[at-l] Arguably the Most Important Gear

[spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

Datto - great posts.  Thank you.

One thing to add - keep in mind that, on the trail as in life,  'the only 
constant is change' or as the French say, 'tout passe'.  On all the long 
trails, there is constant change.  The land changes, the season changes, you 
change, the people you are hiking with change.  If you're not happy with the 
current situation, just remember that a week from now, something will be 
different, whether it is the land, the vegetation, the people, or your 
attitude.  Don't like rain? Well, it will pass. Don't like heat? It too will 
pass.  Don't like your blisters? They will also go away eventually.  If the 
ridges of Pennsylvania get old, well, soon you'll be seeing other views.  
Whatever is your current gripe, it will probably change or go away, if it is 
external to you.  What is inside your head will only change if you let it.

Datto talked about the fact that as one who researched and planned his hike, 
he knew that there were great things ahead - some he knew like the Whites 
and Maine, about others he didn't but believed were there - things like the 
moose in Maine or the blueberries in New Hampshire, or the kindness of the 
folks at Pine Ellis.  For me, when I am doing a long hike, I maintain the 
hope/expectation that around every corner, there might be something 
wonderful.  Sometimes there is, and sometimes there isn't, but that belief 
keeps me hiking -- I want to see what's around that next corner.

On the AT my low point was fairly early, just after the Smokies, when I had 
to learn to deal with constant people on the trail and a lack of privacy 
which was totally new and alien to me.  I dealt with that one by camping 
alone more often, instead of traveling in a pack.  The other thing that was 
almost a hike buster was my fear of the rocks in NH.  I have a serious fear 
of falling - so all the stories terrified me.  But I decided that I would 
take it one day at a time, keep hiking as far as I could until I reached a 
situation I couldn't handle.  When I was climbing rocky slopes, I just kept 
saying, I can climb over to that ridge, now up to that one, now that little 
bit is okay.  Before long, I was up and over whatever I was afraid of.  I 
still do that on talus - I take it 10 yards at a time.  On the trail, you 
sometimes just have to take it a day at a time, saying, "I can keep hiking 
until the next town."  And when you are there, you say, "I can keep going 
another 5 days to the next town, and then I'll see how I feel."  And every 
time, by the time I reached town, had a shower and a good meal, the mood was 
gone.

On the CDT the only time I thought about quitting, and not too seriously at 
that, was when we were in Southern Colorado and it was so cold (it was 
October at 12,000').  Everything was more difficult because of the cold.  I 
asked myself whether I could really bear another eight weeks of that.  But 
then I reminded myself that, "well, in a week or two, we'll drop down 
several thousand feet, and it will be warmer."  Which got me going until I 
reached the next great view, out in the sunshine, and it didn't matter that 
it was cold, I was happy.  And sure enough, New Mexico was warmer, and the 
land was different, and the wildlife was differnt, and I was very glad I 
hadn't let a momentary problem prevent me from experiencing the rest of the 
hike.

On the AT, most years, the rains do stop, the weather does warm up, the 
crowds thin out, the flowers begin to bloom and the berries become edible.  
So, if you are miserable at first, just remember it will get better.  If you 
are in pain, assuming that nothing seriously is wrong, that too will ease 
up, day by day as you get stronger and your feet get tougher.  After a 
while, you become part of the community, and that helps ease a lot of the 
problems that you have, because everybody is sharing them.  So I stink - so 
does everybody, let's laugh about it.  Mice in the food bag? Okay, let's 
come up with creative ways to deal with it.  If nothing else, it makes a 
good story.  Everything is temporary - but the good memories last.  And some 
of the worst times make the most interesting stories.  And the best times 
make your heart smile.

Ginny

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