I am beside myself with excitement, all packed and ready to go. My daughter and grandson will be escorting me to PA where I ended my warm-up trip in April, Pine Grove Furnace State Park. From there I will head North to meet my trail mate Croft. We will put in a few weeks and as many miles in the summer heat as we can stand. I'm a bit thrown off by the extreme heat, but feel I am better still at the packing and preparing for this kind of venture.
My food...well that's another story. I don't know why I stress so much over my shipping boxes, but I do. I know what I eat, what I need, how much of what thing even, and yet I find a way to make it a huge, very involved process. I pack them, then I unpack and repack. I worry about having enough, then I worry about having too much. Now, I am a worrier (bet you didn't see that one coming) and I also have a bit of OCD (SURPRISE), this is not always a fun mix but I work with it quite well. I am organized and like things the way I like them, so when it comes to my food on my trip...it has to be right, yet light, and still enough. Wow, I'm tired just typing out how I go about this. So, I finally got everything the way I wanted it and shipped them out, washing my hands of them and moving on to things I am much better with...the backpack! With a new sleeping bag (more appropriate for hot nights) and a smaller bladder (more appropriate for weight), I am a new and improved kind of ready. I haven't yet weighed my pack, but I'm guessing 40...it's just my way, I can't imagine me with a 30lb pack! I have to admit, my pack weighed 45lbs the last week of hiking in June and I had sent things home and shipped some things ahead I had deemed unnecessary to carry. I was shocked...this means at times my pack weighed MORE, more like closer to 50lbs! Crazy town, but I carried it. I didn't complain about it, I hoisted up on my back and off I went. I was more excited to eat then most knowing it was going to make my pack lighter:) Funny how I looked at meals and drinking water...I didn't know how heavy that thing was, it just was.
So, with much anticipation I type about this upcoming journey with my friend. I am so happy things turned out the way they did and we get to hike together again this season. My heart was broken while I was off of the trail, I missed it so much. I feel like the "real" me when I'm out there...the real smelly, dirty, complete me. I didn't even think I would go back out on the AT when I started this journey in April. I had a big trip planned and was going to take it on, then move forward to the next big adventure. My list isn't necessarily long but I will do the John Muir trail one day, I just have to. So for now I look forward to completing miles, states, and goals that I set on the AT. Who knew?? It's amazing how if you let it, nature takes you somewhere beautiful...somewhere you either didn't know about or maybe just forgot you knew. It's somewhere unlike any other place, it can't be compared to anything, you cant' even explain it...it's just wonderful.
Thankfully for us outdoorsy types, nature isn't for everyone. I couldn't imagine tons of people on the trail at one time, it would drive me crazy! Part of my love for it is because it takes me away from all the people, the busy work world, stress, traffic, lines, society, tv, technology, email, and people that are too busy to stop and smell the flowers. Look around you, the world is beautiful and I really love seeing it's beauty up close and personal. I find that on the AT! See you out there:) Curlz is back baby!!!!
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