[at-l] Why a thru-hike

[datto_atl2@xxxxxxxxx (Datto)]

January is upon us and some of you prospective thru-hikers,
or your significant others, may be asking, "with all the
rain and mud and cold and heat and seemingly endless
physical torture, why would anyone in their right mind ever
want to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail?"

We past thru-hikers do sometimes make it out to be such
hard work and a difficult challenge. It is that.

But do you know what?

I don't know of a single person who's thru-hiked the
Appalachian Trail that would have ever traded their time
for anything else.

Not one.

This whole thing about a thru-hike. I'm not sure it's
something you knowingly start out with. It's not something
dropped into your lap at the first trailhead and you say,
"Holy cow, that's what this is about. That's it right over
there. Bob, get a rope and let's tie that thing down so we
can get a good look at it."

True it is something of a quest, but not of something so
tangible you can point out the crux to another in a simple
straightforward manner. Oh sure, the how and the when and
the where is pretty easily conceived. By you and by the
others you're probably now in the process of explaining it
to.

It's the why...that's the real enigma.

Some of us, including me, thought we knew what it was about
before we started. I just never imagined what it truly
ended up being. Without revealing much nor influencing what
it is for you, I can say that for me and maybe most others,
the whole experience creeps up on you, unawares like,
gathers motion until it's tagging along with you before you
even realize anything is different.

So, it's hard to explain, that's for sure. I think you'll
know it when it gets there. Be patient, don't go looking so
much for it. You've got months ahead of you and it'll
arrive when it's ready. You're not going to push it onto
the stage before it is time.

And it's not about bragging rights either. Whew boy, not
about that at all. Not about a patch. Not about a
certificate. Not about getting some big line-item checked
off your life to-do list so you can go down to the sports
bar and say, "Yep, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.".
Maybe for some a thru-hike might start out that way as a
thing to conquer. I don't think it will take much time to
get way, way past that level of surface thinking. To find
out it's not something that can be conquered, but something
to experience. Savor. Treasure.

This I will tell you categorically; if you try to conquer
the Appalachian Trail you will fail miserably. Your arse
will be handed to you in a pail and while you're gazing at
it with a surprised look, you'll be knocked face down in
the mud and the back of your head stepped on to make the
point.

But if you learn to blend with the Trail, enjoy yourself,
observe the natural wonder about you, appreciate how you
are one of the luckiest people on the planet to have the
opportunity to spend this time in the mountains, how the
physical pain and anguish will subside if you give it time
and are patient, how the others around you, no matter their
differences from you, will be people you will become close
to for the rest of your days (particularly those who you
start the Trail with when you take the first step of your
thru-hike).

There isn't a day I'm not reminded, sometimes in a
backhanded way, other times more straightforwardly, of the
experience of my AT thru-hike. A quest I took on almost
three years ago still recurring every day in my life. It's
that powerful. And glorious. And rewarding.

So, if you're not quite understanding what this is all
about, believe me, most everyone looking ahead to their
thru-hike is now or will be in the same boat as you soon.
It is a tremendous opportunity for you ahead. You'll have a
fabulous time if you let it be so. A milestone ahead that
will likely change the course of your thinking, possibly
the course of your life and destiny.

God what a fun time I had on my thru-hike. I hope you all
have the same.

Datto


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