Date: 2017-05-30
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Thoughts While Resting in Harpers FerryReaching Daleville Hiking the Appalachian Trail is something you do all alone, and in the company of many others at the same time. Springer Mountain in north Georgia is where you start a northbound hike. There is no right way to do it. A hike can be a few miles starting anywhere and ending anywhere, but a thru hike means you intend to hike the entire length of the trail in a single hike, regardless of direction(s) or where you start. A northbound hike (NOBO) remains the most popular - so Georgia to Maine (GA-ME). I have had dozens of conversations with hikers who ask when I started and we have an immediate rapport when I tell them "March 3" because they know all that means. I had done four section hikes in the past, covering 728.1 miles to Daleville, Virginia, so I had a very intimate familiarity with the major milestones all the way, and a general knowledge of the rest. I could have started in Daleville and gone north. But when I got to Daleville this time I could say to myself "there, I've covered all of that, now let's go see the rest". Doing those 728.1 miles in a single hike is not the same as in several shorter hikes strung together. I needed to know I could do it in order to know I could do the rest. A thru hike has a special allure and I was so glad I started at Springer and gave myself a shot at hiking the whole trail. It remains to be seen how it will turn out. I stepped out of the woods at US 220 in Daleville and walked up to the same Howard Johnson's to get a room. I knew I would cross that road the next day into new territory. My mind was satisfied. I took one last look south and thought what a relief to be here. There were plenty of days where it was hard to pull myself up the next step. Redoing that section was not free. But, now let's see what's ahead. Virginia BluesThe "Virginia Blues" is a term given to whatever causes a hiker to struggle with the grind of doing 544 miles of tough hiking. Crossing a state border does not change the daily experience of exerting this much effort. The term is related to the realization that this is a very hard task you have signed up to do and only your own mental staying power can keep you doing it. Rationalization, and the practical advantage of talking yourself into the easier path are powerful. I think almost all thru hikers come to the realization that this is hard and I need a reason to keep doing it. My struggle came when I left Pearisburg and had six days to Daleville where I spent every night alone in my tent or at a shelter and saw few people during the day. Were they all so far ahead that I could never catch them (could I ever make it to Maine like the fast hikers?). Then after Daleville it seemed Virginia changed. The terrain became closed in with tight forest (green tunnel) with few views, on extremely rocky trail with several thousand feet of climbs each day. It got hot, over 90 degrees, and the rain caused mud, and the trail was a stream and a series of waterfalls. I learned a lot. Take each day as it comes and expect something of value from each. Break the bigger chunks into smaller ones and do them one at a time. Expect better things ahead. I began to feel stronger and think less about the data available to me such as how many miles today or how much elevation change. I just did it as it came and looked forward even to the harder parts. The miles remaining in Virginia soon became less than those already hiked and I could see the end and how I would get there. Sure enough, I did. SNPShenandoah National Park has a little over 100 miles of the AT. It also has a generally well graded trail with an easier elevation change than I had been hiking just south of the park. When you get to Waynesboro, VA the park is your next section. At Stanimals Hostel in Waynesboro I caught up with Macguyver and Cousin Eddie, two hikers I had known and hiked with before, and I also met Smeagol, a hiker also from Birmingham, AL, and Cheesehead, originally from WI, now from Ohio, and moving to WY. We five hikers are very compatible in our hiking style and also our personalities and outlook on life. The other thing about SNP is the stores and Waysides where we could resupply and also stop in to eat real food. The five of us did the Park together and it was great. Fun to have friends around and we took full advantage to eat well and lighten our loads with the easy resupply. Macguyver and Cousin Eddie could not hide their surprise when they saw me at Stanimals Hostel and noticed the weight loss had continued - I had not seen them for about 200 miles. I'm not fat now by any means but I did take full advantage of Park amenities and I think it has helped. I feel better and stronger. Also, the Park is one of those intermediate goals that I completed and the encouragement of that is so important. Virginia is DoneWhen I crossed the border from Tennessee into Virginia I was around 470 miles into the hike. Virginia holds about 544 miles of the trail. I was excited to reach that place. Virginia has many iconic trail places and viewpoints that are well-known and must-see milestones. But, to complete Virginia you will more than double your miles. At that point it is a goal so far out ahead as to be a distant mental concept rather than an attainable goal that you can see coming. It reminded me of my year in Vietnam where a lot of things could happen and no guarantees right up to the last day. The other day I came to a small nondescript sign in the middle of nowhere, marking that goal at the crossing from VA into WV. In my heart I was grateful and thankful. I thought back to that other crossing back there when I was happy to be approaching Damascus, Virginia, and I thought about all that had gone by in between. This far I have come with the help of the Lord. 1000 MilesMiles hiked is a number you kind of watch and amuse yourself with. That first day when I reached Three Forks I remember thinking that I had hiked 3 1/2 miles today and 3 1/2 miles total. Seemed so puny. On ahead around Albert Mountain I reached 100 miles - both a big and a small number. About once a week I would text Marlene with the next 100 miles completed. Up and up. I remember at 600 miles it seemed so far and yet the end so distant. Still a 3-digit number. Crossing the 1000 mile mark means real miles to me. When that 1 becomes a 2, I will be in Maine, and I can actually see that happening. (Yet, no guarantees). People muse about statistics out here. At the beginning they say your chances of finishing are some number in the teens. At 1000 miles they say chances are 50-50. I'm not into "chances" but it does say something about the "do-ability" of this soon-to-be 68 year old to finish. 1000 miles feels good. It encourages me to believe I can get past the next hard and discouraging day. But there is a lot to do yet. Coming Up NextThings will start to happen in the next few sections. Having completed Virginia I will cross West Virginia tomorrow and enter Maryland and cross into Pennsylvania in about 40 some miles after that. Harpers Ferry is a very special place, and from the beginning of the idea to create the Appalachian Trail it has been the "spiritual" halfway point. The actual mathematical halfway point is in PA, with some traditions and hoopla associated with that. After that the "to do" number is smaller than the "already done" number. So that will be fun. Pennsylvania presents it's own challenges. The southern part is supposed to be relatively easy. The last 185 miles or so the trail travels across a continuous legendary rock pile. Some of the most difficult hiking the whole way, with the reputation of ruining shoes. (I'm getting a new pair right at the start of PA). When you reach Delaware Water Gap and cross into New Jersey it is a big relief. Then fewer miles in NJ and NY and you reach New England when you cross into Connecticut- still a very long way to go but progress. But I need to guard against getting ahead of myself. White BlazesThe trail is marked with 2 inch by 6 inch white rectangles painted vertically on trees and rocks mostly. They provide an assurance that you are following the right path. On all my section hikes and now on my thru hike they have been a metaphor for my life. When I see the next one ahead I say "Thank you Jesus" and "Thank you Lord" for that confirmation. I am a born again Christian. I believe in God and His son Jesus Christ. I believe in the story of man's rebellion against God and our need of a substitute, a Savior, because we cannot be good enough or do enough good works to please God on our own. I believe the Bible is God's word and it has been the guiding "white blazes" for my life - both to call me to God, and to tell me how to live day by day. God is personal to me and I mean no disrespect by "chatting" with Him as I would a friend. Jesus is a friend, and the relationship is real. For me the question is whether you believe in God or not. If a person does not, then only God can reveal himself. But if God exists, then he is not impotent and unable to get his message to us just the way he wants it. Jesus is that message, described in the Bible. I'm 68 years old and am trusting in this message for my life now and for the future. I will not argue, but I am satisfied. On my hike I have heard the atheist. I've heard about evolution and the big bang. I've heard about the human genome and dna and all man's wisdom and discovery. I fully expect to be set straight by God about the dinosaurs and Adam and Eve and church denominations and all of it. But I am also fully confident in the white blazes of Gods word. I will go with them to the ultimate "Maine". YouI would like to say thank you again to each of you who have taken time to put a note in my journal guestbook or respond to Marlene on the Facebook page both to encourage me or pray when I ask. Please believe that each time it is a joy and source of strength to me.