Still waiting for Spring

April 02, 2018

When the universe clearly doesn’t like what you say, it’s time to reframe the conversation. So, as opposed to previous announcements indicating my AT through-hike started on March 21, I now declare April 4 to be the official Opening Ceremony for my hike. That means everything I have done so far is just the warm-up, pre-opening event – like the mixed doubles curling competition in Pyeongchang. This logistical sleight of hand changes my perspective 180 degrees. Instead of feeling like I am already behind in my goal to hike 2190 miles, I am happy to say that I have finished 99.5 miles of the trail before I even officially start. I’m WAY AHEAD despite the Winter That Won’t Go Away. They say that finishing the AT is ten percent physical and ninety percent mental. Fortunately for me, my mental strength is in mid-trail form.

If you have not hiked the AT in the northern end of the Delaware Water Gap NRA, I highly recommend you do. But I also highly recommend you wait until the snow melts for two reasons. One is the hike is challenging enough without having to deal with snow drifts and ice-encrusted rocks that want to send you to an early grave. The other is without the snow you won’t know how many damn bears there are in that part of the park. It’s better not to know. I never saw a bear but their very recognizable paw prints were everywhere. Wish I hadn’t seen The Revenant.

Adding to the ambience of that part of the hike, the ridge was shrouded in fog for two days. No views. No colors. Just variations of gray and white. For a while it was amazing – like walking through a fuzzy memory. Other-worldly and enchanting. But after two days and nearly twenty miles, it was getting dreary. I was ready for sunshine or at least some views. If there is one thing I have learned about the trail in the last two weeks it is if you wait long enough it will change. When I got to Highpoint (cleverly named location of the highest point in New Jersey) the trail made a ninety degree turn to the southeast and took me right out of the mountains and into the bucolic Jersey countryside. I came out of the fog and was met with beautiful vistas stretching across rolling hills of farms and forests. The snow disappeared. The slippery rocks were gone. The trail was smooth and gently undulating instead of knife sharp and brutal. I felt so good I may have sauntered. I definitely smiled a goofy grin. Several times I just stopped dead in the trail and looked around and thought, “Oh, yeah, now I remember why I wanted to do this.”

In terms of mood swings, the trail has turned me into a thirteen-year-old girl.

By the way, I still have not settled on a trail name. I want to spend some time hiking with other through-hikers and get a feel for how I may fit into that quirky subculture. But after walking nearly a hundred miles, I have yet to encounter a single through-hiker. In fact, other than a mass of people out for a Saturday walk in a park near Vernon, NJ, I have only seen about four hikers so far. They were all going the other way. We exchanged pleasantries, bitched about the weather, and went our separate ways. So I am still a lone wanderer yet to connect with the tribe. It could be a few weeks before I find myself sharing the trail with scruffy new friends who won’t notice how rank I am and won’t care who I am in the real world. Then I’ll see what appellation will best reflect my trail persona.

Alison has been an amazing partner over the last two weeks. She has bailed me out, shuttled me around, hiked with me, and been a constant support. She’s hiked 28.5 miles herself. Of course, she does have an edge. After I called her to pick me up a day early in NJ she thought my trail name should be LaCarre’ since I am the Hiker Who Came in From the Cold. Smartass.