[at-l] re: Nice to meet you.

[janl2@mindspring.com (Jan Leitschuh)]

Hey! Krystal/stargazer,

We are sisters in a way!

I read "There Are Mountains To Climb" this January. By Jean Deeds,
right? 
It lit a FIRE in my head. I can't tell you the impact. It ignited
something almost against my will.
	In the book, this 50-ish, very conventional-seeming woman woke up one
day decideing to hike the AT - and she did. I thought, if SHE did
it...."
	I began waking up in cold sweats thinking "I don't know how to use a
gas stove" or "I HATE the cold/wet/heat/etc." Then, I wake fully up and
think, "hey, it was only a dream about a book, you're not gonna do
it..."
	This went on all January. 
	In February, my neighbor left for a thru-hike with her two boys. 	In
March, Wendy, the woman my neighbor had hired to look after her house,
showed up at my barn loking for work. Wendy had thru-hiked in 2000...I
was peppering her each morning with questions like "what did you eat?".
How far did you walk?" you know, all those questions.
	By April I had all my gear (thank you Backpacker Gear guide, very much!
And THANK GOD for Wendy, who steered me clear of the worst gear
mistakes) and convinced Wedny to take me out from where I-40 crosses the
mountains near Mountain Moma's into Hot Springs for TrailFest. 
	That first trip (in which I was forced by circumstance to proceed by
myself) was MAGIC!!! It shall remain a lifetime memory. A New Person
emerged, someone I hadn't seen before. Someone brave, actually.
	I've been out on the AT three other weeks since then and feel confident
I will thru in 2003 barring accidents, auto injurioes or some other
crisis.
	Never underestimate the power of the pen. Of course, something in me
had to be ready to ignite. I lost my mother in january after a long
illness, and that played a role, tho I haven't yet defined what that is.
Maybe I never will. It doesn't matter. It doesn't feel like I'm driving
this boat, lately. Maybe you aren't driving yours either - "just doing
research" has a way of snowballing...
	Hang onto your hat!
	Good luck on your endeavors, look forward to your posts,
	Jan in NC
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    Jan Leitschuh Sporthorses Ltd.

http://www.mindspring.com/~janl2

E-mail:  mailto:janl2@mindspring.com

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