Halfway Done With My Journey!?

It is the end of July. I’m halfway done with my journey. Made it almost to the 1/4 mark. I have until November 2nd to do everything I can to complete as much of the Appalachian trail possible. I’m thinking this year I may not make it. Even with the aqua blaze after Boots Off and the flip-flop I will be doing in Roanoke VA, it seems unlikely. My body rebuilding muscles at a slower pace then I’d like isn’t helping either. The constant rain has been draining my mental and spiritual bar rather quickly.

Aqua Blazing

I loved the change of pace when I had the opportunity to aqua blaze Lake Watauga. 8 miles of kayaking helped with miles I needed to pass up on trail. It also gave me time to rest my legs and work on my upper core strength. I always joked I would come home with tree stumps for legs and noodles for arms by the end of this adventure. This may still end up being the case. It was a gorgeous relaxing day and thankfully I was able to understand the bit of briefing provided to me from Grumpy at Boots Off.  Afterwards, 2 Mile (this week’s hiking partner) and I were able to enjoy a hamburger before we hiked three miles into Double Springs shelter for the night. Lots of cow patties needed to be avoided.

Halfway and Coming To Terms With What My Hike Means To Me

I feel slightly deflated knowing that I’m only a quarter of the way into my hike and have already spent half the allotted time for travel. Reminding myself to continue hiking my own hike helps. This isn’t a quest to  fulfill certain expectations but to take  my own journey of healing.

A small bit of ashes will be resting on Springer and another bit will be resting on Kataden. And in-between will have been memories made, life changing ones at that.

Journey in the Rain…

Rain has been hammering us hikers the past week or so with no sign of slowing down. It doesn’t really help with keeping the spirits up. My gear is wet. The rocks are slippery and when I’m hopping puddles, I’m never really sure how far down I’ll sink into a mud pit. At the end of the day, when I’m able to drag off the shoes, my feet are unrecognizable wrinkled claws that look as though they belong to an entirely different creature. And the STINK!!!!! Everything is wet and moods are strained. But true to thru-hiker spirit, we do all we can to keep good morale. We settle for hot food. Change into our “dry” night clothes and make good conversation to help keep the dark thoughts at bay. And sometimes the sun does peek through the dreariness giving us a respite.

All in all it’s been a pleasant bit of misery.