[at-l] Merlin walks again

[halflifelost6@hotmail.com (Rich Bowyer)]

>>>From: Slyatpct@aol.   The next few hundred miles were painfully slow, I 
>>>felt it necessary to skip some sections and still, I fell behind the 
>>>pack.

>>>ept@bellsouth.net writes:The Appalachian Trail is 2167 miles long, does 
>>>it really matter what way you walk it? >>

OK, I am fairly new to all of this and I completly understand the 
spirituality of a long hike even though I have never been on a trail for 
more then 2 days.  Without getting deeply religous, none of us really walk 
alone.  Long periods of time allow us to delve deeper into ourselves and 
thus we become a more spiritual soul.  Having said that, I myself would 
prefer to walk in more solitude.  At my own pace, on any section for any 
length of time.  In any direction in the nicest weather possible.  Free to 
sit and watch the birds in the morning sunlight, the squirrels feeding in 
the pines, or the hawks soaring high above.
  Just how crowded is the AT when over 100 people a day begin a straight 
line journey from Springer?  I may be wrong but to me that sounds like a bit 
much.  I venture to say it is an ecological burden  (ut-oh thats a different 
tangent).  IMHO, I think it a tragedy to be mentally burdened for "falling 
behind".

Now, for those who do prefer the one shot deal, leaving at the peak time 
with the peak crowd, is there a "pilgrimage" attitude involved.  After 
reading many of these posts I am wondering just how many are on a journey of 
faith, like Abraham, who walked to the land God gave him for his ancestors.  
I guess that is my question.

If your out walking in the woods and your at peace, what more could any of 
us want.

  Does it really matter what way you walk it?  It shouldn't.

Rich
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