[at-l] Re: Newfound Gap to Davenport Gap in 1 Day

[rbenhameda@comcast.net (Rami)]

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  On Monday, September 30, 2002 5:28 AM, Manzana said:
  Last month I hiked from Newfound Gap (Great Smokie NP) to Davenport Gap
  in 3 days. It really bushed me. I had the best sleeping bag and boots I
  could find. I was proud of my achievement... So 2 days ago at Cosby Knob
  some dude goes flying by me in shorts and tennis shoes. He had started
  at Newfound and was ending at Davenport the same day! Argggghhhh... I
  know he was truthing because I saw him run up the hill out of low Gap.

  "Somebody always pulls up in a Porsche..."

  trail angel Apple

Ditto the great advice about HYOH and trying to not compare your miles to a=
nyone else's, but I wanted to tell you that I know exactly how you feel.

When Susan and I did the same section (only backwards) for the HATT hike, w=
e stopped for lunch on our second day at Tricorner knob shelter.
While Susan was getting water, I was cooking lunch, and into the clearing c=
ome three hikers **With Backpacks** who started that morning at Newfound Ga=
p and would finish that night at Davenport Gap (at the river, not the road)=
.  They were two men and a woman and the youngest was mid 40's while the ol=
dest was mid 60's.  They had some silly name for their hike which involved =
terms such as lunatic, geriatric, and express, but I can't recall what it w=
as exactly.

Susan and I were fairly proud of ourselves because we were having great fun=
 and moving fairly quickly, and after talking to those three, we felt a lit=
tle demoralized, but then quickly recovered because we got distracted by th=
e scenery.

It's not how fast you hike it, it's how much you enjoy it.

-r