I am feeling like I have taken a lot of days off the trail lately, and that doesn't feel good. When I am in town I am ready to be out hiking. But when I am out hiking I am thinking about excuses to go into a town and stop hiking. I'll have to figure out how to adjust, or decide what my real goal is. I am finding it less fun to hike by myself and I find myself making decisions based on who I am hiking with more than I did in the beginning. For example, taking an extra zero day in Gorham just to hang out with Bones, Patrick and Sarah-even thought the weather was good and I felt ready to hike; or hiking North just to have two hiking buddies for three days, even though I knew it would mean a whole extra day of hitch hiking instead of trail hiking. And those decisions are o.k., but it really takes me off of my stride of moving forward through the miles. I'll figure it out. Do you have any suggestions?
Today I woke up at Sally's house and after she made breakfast for me I went to the library with her. Hanover has a free bus that stops at the end of her driveway, so we used that. I met mom and Aunt Jane for a barbecue lunch in town before we headed out of town to find a hotel. It was fun to see them. We remembered that seven years ago, almost to the weekend, we were all in Kansas in a college town eating barbecue during first-year move in days, just as today we are at Dartmouth during first-year move-in days and we are again eating barbecue. We jokingly made a date for seven years from now for a barbecue lunch at a college town to be determined. We spent the evening watching the Democratic Convention and Michelle Obama's speech, playing word games, and eating Chinese food. Then mom and I spent time on the hotel computer updating this blog. I took a few very good pictures of mom and Jane on the trail, but they have been lost for now, sorry.
Today I woke up at Sally's house and after she made breakfast for me I went to the library with her. Hanover has a free bus that stops at the end of her driveway, so we used that. I met mom and Aunt Jane for a barbecue lunch in town before we headed out of town to find a hotel. It was fun to see them. We remembered that seven years ago, almost to the weekend, we were all in Kansas in a college town eating barbecue during first-year move in days, just as today we are at Dartmouth during first-year move-in days and we are again eating barbecue. We jokingly made a date for seven years from now for a barbecue lunch at a college town to be determined. We spent the evening watching the Democratic Convention and Michelle Obama's speech, playing word games, and eating Chinese food. Then mom and I spent time on the hotel computer updating this blog. I took a few very good pictures of mom and Jane on the trail, but they have been lost for now, sorry.
Sounds like your purpose and underlying reasons for walking the trail is shifting from a desire for solitude and contemplation to community and adventure. I wonder what your trail name will be in the Spring when you return to complete this adventure? Perhaps Fugitive will be transformed into NOBO or some other nickname yet to be determined? A true pilgrim on a pilgrimage goes where the wind blows and soon realizes the spiritual transformation happens on the journey, not by reaching the final destination. Enjoy living in the moment!
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