Two Month Updates

Updates from the Mountains

Episode #9: Two Months In

Another email?? Yes. I decided since I did a one month update of life on the trail, I figured I’d do the same for two months. And that’s today. Two months since starting the trail back on March 17th. My arms have atrophied, but my calves look great. I’ve walked almost 800 miles. I’ve consumed far too much sugar. And I’ve tripped an impressive amount of times.

Here’s a whole bunch of random thoughts and events that I felt I should share: 

1. Toddler Brain

I have come to the conclusion that being on the trail gives one “toddler brain”. Things that excite a toddler excite a thru-hiker. My favorite parts of the day are potty breaks, snack times, and curling up in my sleeping bag. I enjoy pointing out “friends” along the trail- efts, lizards, chipmunks, etc. my legs are all scraped up, my fingernails are always dirty, and I talk about poop with my friends. I am essentially a toddler.

2. Hiker hunger

They aren’t kidding when they say you’re constantly thinking about food as a thru-hiker. After breakfast I calculate where I’ll be when it’s time to have my “mid morning snack”. Then I spend the rest of the morning thinking about lunch. When I finish lunch, I immediately am thinking about what I’ll have for dinner. At dinner, I try to take inventory of what food I have left to see how many extra snacks I can eat without running out of food. Food is constantly on my mind. This also goes back to the “toddler brain”; when can I have my snack? I’m gonna eat this pop tart after dinner. Can’t wait to have my peanut butter tortilla!

3. Tent Palace for One

My tent is great. I refer to it as “Tent Palace for One”. Most thru-hikers have the bare minimum for tents- tarps, non-free-standing tents, tiny one-person tents, or hammocks. But my tent is a free-standing two-person tent. It’s ultralight, so the weight isn’t a problem (especially for the size), but she is ROOMY. I absolutely love getting to sleep in my tent. I get privacy, shelter, a space to lay down, a space to sprawl out all my stuff, and a little greenhouse when it’s in the sun. Sure, my tent may be excessive for a thru-hiking tent, but I love it.

4. Nature is Therapy

This is not a universal experience. Yes, everyone on the trail enjoys nature to a certain extent; otherwise we wouldn’t be out here. But for some, like me, being out in nature is truly therapeutic. The trail is blissful to me. I’m often just taking in the sound of the birds or a creek, or taking in the smell of rain or flowers or dirt. I can often be found tripping as I look up at the trees and scenery. I feel so much better when I’m out here. I could go on and on about that and sound like a little hippie kid, so I’ll just leave it at this. Touching moss and putting my feet in a creek revives me.

5. Anticipation is the worst part

The actual thing I’m fearing on the trail is rarely as bad as the anticipation of that thing. Afraid of getting rained on? The anticipation of getting wet is worse than actually walking in the rain. Not looking forward to that really steep climb? It’ll be over before you know it and it probably won’t be as bad as you were fearing. Before I started the trail one of my biggest fears was being cold. Sure, I had some VERY cold nights on trail, but honestly the anticipation of cold nights was more uncomfortable than the cold itself because it was always temporary or not as bad as expected. My point is that I’ve learned to take everything in stride out here (pun not originally intended, but I like it so it’s staying). I deal with all the discomforts and then they pass. And the amount of time I spend feeling good far outweighs the amount of time I spend feeling bad.

I hope you all enjoyed my random thoughts. There’s a lot to think about while hiking. Often is the tame thoughts on repeat or I’m just counting in my head (for some reason??), but there are also times for self reflection and memories and deep thinking. When I don’t want to come up with my own thoughts, I listen to music or an audiobook. I’m currently listening to Braiding Sweetgrass… my 3rd time through the book, but the first time listening to it. Would recommend on trail. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s voice is quite soothing. But that’s not very interesting.

Anyways- there’s another little glance into my thoughts. Who knows when I’ll send out another email but I’ll try to make it at least a bit amusing :)

Toodles,

DK