Date: 2005-07-04
To: Looking Back
Miles today: 0.0

I¢ve been thinking about this year¢s trip a lot since I returned home back in May. Here it is Independence Day, and I¢m still daydreaming about the great experience it was to do the next 190 miles in Virginia. That¢s the longest hike of the four I¢ve completed ¢ 165 miles in 2002, 175 miles in 2003, 185 miles in 2004, and then 190+ this year. Still, distance traveled and the planning process is on my mind as I review the hike. I¢m not really thinking about ¢what went wrong¢, because I am very satisfied with the hike itself and my ability to continue to be up to the challenge. Nothing really went wrong. I had originally planned to do 212 miles, from Partnership Shelter up to Bearwallow Gap, but I cut it short by about 20 miles due to very sore feet. I fear that any discussion about cutting it short will distort my story, as though there was something wrong with the 2005 hike, and that¢s not my attitude at all. I¢m more interested in what was going on in my mind as I did my planning and the ultimate affect that had on my experience. Partnership Shelter was the starting point. I did not look for the right distance to hike from there to have an enjoyable hike over the time available. I remember thinking about being in a position to get through Shenandoah National Park to Front Royal by the end of next year¢s hike and how far I needed to make it this year to have a shot at it. In other years I looked for a good stopping point that fit into about what I thought was a good number of daily miles for an enjoyable trip, including a logical midpoint to take a zero day. I began the plan with having to be someplace, and it became all about the distance. I knew better. Each year I plan about two weeks of hiking, with one zero day. It now takes me a full day to travel to the starting point as I head ever north. This year I began with a plan to hike 15 days plus one zero day and two travel days, including having to hike the last Saturday, followed by Sunday travel, and back to work on Monday (May 16). I knew that having a little more time off before getting back to my normal routine was wise, based on past years, but I decided to ignore that. So what was I thinking? Well, first of all, Virginia is flat, right?? That¢s where everybody starts to chalk up the 20+ mile days. It was true. Last year I was able to do two days over 20 miles for the first time. Though Virginia has some pretty challenging climbs, it does level off some and there are some beautiful walks along the ridge lines and across open valleys. However, Virginia can be surprising too. Consider a quote from 2005 thru hiker ¢Hooky¢, in her June 14, journal entry: ¢Hey everyone I am in Waynesboro, VA....of course I am still in Virginia it is sooo freaking long and hot and pretty, but hot, and nice, lush and green, but hot and whoever told all of us thru hikers that virgina was , I quote, "Easy and flat and it will be HARD not to do a 20 mile day," I hate you.....did I mention it is HOT!!!!! HA!¢ Truthfully, the climbs I¢ve encountered so far in Virginia have not been the biggest surprise. A cursory look at an elevation chart told me there were some significant climbs and descents. 2000 feet is 2000 feet no matter what state it¢s in. What you can¢t get from an elevation chart is a detail look at all the smaller climbs of a couple of hundred feet up, and then down again, over and over, many of them very steep. Do an afternoon along a ridge that looks level on the chart and find a never ending series of these smaller ups and downs, and you¢ll know you¢ve had a workout. Much of that would happen on a hot clear afternoon with the sun beating down. If you want to talk about rocks, then you will be talking about Pennsylvania, right? Pennsylvania and the New England states. I am sure the stories of PA rocks are all true. What I did not know about Virginia is that many of those ¢flat¢ ridgelines are huge rockpiles. I first encountered this phenomenon after leaving Chestnut Knob Shelter and beginning the hike along the south rim of Burkes Garden. Again, the chart showed a fairly flat walk up on the ridge, and I thought the climb up Chestnut Ridge early that morning would be the tough part of the day. ¢That other ridge¢ south of Burkes Garden is full of boulders and rocks. There were places where it looked like a dump truck the size of Manhattan had unloaded couch to basketball sized rocks and they had just caused this huge avalanche of rocks sliding down the side of the mountain. It was so beautiful, but hard on the feet. From there it seemed like every ridge was infested with the same disease. Who can forget the rocky ridges around Dragon¢s Tooth, McAfee Knob, Tinker¢s Cliffs, and south towards Daleville to US 220? But, rocks and elevation changes are all part of it, right? That is absolutely true. Though I did not know the specifics of the terrain, normally the elevation changes and rocks would not have caused me concern. That¢s why I go out there really, to see what the untamed countryside looks like and experience it first hand. My problem was all about the miles. I love to read the journals of thru hikers and their planning process. Most are very wise and realize that their bodies, and especially their feet, must carry them all the way to Maine, about 2175 miles. So, as they begin at Springer Mountain in Georgia, many of them plan some pretty short days for as much as the first month. As an example, Hawk Mountain Shelter is 7.6 miles north from Springer, and many stop there the first night. I¢ve read their journals where they plan to average around ten miles per day or even less for the first couple of weeks (especially ¢older guys¢ like me). So here I am, getting out of an air conditioned taxi at Partnership Shelter with a plan to hike over 14 miles each day of the trip, trying too hard to make the miles rather than planning to hike for the enjoyment of experiencing the trail. Once I got out there this year I began to be bothered by having to hike that last Saturday and ending up with very little time to travel back and rest before returning to work. So, even with a fairly aggressive schedule, I hiked further and got one day ahead of schedule the second day north of Pearisburg, upping the average to almost 16 miles each day. I knew better. So what was the problem? Sore feet! I had never considered that sore feet would be a problem for me, this year or any year. I have several pairs of Asolo fusion boots (95 something-or-others, I think). They have been great. I bought those green inserts, and when I feel a hot spot coming on I just stop and use some duct tape or band aids. It¢s never been a problem, and rarely did I even experience a hot spot. Was it just me? Well, I began to do a little research and found I am in good company. First, two well known thru hikers from this year, Hooky and Break a Leg, are laid up as I type, with foot problems. They have reported sore feet through much of the same section I hiked this year, and somewhere north of my stopping point they had to stop their hikes for a significant period of time to allow for healing. But what I find interesting is that the problem seems to be more widespread. I went back to trailjournals and began to read the experiences of hikers from 2002, 2003, 2004, and this year, and specifically this section of southwest and central Virginia, and it is telling how many hikers mention sore feet as they hike through this area. Many only mention it in passing, rather than as a significant challenge to the success of their hike, but it is a common experience. I feel like I made the classic mistake that all of us hikers know to avoid. It¢s not about the miles, but instead it¢s about hiking for enjoyment and to experience the creation. Section hikers have an interesting balancing act to perform. Many of us really do plan to complete the entire trail (GA-ME for me) over time. I¢ve been averaging about 175 miles each year and that has been enough for me. As long as I can stay in condition for that distance each year, it will work out fine. But I got caught up in trying to hike to a good stopping place to make a pre-determined distance, and that caused me to think miles, not fun. Big mistake. I found myself hurrying along the trail. I remember seeing other hikers stopped at the Wind Rock overlook and I just kept going because I needed to make the miles before stopping for lunch. Somehow I completely missed the Keffer Oak. I rushed over the Dragon¢s Tooth area, not even getting pictures at the tooth itself due to preoccupation with miles, I guess. I felt compelled to have my photo opp at McAfee¢s Knob, but did not allow myself time to ponder the beauty of that place as much as I should have. I rushed over to Tinker¢s Cliffs, and on past. Long days (for me) were planned, and I let that become paramount in my experience. I had a daily goal and getting there was more important than what I would see along the way. My troubles began with blisters. I had some bad ones on the balls of each foot, and I doctored them in Pearisburg. They seemed to improve, but really I had injured my feet more deeply than I had thought. Eventually I had thick swelling on the balls of each foot, looking deeply bruised and with a thickening of the skin, like asphalt shingles. My toes had been challenged by all the steep downhill hiking. Downhill is much tougher on my feet than climbing, and I got a heavy dose of downhill this year. Even today, almost two months later, Marlene looked at my heels as I sat on the couch and expressed surprise at the number of layers of skin still healing where I had bruises and blisters. So all the heat, rocks, long days and steep descents had taken their toll. For section hikers with limited time to hike, you cannot just take a week off to heal like a thru hiker. If you do, you might as well just go home. I should be even more diligent than they are about taking care of myself for that reason. If you really love hiking, then even all of the ¢stuff¢ I described above cannot take away the awesome experience of being out on the trail. Virginia really is so beautiful and I had a great trip. Each day was something special. Getting on the trail the first day, spending the first two nights out alone, seeing some famous trail landmarks, those beautiful views to the valleys below from these ridges, the almost electric green colors of early spring, feeling the rush of high winds on the mountaintops, walking through the farms and open land of the rural Virginia valleys, so many streams to cross in this well-watered section, the late winter forest, lots of wildlife (especially deer), good company of fellow hikers, time alone with just me and God, reliving my appreciation for my wife and family. As you read this entry, don¢t think about my hike this year as being a ¢bummer¢ in any way. I did want to analyze my own process of getting caught in the common trap of letting the miles become too important. To that end I have been pretty honest with myself. Maybe it will help me to guard against that mistake in the hikes to come, Lord willing. But it¢s just that: a lesson learned, hopefully. That should help the next experience be even better. I had planned on Virginia being really easy. Maybe she is, but the lessons learned the hard way are sometimes the most valuable. What will I do differently? Well, I have considered making sure my boots are still right for me, and have thought about trying something else, like maybe trail runners. Many other hikers swear by them, and I may give them a try. But the real change I plan to make is to work on my mind and attitude, and give myself permission to take as long as I need to hike to Maine. I learned that it would be better to get the most out of what I do see, rather than just accumulate miles but look back and wish I had taken a little more time to cement the experience in my mind. It¢s not about what¢s on the trail around that next bend ahead where the mountainside turns out of sight, but it¢s about what I am seeing right here, right now. If I can remember that, it is less likely that the excitement and appetite for this continuing journey will wane. I don¢t want it to, so I¢ll try to keep these things in mind. Already I can hardly wait for next year! PS. As always, I try to tell another side of my story by putting captions at the bottom of my pictures. I still have about 130 pictures to load and comment on, so check back again, they will be coming. Also, it is so enjoyable to me to hear from fellow hikers and others who are interested in this experience. Please sign my guestbook so I can know of your visit.