Why do I want to go back to the trail.
★ There are the views. They have been spectacular.
★ The trail is calming. Getting up packing and walking every day rain or shine is real and stable.
★ The trail is getting me into great shape. I have lost around 40 pounds since I have started hiking.
★ It is helping me to get into the moment. The trail now that I am not trying to simply make miles I find myself just walking. I don't know how to explain but it is a centering experience.
★ I said I would hike the trail. I told lots of people about the trail and explained in detail how I was going to do it. I want to do what I said I would.
★ I planned and prepared for about a year to do the hike.
★ The hike will give me a lot of good stories. The NOBO’S I have talked with have lots of good tales. Well tales not all of them are good.
★ Teresa and others are having a great time watching my hike.
Reasons to get off the trail
★ It is six months out of my life. I miss Tammy, my family, and my friends.
★ My knee hurts and every thru hiker has some pain. Some of them have long term damage. Num spots, torn acl, ect...
★ It can be boring (perhaps this is a good thing) as it forces me to think about stuff I normally allow the world to crowd out.
★ It is going to cost three grand total this year and next. I guess I should reduce this by the amount I would have to pay at home approximately 900 dollars. Still 2k.
★ I feel lonely sometimes. Almost everyone is heading north so I don't have anyone I can hike with. I meet people for just one night never to see them again.
★ I hiking slow. It is going to take about two hundred days (6.7 months) to finish the hike at ten miles a day. Perhaps I will get faster but I am not sure.