Welcome to my blog.
Expect reflections on long distance hiking, hiking culture, nature, creativity and my undying love for backrests.
All in long distance hiking
Did you know that endorphins leave the system after two days of rest? Me, neither! Until today. The third day.
I resigned myself to the fact that I and all my stuff would be at least a little, if not a lot, wet while hiking the BMT. But today I found there is something I love more on zero days than good food and clean sheets. Dryers set on high! If only I could crawl in and tumble around with my quilt. Nothing would make me happier.
I woke up at 5:30am to lightning, followed soon enough by thunder. This is not how the weather usually works this time of year. What other surprises might be in store for me today?
I’ve decided the Benton MacKaye Trail Association has a secret mission, and it’s not pretty.
I spent today trying to talk myself out of quitting. The battle was epic. But two things happened to bolster my spirits, and so I lived to fight that battle another day.
I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m going to be on the spectrum from moderately damp to totally drenched for the next month. Such is the reality of hiking in the South in July.
After an 18 mile day, the holy grail of long distance hiking is mine!
The best part of the day was discovering HOT SHOWERS at the Thunder Rock Campground on the Ocoee River, where Ralph met me for resupply and brought fluffy towels to go with my shower.
Eventful day on trail today…I saw another human being! And feral pigs. Neither wanted anything to do with. me.
Gear failure! I hiked in the rain for an hour and discovered my umbrella has a hole in it, which makes it periodically dump water down the back of my shirt.
It was a yellow blazing kind of day. And now I’m into yellow blazing.
I heard the hootin’ and hollerin’, presumably from people jumping in the river, but nothing could prepare me for the circus that surrounded said hollerin’. At least there was an ice cream sandwich to be found after wading through Tubing Ville.
