It’s hard not to be apprehensive about this. My health has been disappointing at best this last year, i’m not in the same shape I was 2 years ago, and generally my mood hovers between panick-y and overwhelmed. Everything deserves the “nope, better not do it” attitude because it might be too much while trying to maintain a semblance of sanity. And yet, here I am, about to jump in (or is it more like ripping it off like a bandaid?) to 4 ½ days on the AT to finish up the Georgia section and begin our trek into North Carolina.
It was 2 years ago in 2015, that my husband and I did our first section hike of the Appalachian Trail- 6 days going from Springer Mountain to Dick's Creek Gap (approx. 70 miles). At the time, we were doing it as part of our summer training (we hiked the Grand Canyon too) for our Pilgramage on the Camino Portugese. But, in the process, fell in love with the AT have made it our special project to finish together.
Tomorrow we drive back to Georgie to finish up our last remaining miles in Georgia and continue on through North Carolina. Our hope is that while we will arrive around 3 in the afternoon and can get 8 miles in before breaking camp. That might be a stretch, and if it is, that's okay, as we've arranged to be a day ahead of schedule if we do it. Everyone wants to know how heavy our packs are. We learned a lot from our first trek and are packing much differently.
That said we are adding a hungry toddler into the mix this time, so I think it's evened out. I’m at ~45 lbs with K-man riding and Joel’s is at ~50lbs. Both of our packs will get lighter as Kelton uses his biodegradable diapers, and as we all the eat food from Joel’s bag.-----
What am I hoping to get out of this? Well, hopefully a little hope for the future. Maybe even a little courage and extra confidence for this coming year- that while true, not everything is worth the energy anymore. But, for the things that are, the reserves I have set aside for them will be back-stocked with an assurance that life works itself out- even after reproducing ;) Plus, who doesn't feel better after a couple of days in the woods?
Motherhood has brought her lesser known and less liked step-sister: constant anxiety and fatigue. After a year of it, I finally figured out, maybe this wasn’t normal after all and that maybe there was something wrong. Sure enough, I'd been sick with Epstein Barr. I’m still in the process of trying to change and add new things to help out with that. Meanwhile...
I want my son to know that, we did what we could to show him the joy of being outdoors. Showing him life can function, thrive, and blossom outside the constrictions of so deemed “necessities”. That life is sweeter when you peel away the excesses, and in the process find what’s truly valuable. And all in the openness of God’s green earth do we get to see His love for us. And, maybe just maybe, that if you just put one foot in front of the other, over and over, you can do anything. By the sounds of it, parenthood just might showing your kids the lessons you're learning yourself.
