A Brand New Day

I dropped Jim off for his first day hiking without me. It was a bit emotional for Jim as his hike has become a very different kind of adventure. Instead of sharing the sights and sounds of the Appalachian Trail with me, traveling at my pace, and worrying about how I was feeling physically, he was free to explore his own limits of pace and mileage. Instead of being weighted down by a pack fully loaded with a week's worth of food and gear, he carried a small daypack with water, snacks, a first aid kit, and a warm dry layer of clothes. He tore it up the first day hiking 26.2 miles in the pouring rain! Other than a case of monkey butt (nearly unavoidable in those wet conditions), he finished the day feeling great.

It was emotionally complex for me as well. Physically, I know that I made the right decision to go off trail, and I don't regret it at all. However, I do miss that I will be missing out on some awesome scenery and nature. The rain kept most of that in check. As miserable as it is to be stuck in the tent camping in the rain, it is even worse to be hiking in it all day. Also, I worry about Jim while he is on the trail. (It's funny how we want to be there just in case "something" happens as if our presence will magically prevent affliction.) I'm sure that we will both adjust to our new roles and find the joy and satisfaction in it.

And where does Lily fit into this new equation? She will get the best of both worlds. Some days she will hike with Jim, and some days she will stay with me. Though she cries in the morning when we drop Jim off at a trailhead, she is taking full advantage of the extra rest at camp with me. And, she eagerly watches out for Jim when we pick him up in the evening.

The first few days in our new roles, we camped at a state park, which is essentially car-camping. We drive right up to our tent site, and there are toilets and hot(ish) showers--sweet! I could get used to this. But as Jim hikes 15-25 miles each day, we can't stay in any one place for long. So, for our next camp, I hiked about a mile uphill on the AT from the trailhead with my pack loaded with our food and gear. Then I hiked back downhill to load up the pack with the rest of our gear (I'm packing for two now), and headed back uphill to set up camp. You might say that the Appalachian Trail offers a more "primitive" experience...

"Open-air" Composting Privy

After two nights, I broke camp and trekked two more times up and down the hill. I have decided that I should adapt my trail name to an off-trail name: "Turnup Turned Sherpa". You can bet I will be spending some of my spare time searching for state parks near the AT to take advantage of more "car camping" experiences!

Since Jim is traveling fast, he doesn't take as many pictures, and his stories are mostly about people and wildlife he passes along the way. I will share these with you as best I can. He met "Poppy" who is 79 years old and started hiking the AT in sections starting in Georgia in 1979 . He hopes to someday complete the AT and will continue section hiking while he is still physically able. He also met "Chago" a young Southbounder. Chago was a barefoot hiker, but it wasn't working out for him so he was wearing a new pair of toe-shoes. As he approached Jim he put on a pair of Groucho Marx glasses and started doing an impressions routine--he does this for all hikers he comes across on the trail. Jim also met "Free", who is through-hiking the AT for the third time. His first time was in 1971, at which time he says people were hiking with 70 pound packs as there was no such thing as ultra-light gear or even cell phones, then again in 2001, and now he had just sold his house in Winter Park, Colorado and has decided to "just hike".

One thing I missed out on is hiking on June 21, summer solstice which is traditionally celebrated on the AT by hiking nude, but I wasn't too disappointed as it was quite chilly that day. For it to "count" (whatever that means?), you are supposed to be nude hiking for at least an hour. Jim had to prove to me that he got into the spirit of Summer Solstice.

We did have another (almost), bear encounter at one of our camps. We had just gotten back to camp when we hear someone yelling and banging a pot--the official "go away bear" procedure. When the yelling and banging continued, we thought that someone may need some help, so we grabbed our pot and our dog and headed (cautiously) towards the commotion. After a few yards it occurred to me that the bear may be scared off in our direction and run straight into us. We stopped to listen for the tell-tell crashing through the brush and took a more circuitous route. As it turns out, it was a fortunate change of direction. Adam and Sawyer, a young couple in the first weeks of their flip-flop through-hike, had a bear wander into camp. The noise didn't deter it, but once it saw them in their human form, it did run off directly towards our original path!

Here are some pictures from both of our adventures this week: The Wildlife

And the Scenery