Dozens of times each day I find myself stepping to the side of the trail to allow another hiker to pass by. Sometimes these are South-bound hikers who are coming down a steep trail. Trail etiquette states that the trail is yielded to the hiker going up. However, I am quick to jump to the side of the trail to allow someone to come down. It gives me a moment or two to catch my breath on the ascent. However, more often than not, the hikers passing...
Well, today marks the day that I first cried on the side of a mountain. Kelly Knob - you beat me going up and you beat me going down. This was our second Tuesday on trail and our second miserable Tuesday morning. It rained all night Monday night. Everything was soaking wet and we had no choice but to get up in the rain and pack up soaking wet tents, food, gear. To make matters worse, our tent fly failed in the rain, causing it to fold inward...
(Disclaimer: none of us had hypothermia. Don't worry, mom.) We now hike with Max the Mouse. Max was bequeathed to our family by a sweet old man at our first shelter. Pearwood approached us with a lime green knit hat atop his head, "Are you headed to Katahdin? I was, but I'm not anymore. But Max needs to get there." So into Charlotte's pack went Max. Max's courier was not the only one who left the trail after that first night. The trail tested...
Matthew and I knew that we were taking our daughters out of school and away from their peers for 5 months. That reality was not lost on us and we seriously considered the repercussions of our choice. But we so wanted our girls to have the experience of the trail and the community that hikes it. And I will say that in the first 4 days, my prayers for my daughters have been answered in abundance. Charlotte was so excited to experience "trail...
We have now reached one day before we leave for the Appalachian Trail. And I am currently sitting in our dining room (as I have been all day, every day. All. Day. Every. Day.) surrounded by gear. First aid, electronics, water filters, quick-dry towels, micro spikes, and a small pile of four headlamps. These headlamps are taking on a new significance for me this evening. pile of headlamps, waiting to be packed into packs Everything has felt like...