Biting Cold and Hiker Bonds; Musings From the Trail

I have now been in the U.S.  for 12 days, of which this is my ninth day on the trail. And I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do the classic blogging about my life on the trail, but I do still want to share a little of my experience.

So these are my musings and first impressions.

–The food portions are not that giant. (Depending on when the hiker hunger starts, this might start to be a bad thing 😉 )

–The supermarkets are actually not different from Europe (can definitely find most of the same stuff).

–People are so, so, so friendly. Or is it just the trail?

–Trail magic is real. Thank you section hikers (water and food), shuttle driver (cinnamon bun), former thru-hikers (soda and snacks), and thru-hiker (let me use his gas).

–The Georgia mountains are not that bad. Or, should I say, the Pyrenees mountains I hiked in to train are really, really hard?

–Not experienced any party or macho culture yet on the trail (might yet to come?).

–Cultural outings can be expensive (more than $30 for an aquarium; really Atlanta?).

–Camping in the cold is never fun (why can I not get my feet warm?).

I also love how the trail really is like a community with all kinds of legends and stories.

–The YouTuber who quit on day one of hiking.

–The 87-year-old who just started his second thru-hike.

–The guy who shit on a porcupine that was stuck in the privy.

–The veteran who is hiking with his service dog; the dog can only eat lamb and duck.

Best experiences

–Seeing the cute little squirrels jumping around.

–Sitting at the fire (that someone always starts making) at the shelters at night.

–Experiencing trail magic.

–Realizing my body can handle quite a bit.

Worst experiences

–The cold: I cannot get my feet warm (need to get some down booties).

–The cold: getting up in the morning, knowing you have to get out of your warm sleeping bag.

–The smell: unfortunately my shirt already retains the  weat smell, even when washed.

–The little pains starting: I can handle the pain, just a little scared of getting injured again.

Hope this format is interesting enough for you guys.