Ten Weeks Remaining: How Has The Trail Already Changed Me?

I'd like to start off today's entry by saying that two very important things have happened since I last posted:

Firstly, I turned in my letter of resignation at work.  Yep, it's official.  Luckily for me, my supervisors were very supportive of my hike, although they regretted seeing me go.  My official last day is March 5th, which is a Saturday.  This leaves me with about a week off to gather up any loose ends and put the finishing touches on our hiking plans before we set off on the trail on March 14th.  There are only 10 weeks between me and the trail.  Wow.  My life is going to be changing very drastically very shortly...



Me, with the 1976 Wagoneer that was my dream car.



Secondly, I finally sold my car!  I loved that Wagoneer, but the new owner is knowledgeable about fixing cars and has the time/money to do so.  In short, he'll give that old car everything I could not but wished I could.  So, it worked out perfectly for all parties involved.  This also means that Stew and I have some extra money to use for the trail... something we're very excited about.  It will make our experience that much more enjoyable to not have to worry (too much) about penny-pinching along the way.  Also, it wouldn't hurt to have some money left over to use for our move to Portland. 

A lot of people who hike the AT, whether they finish or not, feel like the trail has changed them in some ways.  Maybe they met someone along the way who became a friend or spouse.  Maybe they look differently at the environment, having spent six months living in the woods.  Or perhaps they now take better care of themselves physically, mentally, emotionally.  But I hear that more often than not- the trail changes you.  Now, I think I stated earlier that I'm not going for that reason.  I'm very happy in my life.  But the strangest thing has already happened to me and I have yet to set a foot on the trail: I can pinpoint the ways in which the Appalachian Trail, or (more accurately) preparing for the Appalachian Trail, has changed me a little! 

The thing that comes to mind first is: I now know what it means to save.  And, from that, I think I finally -for the first time in my life- understand the value of my money and have control over it.  To think, I've spent all these years as an adult, all this time working at various jobs, and am now only figuring this out.  I guess I'm glad it happened now.  You see, I have made major purchases before.  I bought my first car in 2004, but all I had to do was take out a loan.  Same with my trip to Mexico in 2002.  I took out a loan for that, too.  So I'm all well and good when it comes to taking out a loan for something expensive, and eventually paying that loan back.  But as for saving money for something expensive?  Actual money?  I had never done that.  And so last March, when Stewart and I decided that we were FOR REAL going to do this hike, I finally began saving.  I was tired of loans, tired of debt, and so I decided that it was going to stop.  I would save money for the hike, while paying off my existing debt, and I would live a life that accrued no more.  Debt drags you down and debt keeps you there.  And more than anything I didn't want to be held down in life anymore.  The Appalachian Trail hike was for me the initiation into the new life where I had control and freedom.  I decided that in the future, after the hike, I would not have to work two jobs ever again to pay off my credit cards, because I would not use my credit cards.  For the first time in my life, I realized how unnecessary shopping was.  Ha!  I didn't need a thing, not a single thing.  I think most of us could say that as well.  So how absurd it is that we keep buying. I found going to shops or stores or the mall and just LOOKING was actually possible, and just as "rewarding".  I realized that the $2.50 I used to spend everyday on a coffee at work was a luxury, and something that I couldn't actually afford.  And that word, "afford", finally became clear to me.  Did I have $2.50 to spend on a coffee?  Yes.  But that didn't mean I could afford it, based on the bills I was trying to pay back and the money I was saving to hike the trail. 

So from that, I began living a more minimal lifestyle.  In preparing for a hike, you see that all you really need to sustain you in life is shelter, clothing, and something to heat your food (if that).  So mentally, I began to see that those things were all I really needed in life.  I was never an anti-consumerist, and I wouldn't say that I really am now, but I do think I've removed myself from a "consuming" lifestyle.  And so I would say that's the second way I've been changed by preparing for the Appalachian Trail.  I am very interested in extending this minimalist lifestyle even further.   I think I could probably get rid of half my clothing (even though I've already done that this year).  I found this blog on minimalism and really enjoyed reading it. 



Showing off our (empty) packs.  No, I will

 NOT be hiking in a skirt, nor will Stew

be hiking with a drink in hand (though we may

want to...).



Finally, and I'll keep this one short since I sort of rambled on up there a little, I find myself enjoying the "simple" things because I know that I will soon not have them anymore.  By simple things I mean a bed, shower, microwave, etc.  I haven't taken a shower in the last few months without being thankful for it being there, or without putting myself in a hiker's frame of mind. How happy I'll be to have a shower just once a week in a few months! 

I will end this post by giving a hearty "Thank You!" to everyone who has commented or emailed about the blog and given us support for our upcoming hike.  Knowing that you all are keeping up with us online and are interested in our hike really provides motivation for me to keep writing.  And I'm sure that it will be an endless supply of motivation for us to keep HIKING once we finally get out there!  Whether you know it or not, you are already helping us just by letting us know that you care and or interested in what we're doing. 

Oh, and just let me add that Stewart will eventually be posting on here!  Expect his first entry to come sometime this weekend.  And, believe me, I'm as interested to hear what he has to say as the rest of you.  ;)

Goodbye for now.