Date: 2007-03-26
To: Springer Fever
Miles today: 0.0

Here we are in the month of March and this years crop of thru-hikers are on the AT once again. Now that I have returned to the world and I'm off the trail I'm suffering with Springer Fever. It is a deep desire to be hiking once again. As I read the Trailjournal entries each day my condition gets worse. There was an article in the newspaper yesterday about how this years Maple Syrup harvest will not produce like it normally does. As I read the article I remembered seeing the tapped trees and the tubing leading to a collection system. I expected to see this in Vermont and I remember hiking for miles along side the tubing. What I didn't expect was to see this in southern Virginia. I remember having to explain what it was to fellow hikers who had never seen this before. Most people have the impression Maple sap is collected from buckets that hang on each tree.I remember walking along and having a turkey start to fly away right next to my head. You go from trail serenity to total panic in a microsecond. Those damn birds wait until you are right next to them, they then pop up right next to your ear and start flapping their wings. By the time you figure out what just happenend you're picking yourself off the ground.I remember all the vines in Georgia, I swear they were Poison Ivy and I did everything in my power to avoid them. Later in the hike when I was hiking out of Erwin,TN I remember seeing the plants on the forest floor coming alive. The first one that came to mind was the Poison Ivy. I saw many three leaf plants throughout the hike that I suspected being Poison Ivy, I treated every one as if it were. When in doubt avoid. I chose the spots where I set up my tent in areas where I could identify the plants nearby. I passed on a few nice looking places because I didn't like the looks of the plants. One final measure I used was I wore knee high gaters most of the time. They brushed against the plants and kept my legs from getting dirty. Somehow I avoided getting Poison Ivy, I was afraid I would get it and have to get off trail to see a doctor.I gave a presentation about my hike a few weeks back, I love taking my gear out and showing my pictures to people. Answering questions about the trail and remembering my experience is invigorating. I was asked if I had any injuries during my hike. I can say I didn't have any major injury. Over the course of the 5 1/2 months I had both knees and both ankles hurt for a while. I also went through blisters on my feet and losing three toe nails, after a while my feet toughened up and I didn't have problems with them. Many days I took a dose of vitamin I (Ibuprofin) which helped a lot. I felt very lucky with how my body held up and I was able to hike through any adversity. I still think my positive attitude and a desire to move on were my two biggest assets. By enjoying myself each day I found a renewal of the deire to stay out and hike.Now back to that Springer Fever, I'm not sure if I'll ever be cured of it. I've taken a new job and I'm enjoying it too. I found I'm not cut out for retirement yet, after being home a few months and all the projects were done I was bored. I've decided to work a few years and then take a leave of absense and hike again. In the mean time I'll section hike trails on weekends and vacation time. There are parts of the AT where I can get to easily and get a few good days of hiking in.Remember the line from Braveheart, "Everyman dies, but not everyman has really lives". Old Goat