to the bathroom, people? On the AT, for those of us wearing skirts, pull your underwear to the side, spread your legs wide, pee, resume hiking. No pack removal necessary. No exposing of body parts. No need to step more than a foot off the trail. Done and done. 30 seconds max. We could practically do it mid-stride by Maine. Yes, people were taking forever (annoyance #3). Really, can you imagine how many germs were in there with all those people. Gross (annoyance #4). I washed my hands well. However, now, at 10:35pm I'm feeling a sore throat coming on. I don't want to know from what. Yes, I miss a lot of things about the trail... the freedom to pee wherever/whenever apparently being one of them. The things we took for granted out there!Okay, enough ranting about how trailsick I am. That was not the intent of this entry. The intent of this entry was to steal Loon's idea about her list of surprises from trail. I figure the more insight the better for all you future thru-hikers, right? Loon - hope you don't mind! I bet we'll have a lot of the same things, although some different, too. Here goes...I was surprised...- How god awful long it felt like winter- We didn't see anything bloom until VA- That Gangsta didn't quit when her Southern ass had to hike in 6" of snow (she doesn't "do" cold)-- in fact, that girl was leading the way, breakin' trail for everyone else!- Snow. April.- That Max Patch Bald didn't blow me or G away- I NEVER got a blister - My legs look the exact same as when I started and the scale hardly changed- At what an incredible difference fabric softener made when it came to the scent and crustiness of my socks upon taking them out of the dryer- My pack didn't lighten too much b/c the longer I was out there, the more I wanted to carry luxury items!- Every pair of new socks that I started with lasted the entire thru-hike (Smartwool/Darn Toughs/Icebreaker the best. REI ones are crap and fall apart)- I didn't tire of Poptarts (estimation: 150 packages eaten) or Kraft Mac n Cheese- There are some generic brands of Mac n Cheese (Best Yet's) that are so gross they are almost inedible - even to thru-hikers!- The # of followers my journal had on TJ, how often I was recognized, and the support and encouragement delivered through this medium.- At how much I enjoyed NJ and NY- The difficulty of the Whites. It kicked my ass more than I ever imagined.- That I never saw a moose given the amount of poop and tracks.- I didn't see a single bear in SNP- the one place they say you're certain to see one. But I saw 13 others. 3 in the Smokies and the rest in NJ/MA/CT.- I met fellow thru-hikers who I had been in touch with via TJ beforehand who started two weeks before me or two weeks after me, and I assumed I'd never meet.- The lack of creepy people encountered on the trail (next to none).- Sometimes, I'd still get chaffing from my hipbelt, even after 2000 miles.- Water crossings never became easy.- That Mahoosuc Notch really took as long as they say it will.- At how much I HATE descents. Who knew I'd take an ascent over descent any day?- How INCREDIBLE SLOW Gangsta and I were on steep descents, seriously.- At how safe and comfortable and "homey" my 26" wide Hubba felt. Small is never a word I'd think to use in describing it to someone.- At what great cell service Verizon got. Almost daily from summits. - The # of trail angels who opened up their homes to dirty smelly strangers- At how comfortable I got hitchhiking- At how I felt most smelly 1 hour after taking a shower if I didn't put deodorant on- TN/Southern VA was my all-around favorite section of trail (Northern Maine and VT are a close second)- My shoe size never increased! (although my running shoes feel a bit snug...)- At the importance of ear plugs- At how much better I sleep with real pillow- I somehow I got over my fear of rodents in shelters, they never bothered me past GA- My love handles almost disappeared. I thought this was an impossible feat.- At how horrendous mosquitoes can truly be- At how much I laughed- At how easy it became to eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's- That someone I met on Springer Mountain would hike almost every step of the way with me, be standing atop Katahdin next to me, and would become a lifelong friend- That after almost two weeks of not hiking, my knees still hurt.- At how long individual days could feel, but how quickly the weeks would pass... and the 5.5 months, in hindsight.Happy Trails,Wags(final entry coming sometime soon. I'll let ya know when it's the last one, don't worry!)