April 21st, 2012 - WHY AM I DOING THIS??
(63 days 'til the trail)

“If you're lucky enough to be in the woods, then you're luck enough.” - A sign on the A.T.

I think many people in my generation are yearning to do something big, get off the beaten path and go on some grand adventure. I sometimes feel, growing up in a middle class family in a time without an Army draft, or a great depression, or civil revolution, that I was never really challenged. I got good grades in school, graduated college, got my masters and yet none of these milestones felt like accomplishments. They felt like they were simply the next thing you had to do…and you did it. I want to see what I am really made of, see if I can accomplish something bigger than myself, something fewer than 13,000 people have ever done, and push the envelope of run-on sentences.

Now that Heather and I are letting our family and friends know what we’ll be doing this summer, we’ve been getting incredulous looks, furrowed brows, projectile vommit (well, not yet at least) and two questions:

---So why on EARTH would you want to do something like this???

This is a complicated answer but I’ll try. There is something addictingly satisfying about hiking over these mountains and through the passes. Its life shrunk down to its simplest and purest form. You either summited that tall peak or you didn't. There are no shortcuts to success as there can be in the "civilized" world. Each night, as the sky grows dim and you get ready for bed there is such a feeling of accomplishment. I also look forward to the instant friendships you make with fellow hikers. The generosity experienced by trail town families inviting you into their home for a shower and a meal (perhaps the former offered to bear your presence for the latter). To walk for hours in deep thought and find yourself - who you really are. Socrates said to “Know thyself.” Can’t argue with an old man in a toga! I suppose just not knowing where you’ll end up each day, who you’ll meet and what adventures you’ll experience next are reason enough.

---Aren’t you going to get BORED walking each day the whole summer???

Yes, at points I’m sure I will. I’m sure I’ll get frustrated with the trail. If we get a week of rain I have to trudge through, Heather should probably hide my camp knife from me. But I look forward to the challenge. I hope that each day I will be able to see the good and stay positive. The only thing I fear is finishing the trail just so I can say I did it despite being miserable. If I feel that way I think it will be time to leave the trail.

Over the last few weeks, as this trip draws closer and my mind is switching into hiker mode, the excitement is growing in me. It’s time for the adventure of a lifetime. It’s now or never!

~ Brian (Daddy Long Legs)