Date: 2007-10-04
From: VA 615 (Laurel Creek)

To: Atkins VA (Relax Inn)
Miles today: 37.5
Weather: light rain

Day 2 of the historic epic off-trail adventure!Craziness! I woke up in Bland this morning to analyze the health ¢ injury status, and discovered that my body was capable of something I never thought possible. When I rolled over, a single finger sprouted from my right shoulder and flicked off my pack as it sat across the room. Amazing!Needless to say, I was in no mood for shenanigans. After breakfast, I only walked maybe a mile on 52 west before an older couple picked me up and drove me to the intersection of 52 and 42. I checked the map, and that put me roughly even with where I left off yesterday (started the NOBO trek to Bland).I knew that road-walking would be a much easier way to get to Atkins, primarily because it¢s generally a better grade (relatively) to keep a 4 mph pace especially when there are no roots, rocks, and mountains to climb. Sooo, I hiked down 42 about 15-16 miles to the AT trailhead. Funny thing is, I had more fun road-walking than I¢ve had in a long time on the trail.Since there¢s been no spectacular views or super tall mountains to climb of late coupled with no big emotional hurdles nor mileage challenges to overcome, the days have started to get, ¢¦ well, dull.However, today I saw farms, beautiful ridgelines speckled with fall colors, and just had a great, enjoyable afternoon. Twice I even got off the road and walked up a hill just to get a better view, intentionally adding over 2 miles for absolutely no other reason.But it was great. And at the end of the day I got back on the trail for the last 12 miles. All in all, I estimate that I skipped 25.7 miles of white blazes, for an off-trail total of about 25-27 miles in the last 2 days and, ¢¦ it was everything I thought it could be.Tonight, I¢m sitting at the Inn with an icepack on my shoulder and a beer in my tummy, staring at a brand new Aether60 to get to Damascus with (THANK YOU JEFF !!). I¢ll leave the old pack here, carry the bare necessities to Troutdale, meet with mom somewhere on Saturday, and then we¢ll return to Atkins to pick up my pack.Final notes for today: this marks another major turning point in my outlook of this entire incredible AT experience. Any remaining competitive B.S. is out the window now that I¢ve missed a few trail miles. AND, I am so unbelievably relieved to have completely stopped caring about that crap. It is quite possible (and likely) however, that after finishing I may come back to catch the blazes. But that¢s not the point.Truth be told, ¢¦ I am purely and simply relieved. I never wanted to build up in my head the attitude that I somehow have ¢trail¢ authority, or that I have a right to judge anyone else¢s hike. Any notions which may have existed along those lines are now completely dispelled. I am tainted.When you¢re pitching a perfect game, the pressure to stay perfect IS unrelenting. And this pressure increases as the game progresses. But as soon as there¢s a single hit, the pressure¢s instantly off. But understand that it¢s still the BIGGEST win of the season and the BEST game of your career.I think I can settle for that.Thanks for reading. ~ Dr Jekyll (Obie)PS: I guess there¢s almost 8 months to come back and do those 25 miles, ¢¦ have to decide later if I really want to