Date: 2010-12-05
To: Lessons Learned
Miles today: 0.0

Okay, I wanted to review one of my journal entries which I posted on February 5th, prior to starting my hike, and see how close I came to the hiking the AT my way. So, let¢s see¢¦1. HYOH ¢ Hike your own hike. I know I will be developing ¢alliances¢ with other hikers on this trip, but I must keep in mind that this is my hike, and I must do what is best for me. Stop when I need to stop, continue when I need to keep going.Well, a couple of weeks into my hike, I was joined by JAY-B. Then, Jerry from KY, who later adopted ¢EUREKA!¢ as his trail name, joined us. In Erwin, TN, the three of us became four of us with the addition of Veto. By Front Royal, VA, EUREKA! had gone ahead, and both JAY-B and Veto had gotten off the trail. From that point I hiked the rest of the way to Maine by myself. I preferred the flexibility it gave me: I could hike as many miles as I wanted, every day; take a zero day when I wanted, etc.2. Resist the urge to do more daily miles than I¢ve planned for the day; especially in the first couple of weeks. So, I want to keep my daily mileage in the first two or so weeks to fewer than 10, when possible.Well. I certainly stuck to the plan on this one, maybe for too long. It seems that I did low miles, fewer than 15 miles/day, for the first month or more. I think I would have been better served by keeping my daily mileage under 10 for the first two weeks, and then gradually increasing it to 15+ miles per day. However, in spite of my slow start, I managed to complete the hike in 6 months and one day.3. This goes along with numbers 1 and 2, above: Know your body and take care of it. First of all, treat your feet kindly. You'll need them to get to Katahdin. Your body will tell you when something is wrong. Take care of it before the problem becomes insurmountable. Also, develop and follow a stretching routine at the end of the day.I didn¢t do well here at all. I never had any foot problems, but I really missed the signs when my body (and my mind) needed a rest, or zero day. Veto helped me out with this while we hiked together, but once he went home, I really had to force myself to take a zero day. And, I never stretched once!4. Take ¢people pictures¢. I¢ve heard several former thru hikers say they wish they had taken more ¢people pictures¢. After awhile, all those mountain range pictures start looking the same.I did pretty well here. Particularly for the second half of the hike, I managed to take out my camera and snap photos of other hikers frequently. What I wish I had more photos of are the ordinary things we did almost every day, like hanging our food bags from trees, photos of the insides of shelters with all the flotsam and jetsam hanging from every nail and rafter, photos of other thru hikers cooking supper, etc. But overall, I¢m pretty pleased with my photos.5. It¢s about the hike, not the destination. Take your time; take the side trails to interesting features; relax and take a break when you reach a pleasant spot, even if you don¢t really need a break. TAKE YOUR TIME.I said that would be a tough one for me, and it was. But, I managed to force myself to take my time; to goof off; to focus on the journey, not the photo atop Katahdin. I did take most of the side trails to overlooks, waterfalls, and interesting formations. Sure, I could have goofed off more, but the goal of finishing was always in the back of my mind. Knowing what I now know, I think I could do better on this one if I ever decided to do another thru hike.6. Don¢t quit on a bad day.No problem here. I never even CONSIDERED quitting. I just wouldn¢t let that thought enter my mind. ¢Nuf said.7. When I hit a trail town, make up for my lousy diet on the trail.I think I did a pretty good job on this one, too. I had a lot of salads in towns. Whenever someone would ask me what I wanted while in town, I always gave the same answer: fruits and vegetables. Of course, I had a lot of ice cream, too! Ha!8. Resist the urge to hit every trail town, and to linger in the ones I do hit. I understand the pull of trail towns: showers, food, warmth, sheets and pillows¢¦ But, do I really need to stay overnight at EVERY opportunity?I did fine on this one. I really never lingered in town; and only hit towns when I needed to resupply food.9. Okay, this is going to seem contradictory. Take a zero (no hiking day) from time to time. Refresh and replenish. Take it; enjoy it; I¢ve earned it. Just don¢t let it become Number 7 above.I could have done better here. I took very few true zero days. I should have taken more, but I really didn¢t feel like it at the time. Veto was very good about recognizing when my body, and especially my mind, needed a rest.10. Keep a record of who you meet, both on the trail and off. Record their names, trail or otherwise, and know how to get in touch with them after the hike.Actually, I forgot all about this one while I was on the trail. However, I was just in Harpers Ferry last week and managed to score a dozen names and email addresses of other thru hikers I hiked with. So, they can expect an email from me in the near future!!11. Appreciate the kindness of others, but don¢t come to expect it. Not a problem for me. That¢s not my style really. Except perhaps help from my wife. That's more my style. Ha! She¢ll need to be sending me stuff from time to time. I know I can count on her, though¢¦right??I appreciated the kindness of everyone I met on the trail and in the trail towns. I still do appreciate what they did for me, and what they do for many other thru hikers. This¢ll be the subject of my last trail entry, so stay tuned!