“Back from the Daze”

AT Day 39

Miles: 26.07

Total Miles: 697.94

(2 miles past Baily Gap Shelter)

It felt different hiking today. Trail Days did a number on my heart and on my soul. I find myself caring less about the miles. And it’s impossible for me not to see the strangeness in finding such a close connection as the one that I shared with “Boots” just a day after sitting down to write about loneliness on the trail.

One of the themes that seems to keep recurring along this trial is that everything is happening exactly the way it’s supposed to happen, at exactly the time it’s supposed to happen. I think that everyone has felt that at some point in their lives, but I’ve never felt it so profoundly and recurrently as I do on this trail. It’s become one of the defining characteristics of my hike of the AT this summer.

—

I slept well in my new tent last night, but I will say that this is one of the biggest changes that I’ve made as a hiker in a long time. This thing is so much smaller on the inside than the tent that I’ve been using for the last 15+ years. It’s going to take some getting used to a new camp setup as a whole. I’m now leaving a lot of the gear that I used to keep inside of my tent on the outside of my tent now, covered by the vestibule.

For its small space however, I’m really happy with how quickly it sets and how breaks, as well as how little it weighs. This was overdue.

Condensation was heavy on that grassy lawn at Angel’s Rest last night. Everyone’s tent was wet. But I slept well, and I needed it after the weekend at Trail Days. I had coffee with some other hikers, then biked to the store to buy juice and raspberries. I’m trying to hike differently moving forward. I’m trying to slow down in my days.

I think that before Trail Days I would have been rushed to break camp and get back to trail. But this morning I sat with the other hikers, shared my raspberries, had a slice of their bacon and a piece of their scrambled eggs. I wasn’t back to trail until around 9:30, and I absolutely didn’t care.

The miles were fairy simple today, and my heart was warm. It felt good to be back on trail. Yesterday was sort of “the day that didn’t exist.” I was under-slept, and recovering from the M. But after a night’s sleep, hydration, some good food, and a cup of coffee, I was feeling really great today. I heard the same from another hiker who I passed coming out of Pearisburg.

It would have been impossible not to have spent at least some of the miles lost in thought about the girl with the fire in her eyes that I met over the weekend. How she came into my life in what feels like such a perfect moment is a mystery to me. But I loved it. And like I said before–I hope that I get to see her again.

I’m set beside trail in my new tent now. This is my first time writing in it, and I’m pleased to say that it works pretty well, in spite of my being set up on a bit of a slope and everything wanting to slide to my right hand side.

Ended up hiking later into the night than I wanted, but only because I couldn’t find anywhere to camp after that last shelter. In hindsight, I should have camped there, even if there were other hikers already posted up. I’ll figure it out though. One day at a time.

More miles to try it again tomorrow.

Wormwood.