Date: 2006-01-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Wow! I am so ...I don't know the word for it right now...lazy...shiftless. Not really, but having two weeks off due to school being out leaves me feeling like a bum as I didn't do much but eat. It's looking like my overnight hike with Erin is off for the weekend as Saturday is shaping up to be a cold one in North Georgia, and I would prefer not to take her out for her first overnight on the AT with freezing temperatures. After all I want her to like this thing that we do, if I am lucky than maybe one day to she will be proud to call herself hiker trash, but she's not there yet!!! Anyways that means we might go out for a day hike on Sunday as the weather is supposed to start warming up on Sunday, so we'll see how that goes. Barring that it's looking like we might end up not being able to get out for an overnight until late February or March. I want her to have the opportunity to meet some of the awesome hiker trash that is out there, and the second weekend in January isn't the greatest time to try and accomplish this. I see some folks have already started their thru and I wish them luck, it's a hard time of the year to start hiking, aside from being mostly alone, the weather can be nasty down in the south for the next couple of months, if there is one thing I hate thinking about it, it's hiking in cold rain. I can deal with rain in mid April and into the summer, but 40 and raining, followed by snow the next day...whoa! that says you are a real hiker.I've noticed on Whiteblaze that the topic of sections vs. Thru's was brought up again. Most of us I think for the most part respect both types, although some thru hikers think they're better and some sections genuflect every time they see a thru hiker. Now don't get me wrong I have the utmost respect for thru hikers, heck, one day I hope everything comes together for me so I can do one, but if not, I will hike on! Some folks don't realize that many section hikers have hiked more miles than some young thru hikers. If you are truly interested in becoming a part of the trail community then you come to learn this pretty quickly, and that most of us have a genuine respect for each other. My attitude sort of comes to this. If I am on the trail with thru hikers than for that segment in time we are equal, what they do is a testament to their mental fortitude. What I do is a testament to the physical. See thru hikers will take the time to get their trail legs, if the weather is bad, they can take their time, but for me...if I have to be in town by Sunday, I have to be there, doesn't matter if it's raining or snowing, or if my foot hurts, or if my ankle is wrenched. I think you get the point. Sections also have to stick with it for sometimes decades to complete their hike. In my book both are great accomplishments and therefore deserve the same respect...just from different points of view. Which is harder?...difficult to say, I might be inclined to give it over the thru hiker, because I am a firm believer that mental aspects of a hike often can overpower the strongest physical hiker. I have heard some thrus' claim sectioning is harder, but I suppose it's the actual individual that decides this. We all have our own journey to take and for each of us it is different from how we do it, to why we do it, and ultimately what each of us gets out of it.Anyways, I hope to see some of you out there, we can all learn from each other, I guess that's where I was going, I know I have, and I will continue to as long as I call the trail my second home.