Challenge was: [at-l] Church Of the...

[kahley@ptd.net (kahley)]

At 11:33 PM 3/17/02 -0500, Felix wrote:
>Shane Steinkamp wrote:
>perhaps the challenge was more than he expected...

Or different?  One of the strongest hikers ever on this
list, a guy that did a 40 mile day and did 25-30
routinely, just up and quit in Pa because he was bored
with the long green tunnel.  As someone said, LD
hiking is not always fun.  People heading out need to
think about what will push them on if their buds drop off
or if they start the three day town party plan which almost
always eats up the bucks before Maine.
While the steepness and ruggedness of the AT are often minimized,
I think the real challenge of LD hiking is perseverance.
What will keep you hiking on the 22nd  rainy morning in
a row.  Crawling into wet close AGAIN.  Pulling on wet
boots AGAIN.  Wading a river that is the Trail AGAIN.

I'm not trying to scare people.  Just prepare them for the inevitable
bad stretches ...trailwise, weatherwise
and emotionwise.