[at-l] What else, Hikin'

[greyowl@xxxxxxx (greyowl@xxxxxxx)]

Hi to all and a Happy New Year,

I have been away for a while and about I can say is that I survived the hol=
iday season yet another year.  It was not a good holiday for me or my famil=
y.  I am now back at work and the holiday madness is over.

Though I have not posted much of anything to the list over the past several=
 weeks I have been reading most of the postings.  I will admit I did make l=
iberal use of the delete key.  Some of y=92all rode those horses pretty har=
d and kept beating them even though it was dead!!  I attribute this state o=
f affairs to the crummy weather and most of the posters ability to get out =
and hike.  First time in years that I was unable to get out on a hike New Y=
ear=92s Day.

A few thoughts:

Thru-Hiking 1 =96 Two members of our chapter of the AMC completed their thr=
u-hike this summer.  They had been section hiking for 33 years!!  The trail=
 had undergone a number of relocations through the years.  They did not hik=
e any of the relo=92s if they had already hiked that section.  Someone ment=
ioned that this couple=92s hike was unique and no one else had ever hiked t=
he same AT that they hiked.  This is really kool when one stops and thinks =
about it.  Why hike the same route as several hundred other people have hik=
ed.

Thru-Hiking 2 =96 I am attempting to hike the AT a section at a time.  Beca=
use I go on AMC led hikes or in the past I had led Boy Scout hikes; I have =
a number o gaps to fill.  Some of the gaps are big and some are small.  The=
re is a three mile section in PA that I will probably never hike.  I use to=
 worry about this section, but I have stop obsessing about that section.  H=
iking is supposed to be fun.

Thru-Hiking 3 =96 As Jim said purity of thru hiking is Bovine Fecal Materia=
l (BFM).  The only person you have to answer to is the person you see in th=
e mirror every morning.

PA Ruck =96 Yep I am going to be there.  I am bringing home made bread for =
lunch.  Over the holidays I have been tuning up my bread recipe.  It must b=
e pretty good as my family has been making it disappear 9No they have not b=
een throwing it away).

Cannot wait to meet Jim and Ginny again.  Hiked with them once along with S=
olar Bear and Pits.  Pits, why did you cut your hair?  Also can=92t wait to=
 meet many members of this list.  Should be a good time for all.

Cheers,

Grey Owl