Why? That’s the Big Question.

So, who are you people and why are you walking?

The old fella – Sweatheart (Max)

So I am one half of the “a couple old hikers.”  I’m looking to drag my 63-year-old carcass over about 300 miles of Appalachian Trail probably somewhere in Virginia, probably going north, and probably starting around the middle of April but really at a point when the weather is good.  My wife and I hike together and she is a way better hiker.  However, I have the ultimate advantage in that she prefers to sleep in the same tent and I am the one carrying it, so she will wait for me a lot when she gets ahead.  I want to lose 20 pounds but don’t want to go fast because I don’t want to hurt myself.  I’m thinking 10 to 12 miles a day, with town stops as available every four days or thereabouts.  We will be going slow – feel free to pass.

The good looking one -Maureen (trail name tbd)

I figure we have been working, raising kids, taking care of a big old house, paying bills, and rushing, rushing, RUSHING, for about 45 years.  Always thinking about what’s coming up—the next vacation, the next car, the next promotion…  Time to slow down and look forward to the next step, the next white blaze, the next tree.   During our L.A. section hikes over the years, we have always had our car waiting for us at the end.  And that’s made us rush, too.  The last day on a hike would invariably be a race to the car for the drive to McDonalds, home, bed.  Time to slow things down.

Oh, and since Max carries the tent, I carry the cook stove and pot.  What’s fair is fair.