Date: 2003-06-05
From: Holiday Inn Express; Waynesboro, VA

To: Holiday Inn Express; Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Lovely weather today. Good day for hiking, but I needed the rest badly. Actually, these zero days aren¢t all that restful. I have errands to do -- and all of them on foot. I probably walked four or five miles today, buying groceries and other supplies, doing laundry, eating and mailing no-longer-needed stuff. I did get to watch the French Open women¢s semifinal between Serena Williams and Justine Henin-Hardenne, though.Now that I¢ve finished the toughest third of the A.T., how¢s my attitude holding up? Pretty well at the moment -- I¢m actually, for the first time, looking forward to leaving this wonderful inn and getting back on the A.T. I think this is because the weather report is good for tomorrow (though not for the day after that), and the sights will be new for the next few weeks. I¢ve never hiked in northern Virginia or the Middle Atlantic states, so, unlike the southern third and the New England third, I don¢t know what to expect, which is good.What are the chances of making it all the way to Katahdin? Fifty-fifty, I¢d say. I¢ve learned so much in these 68 days. Here¢s what I like: ChallengeTime to meditate/contemplateViewsTrail magicFlowersChocolateWildlifeNutsPhysical fitnessLevel hikingTowns (especially food, bed, bath, TV, newspapers)Sit-down rest breaks in the sunCampingSeeing new countryLaidback, smell-the-laurel hikersBaldsPastureland walkingHere¢s what I don¢t like:RocksRainStandup, wet rest breaksColdFogWindYakkersKnow-it-all hikers (usually men in their 40¢s, 50¢s, or 60¢s)Sore feet and toesSteep ascents and descentsLong hiking days (ten or more hours)Foul languageMileage-obsessed hikersMissing time with wife, children, and grandchildrenMissing church servicesExhaustionHungerThe last two hiking days -- a total of more than 42 tough miles -- reminded me of how vulnerable I am to injury. One wrong step on a wet rock, and it could all end quickly. I¢m neither strong nor agile, even in comparison to most of the thru-hikers my age (an unpleasant revelation of this venture), so avoiding injury is probably the key to success for me.On the mental side, continued bad weather is hard on morale, but, hopefully, this will be offset by more gradual slopes and fewer rocks in the next few weeks. (Pennsylvania, though, is notorious for bad rocks -- and is despised by all who have hiked it.) Also, I should be out of Virginia -- the next milestone -- in a week and a half -- and the middle states, except for Pennsylvania, should go pretty fast.WV -- 17 milesMD -- 40 milesPA -- 229 milesNJ -- 73 milesNY -- 89 milesCT -- 52 milesMA -- 90 milesI expect that being often too cold will soon be replaced by being often too hot. I expect I¢ll see fewer rainy days, but that mosquitoes will become more of a problem. It¢ll be interesting to see what effect the new challenges will have on my psyche.Note: Considering zero days, I¢m averaging 12.4 miles per day. I need to improve this a bit -- to 13.0 -- to finish by mid-September. (If you consider only the nonzero days, I¢m averaging 14.5 miles per day, for whatever that¢s worth.)