I’m Going to Katahdin

Hiking the Appalachian Trail offered something that my daily life often did not: time.  Time to slow down, look inward, enjoy a leisurely lunch, catch a sunrise if I felt so inclined, or sleep in if my body needed to recover.  I had nowhere to be and all day to get there.  In short, it was a beautiful life.

But I’ll be honest: sometimes it was just, well, too much time.

After I’d had about all I could stand of my own thoughts, I often took refuge in the company of others.

Without a To Do list dictating our days, we filled hours with ridiculous games and songs.  These were usually relics from childhood – a testament to the last time we’d all had time to kill.

A go-to game with our crew became a variation of “I’m Going on A Picnic.”  The rules were simple: the hiker at the head of the line picked a destination in place of a picnic (e.g. “I’m going to Trail Days,” or, “I’m going to Gatlinburg.”) and “brought” something beginning with the letter A (e.g. apples).  The next hiker repeated A, then added an item beginning with B.  The following hiker repeated A, B, added C, and so on, until we’d reached the letter Z.

Flying back and forth across the country this week, I found myself with the gift of time once more.  My mind drifted into a state of trail nostalgia, as it often does, and I found myself playing a solo round of, “I’m Going to Katahdin.”

I’m going to Katahdin and I’m bringing…

Awol’s guide

Awol's Guide with important notes added (see: the varieties of beer I purchased at NOC)

Awol’s Guide with important notes added (see: the varieties of beer I purchased at NOC).

Baby wipes & bourbon
Crocs & crusty clothing
Duct tape & Darn Tough socks
Egg rolls from Ming’s
Fall foliage

100-Mile Wilderness

100-Mile Wilderness

Gnats
Heat rash & Hot Hands
Injuries & inclement weather
Jolly Ranchers
Kites
Lyme Disease & Little Debbie snacks

Bullseye

Bullseye

Mosquitos
NeoAir mattress
Oreos
Peanut butter & Pasta Sides

So. Much. Peanut. Butter.

So. Much. Peanut. Butter.

Quality Inn continental breakfast
Ramen
Sawyer Squeeze & Snickers
Tramily

The Tramily: Six, Dangerpants, Limey, Green Lite, First Gear, Snakebite, Chuckles, Little Spoon

The Tramily: Six, Dangerpants, Limey, Green Lite, First Gear, Snakebite, Chuckles, Little Spoon

Umbrellas & ukuleles
Vitamin I
Wild ponies & turkeys

Grayson Highlands

Grayson Highlands

Xray results
Yogi skills
Ziploc bags

What are you bringing to Katahdin?

 

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