Date: 2011-08-25
To: August Prep
Miles today: 0.0

Last weekend I did another prep hike on the AT. We did this weird T-shape hike, up from the parking lot to the AT, up to the top of Blood Mountain, back downt the same way, through Mountain Crossings, up to Crowrock Mountain (?), and then back to the intersection to the trail to the parking lot. Very weird hike pattern. I was very unprepared for this hike. I'll let you know the gist of it and you can decide if I'm just a pansy or if I had actual causes to wig out. I could tell from the start of the day that this was going to just not be my day. I was feeling exhausted already from womanly issues and did not feel like doing much of anything. But I bucked up and just went with it. And for the first few hours I was great. Up to the top of Blood, and met with a fantastic view. My last trip up Blood had no view so this was a real treat for me. It was just fantastic. Coming back down the mountain, everyone hiked past a lovely snake on the trail until I noticed him. I shout out, mostly because it had started to make its way accross the trail in front of me. Turns out to be a copperhead! So exciting for me. I've never seen a living wild snake. SO COOL! At Mountain Crossings we pause for maybe a small snack break. By this time its around 11 am ish. I would have been fine if we had stopped here. I was feeling well and accomplished. Instead we still had about 4.7 miles out and the same amount back. So since I was feeling okay, I went along with it. BAD IDEA.This is where that hike your own hike comes into play. In my hike, I should've stopped there. or at least taken a longer break to have lunch and rest. Instead I pushed ahead with the other people I was with. I have yet to find people who are comfortable letting me hike at my own pace alone. I need to branch out.But here's what the problems were:1. I had stuck my water bladder in the freezer the night before thinking that the heat will melt it well and I'd have ice water for most of the day. Well it was a hot day but the bladder did not melt fast at all! I wound up having an issue getting the water I needed because it wouldn't melt fast enough. Next time I'll just stick it in the fridge, not the freezer.2. I need to take more breaks. Just to eat. I tend to lose my appetite on the trail and I need to force myself to eat. I wound up running out of energy pretty quickly and slowed to an aweful pace. I didn't bring enough to eat nor allowed myself the time to eat what I did have. We didn't stop for lunch until like 1 ish. WAY too late for me. Sure enough I got going pretty well after that. But snacking needs to be more frequent.3. My mental issues really caught up with me. I started doubting myself. I know that this was mostly due to those womanly issues I related earlier, but I didn't realize this till afterward. At the time I just wanted to sit in the middle of the trail and cry. Having said all that, I know it looks bad. I have done some evaluating of myself and realized that, for starters, I will not be starting the trail at 14 miles per day (our quota for that day). When I start the trail I will definitely be hiking my own hike. I really want to go my own speed. I'm tired of trying to keep up with these crazy people. I know I will eventually get to that speed but right now I need to dial it back a notch. I am preparing to do my first hike alone and I'm really excited to do it. I hope to get back in touch with what makes this hike MINE. Its also good to have a bad day now, to see how I will deal with it later. I feel more prepared this way instead of only having awesome prep hikes. I'm still 100% in this. It's time to stop following and start hiking.