Time Off in DWG and First Month Reflections: AT Flip Flop Days 32-33

Day 32

I had an amazing sleep in my private room in Delaware Water Gap. I rolled out of the house around 8:15 to walk down the hill to the coffee shop for breakfast. The McGees were at the salon on the way making hair appointments, so I made one too. We had a great breakfast and coffee at the Mystical Mug and hoarded the Wi-Fi. Perch was there, so we said goodbye before she left to get back on trail. We hung out at the Mug for a few hours until it was time for haircuts at 11:15. 

The ladies at the salon were excited to try out an electric shaver for the first time to get me back down to bald. It was the first time I paid for a haircut in eight years.

After haircuts, we lounged around the house. We talked our host into taking us to Walmart in the next town over to resupply. After we got back, it was time for dinner. We were excited for the BBQ joint that had been hyped by the ridge runner as having the best cornbread in the world. Being with a couple of native Mississippians and being a recent transplant to Georgia myself, we had high standards for BBQ. The food was decent, but overall was not worth the cost, and the corn bread was just average. We again had drinks on the porch in the evening. 

Day 33

Jingle made amazing homemade biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Subtitles was in charge of coffee on the old electric percolator. When he couldn’t get the third pot to work, I tried to start it and almost started an electrical fire when the power cord shorted out. The excitement of making sparks replaced my need for more coffee.

The main reason I was taking two zeros in DWG was to wait for my shoes to be delivered. I had ordered them from REI over a week ago. When I checked the tracking, UPS said they had tried to deliver to the post office the day before but found it closed. The new estimated delivery was tomorrow, and there was no indication it was out for delivery today. I was extremely anxious that I might have to stay here longer to wait for the package. I find it really annoying that REI shipped them to Pennsylvania from California and that they used UPS to ship to a post office address. 

We went to the post office in the early afternoon to send a few things home and to ask about UPS. The postal workers were extremely nice and also bemoaned their problems with UPS; they had watched the truck drive by the day before without stopping. I left my number, and they promised to call me if the package arrived today.

We walked down to the coffee shop to use their Wi-Fi. I was able to get some trail updates queued to post. As I was finishing my first post, the post office called and said they had my package! I ran up the hill to get it right away. I was relieved it had finally arrived, and I opened it to verify it was exactly what I needed.

We came back to the house to rest some more and wait until the free dinner at the church. We got hungry while waiting, and Jingle made some soup with her excess resupply food. We went over to the church anyway and ate some more food and hung out with the churchgoers and other hikers.

Reflecting on the First Month

I chose to start in this section because it was the part of the trail I was least looking forward to. I had lived in northern Virginia and Maryland before and was already familiar with hiking there. Pennsylvania is typically the least liked state on the AT, and it met my low expectations.

However, despite being what will probably be my least favorite section for hiking, I have really enjoyed the experience of becoming a long distance hiker on the AT. I love the way my body is adapting to the rigors of trail life. I have made what are sure to be some lifelong friends and some really fantastic acquaintances. One month in, the experience of the AT has been exactly what I hoped it would be to this point.

Socially, I am enjoying the friends I’ve made so far. Earlier in Pennsylvania, I had a good mix of nobos and flip floppers around me, but now I haven’t had any nobos in my group. I am finding that there are not many people my age (mid-30s). There are groups in their 20s and groups in their 50s-60s, and I typically connect better with the older crowd. I feel like the younger crowd sees me as one of the older hikers, and the older crowd sees me as one of the younger hikers.

The Trails Impact on Me

Introspectively, I still feel like myself and that I haven’t really changed as a person yet. There are obviously some changes and adaptations, so I’ll try to describe some of those.

Physically, I am changing into a more natural human. My feet are calloused and perpetually dirty. My legs are turning into dynamos, powering me up and down the trail. I’m quickly shedding pounds and inches off my midsection. My skin and beard are adapting to being sweaty and dirty all the time. I stink… it kind of smells like sourdough?

Behaviorally, I am adapting habits needed to survive and thrive in my new environment. I go to bed when it gets dark and wake up without an alarm, typically earlier than in everyday life. Packing my bag the same way every time has almost become second nature. Hanging my hammock and bear bag has become easy. I am much more comfortable in my hammock and mostly don’t mind the multitude of night sounds in the woods anymore.

Cognitively, the changes are more subtle or not there. I am less stressed than in normal life, but I still get frustrated with little things. I feel a great sense of accomplishment for what I’ve done so far and am not worried or thinking about how much more I have left to do at all.