Re: [at-l] Change In Life After Hiking the AT

["Leslie Booher" <lwbooher@evansville.net>]

I'm a section hiker, and I'm afraid that I've missed most of the groups that
you talked about.  I've found the young thru-hikers to be clique-ish, but
then, they know each other, and they don't know me.  Too, they're in much
more of a hurry than I am; they've got miles to go before winter.  Some of
the older thru-hikers are just horses' asses.  One that falls into that
category is mentioned in Jean Deeds's book, and he looked like a horses's
ass in her book, too.  Then, there are the really nice people who are
helpful and wonderful and who you want to be around more.  It's really like
the rest of the world, in that respect.  And, as a section hiker, maybe they
consider me too "needy".  I'm always sort of hunting for the right turn, or
the water hole, or someplace to pitch my tent.  Maybe it's that I don't yet
have the confidence that they do.  I had to laugh at the young thru-hiker
who came upon my hiking partner and me this year when we were lugging a full
water bag down the trail; he started to say something rude, then
reconsidered; "Hey, carrying that water to wherever you camp makes you
independent, doesn't it?  That's a good feeling."  The water was very heavy,
but we would have had a dry camp without it.  Leslie

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert L Dudley <grey_owl1@juno.com>