Halfway Through Virginia

We are relaxing in Daleville today. We’ve travelled 134 miles along the Blue Ridge and have had decent weather the whole way. Daleville is around the halfway point through Virginia so we have about 250 miles to go before Damascus and the Tennessee border.
 

                  

 

I’ve hit an interesting place psychologically on our journey. We’ve had some great views over the past few days, but they are not generating the same level of appreciation as in the past. 

I remember reading a story where the main characters were in some rich guys house. There was a spectacular view of the ocean outside a big picture window, but the furniture was all arranged looking away from the window. One of the characters said: “You spend a million dollars on a house with a view. Then after six months, it’s just what’s outside your window.”

I think that’s where we are. It’s not that the places and views aren’t awesome, it’s just that we are getting satiated. This is where section hikers have an advantage over thru-hikers. They have more capacity to appreciate what they are seeing because they haven’t been experiencing it every day. 

The second issue is that I’m getting a little homesick. I never thought this would be a problem for a 61 year old. It’s just that I really miss Linda. In the beginning of our hike, we spent a lot of time only 3 or 4 hours away from our house, and it made weekend visits possible with some frequency. Now we are farther and farther away so that won’t happen until we are done. 

These two things lead to a desire to just push through and “get it over with”. This risks rushing through some spectacular terrain. We will need to make sure we pay attention to where we are, and not just rush through the remaining miles. 

Our next stretch is from here to Pearisburg. It includes McAfee Knob. Let’s make sure we enjoy.