AT 2024, Day 12: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Random cooler in the woods!
Day 12, Thursday, 5.11.2024
Start: M. 637.3, Pearisburg, VA, Angel’s Rest Hostel
End: M. 652.9, Nothing Special Stealth Site in a Saddle
Miles Hiked: 15.6
Total Miles: 150.5
Elevation Gain: 4,030 feet
A fool’s errand…
There were so many people at the hostel that I spiraled into my usual fear…that all campsites would be full and I’d have to hike on to eternity before I could set up my little leaky shelter. (Have I mentioned how disappointed I am with my FancyAF Durston tent?)
I was on trail, though, by 7:20 and basically before anyone at the hostel had started unfurling. I’m always twitchy after a day spent NOT doing the thing I’m here for, so it was good to be walking. Even though it was under the duress of trying to stay ahead of literally everyone behind me.
And I felt like there were soooooo many people behind me.
It wasn’t a great day.
I pushed hard. Neglected the views (not that there were many, today). Enjoyed what little I noticed only through the lens and screen of my camera, yet still only took three photos.
I let the bubble get to me.
I fantasized about flipping back down to Springer and restarting my hike well behind this bubble I’m in.
Yet, here I am, alone in this large tent site. Yes, I stopped early. And I got set up before it started sprinkling, then hailing, then raining in earnest. I’m watching for leaks and penning a preliminary e-mail to Dan Durston:
Dear Dan, My tent leaks. WTF? Roo
Already a pond is forming in my tent. Again, Dan, WTF?
Of course it wasn’t all bad.
There was trail magic! Sort of.
The cooler was empty, but the backrest slapped! Two for one, y’all.
LOL, JK. It was empty, but it sure did give me a thrill for a minute when I thought it might be filled with chocolate-covered strawberries.
I saw a Cestnut-Sided Warbler!
I got my bear bag up a tree on the first throw!
Speaking of which, I found a place on trail where all the bear bag rocks congregate.
I decided not to pack one out, though it would not have been the first time.
Note to Self: Don’t Hike the AT if you seek Alone Time
And in the end I reminded myself of how I prepared myself mentally for my 2017 AT hike. I consciously made peace with the fact that hiking the AT is as much a social activity as it is a nature walk or a physical endeavor. I made it a point then to interact with my fellow hikers, to be a part of the community rather than hold myself at a distance as I am inclined to do.
That mental preparation made all the difference. Hiking the AT at that time was one of the funnest, and most life-changing, things I’ve ever done.
Embrace it!
Not least because I embraced every part of the trail, especially the social nature of going the distance in the company of other hikers who were also doing the thing. In embracing that part of it, I found something I wasn’t sure existed.
I found my community.
I found a place where I belong.
