"To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour."
-William Blake
Start: Old Albany Post Road
Finish: RPH Shelter
Today: 16.1 mi
Total: 263.5 mi
I love the soft leaves and dirt the day after a good rainfall. The Earth yields under the weight of every step and saves your knees some pain.
Throughout our journey, Heather and I have gotten into a number of arguments about our hiking pace. When I'm in front I unknowingly speed up over time and when I look back she isn't there so I wait. I have always offered to hike behind her and today we tried it out. Heather said she was hiking a bit faster and happier we were together and I didn't have to wait for her to catch up so everyone was happy!
During the first few miles thorns in the brambles kept biting our legs like barbed-wire. "Sticker bushes," Heather complained. I've noticed that we've picked up some of the dialect of our fellow hikers. Rather than calling them thorns, we call them "stickers." Rather than raining, it is "storming out."
Throughout your day you have a lot of time to think. Between the periods of me completely zoning out, I've thought about the hundreds of rock walls, built stone by stone, that we have passed. Who placed these heavy rocks in neat walls stretching miles? Did farmers place them there to mark their boundaries long ago? Was it 200 years ago that a slave placed that stone just right, never to be touched by a human again until my hand grazed it? Today, we found ourselves walking atop a 6 foot wide rock wall. Dirt had packed the path at the top of the wall smooth over time. We strolled along this gentle grade with a 20 foot drop down this wall on either side. Our raised roadway above the uneven forest floor lasted a quarter mile!
A few minutes later we came to a sign on a tree with some great news. A snack bar was just 1.5 mile away at the north end of Canopus Lake. Visions of french fries danced through my head! As we grew closer the sound of children swimming in the lake and smell of BBQ's filled the air. A terrible green blazed trail brought us up, down, over and around a ridiculous maze from the AT to the beach. We could have bush-whacked our way down in half the time.
A little fried food later all was right with the world. Today was going really well and the forest seemed much friendlier. Emerson once said "Nature never wears a mean appearance" but some days she sure isn't herself.
Heather and I have felt pretty down about the trail the last few hiking days. We've even considered whether it was time to go home. The trail seems to beat you down, throw bad weather at you, sore muscles, and terrible roller coasters of elevation all at once. It feels as though the trail is messing with you, toying with your emotions. Then the skies clear, cool weather comes and fresh hope washes over you. Maybe we can do it?
SAT question:
Heat is to a sauna as _____ is to my tent.
1) flowers. 2) freshness. 3) stink
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