Week 7

Week 7 Tuesday-Sunday Trail magic is a wonderful phenomenon. For those of you who have not heard of it, "trail magic" is an act of kindness (free food, water, a ride, etc.) you receive unexpectedly from someone while hiking the trail. These someones are called "trail angels". 

This Fourth of July ended up being a blast because of an awesome trail angel named Soggy. Soggy lives in Waynesboro, PA., and was kind enough to invite me and about half a dozen other hikers to his family home for a holiday cookout. We ate burgers, seafood jambalaya, and some of the freshest corn I have ever had in my life. Afterwards, he took me and my cohorts to the local Fourth of July Jubilee to see the fireworks show. He also gave us all a ride back to our hotels. It was such a blast to take a night off and do something normal and not trail related. Both my feet and psyche needed the breather. After laundry duty, a food resupply, and a therapeutic trip to the hotel hot tub, I was back on the trail refreshed and ready to go. 

The next day was a harsh 19M in an all-day downpour. I don't mind hiking in the rain except for the fact that it tears my feet to pieces. All of my calluses get so soggy that blisters start forming under and around them. Then, those blister start getting soggy and tearing...so on and so forth. By the end of the day, I could barely walk, but I made it through, hit the miles and passed out the minute I got into my tent. 

It rained nonstop until the early morning, but luckily cleared up the following afternoon. I was glad the sun came out that day because we were headed to Pine Grove Furnace State Park for the half gallon challenge. This park sits a couple of miles beyond the actual midpoint of the trail and it is tradition for all thru hikers to eat a half a gallon of ice cream. This means you eat a 1.5 quart container and then an additional pint after that. I must sadly admit that I did not finish the half gallon. I was only 3M into a 19M day, and I was not feeling the extra pint action after finishing the 1.5 quart.

As we head north, the towns are getting more and more beautiful. Boiling Springs, PA was enchanting. A small pond of clear water alongside homes dating back to the 1900's was the town center. There were swans, mallards, and geese all flying around the pond while fly fisherman fished along the shorelines. The town was picturesque; like it was right out of a movie.

Following Boiling Springs were miles and miles of farmland which made for a beautiful and easy hike out of town.  

Southern Pennsylvania is relatively flat. In the last 85M we have only had three or four climbs. The rest has been easy walking through packed dirt paths and hay fields.

I am savoring every minute of it because this is not the case in Northern Pennsylvania. The next 140M are said to be some of the rockiest terrain on the entire trail. It is also the most skipped part of the trail. I have asked at least a dozen previous thru hikers about Northern PA, and they all have responded with a story of either mild or hike-ending injury. My hiker friends and I are a little apprehensive about the upcoming feat, but dreading it won't do any good. If anything, the dread may be worse than the actual terrain itself. I have been telling my friends (and myself) something the hiker Juice (remember Mr. Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ ?) told me one of my first weeks on the trail. "Just this". He said it to me so simply, and it was some of the best advise I have received on this journey so far. Whatever I am doing, I am doing just that during the moment. Just this mountain, just this meal, just this day. Sometime soon it will be just these rocks.... but not tonight. In the recovery community, we often refer to this overzealous anticipation of what is yet to come as "future tripping". This is when you pointlessly fret over things that haven't happened yet, and may or may not happen at all to begin with. In my experience, future tripping is simply wasted energy. I heard a friend in recovery one time say it best, "If you have one foot in tomorrow and one foot in yesterday, you're pissing on today. Tomorrow, if your lucky, will happen tomorrow. Try your best not to waste your today with unnecessary anxiety provoking anticipation. The AA community has a saying similar to Juice's mantra. "Just for today..." You can put anything you want at the end of that sentence, but for most people early in sobriety, it is important to tell yourself that just for the day you are not going to drink. Taking on sobriety for life in one big load is impossibly overwhelming. Taking it in one 24-hour dose at a time is doable. Tonight I get to lay in my tent right by the Susquehanna River with a full belly, clean clothes and two bars of AT&T service. 

I hope for good weather tomorrow as I start the PA march of death, but just for today, I'm not gonna worry about it. Wish me luck!