Over the past three days I've been reading a book called Walking With Spring, written by the first man to ever thru-hike the Appalachian Trail: Earl Shaffer. Anyone who knows about the history of the trail knows about Shaffer. And so I thought I knew his story pretty well: young man, on his return from World War 2, decides to reconnect with nature and "walk the war out of his system". I guess I had this romantic notion of how he did it- peacefully strolling over mountain upon mountain- a man who would probably look down in scorn upon naive hikers of today with their full packs and technical gear. Well, like many things in life, I was surprised at the true story once I actually decided to know it.
The first thing that struck me, heartbreakingly, was that he had planned this hike before the onset of WW2 with another hiking buddy- who was sadly killed in Iwo Jima. I had never heard this. It added a certain depth to his hike I'd never considered before. Throughout the text, I realized that this was not just some faceless man who randomly walked from Georgia to Maine- he goes through bouts of exhaustion (once just lying where he falls on the trail and napping before finding the strength to go on), problems with his gear (his pack- like many today- weighs about 40 pounds), and near starvation from not realizing how much food his body would actually need. And he's quite shy! To put it shortly, I'm enjoying this book more than I thought I would, and it feels great to connect with a hiker who did what I'm about to do 60 years prior, and see that he had many of the same problems and struggles that I will. It has been a perfect last book to read before setting off... in many ways inspiring. I know that in hard times I'll probably reflect back on Shaffer's tale to remind myself that it is a challenge for everyone, and pain and weariness just come with the hike.
I'll add finally that I couldn't help but think of my grandpa as I read about Earl Shaffer... they seem similar in many ways and I could see my grandpa hiking a similar hike if he were to take off on the trail.
In other news: my excitement about the hike returned abruptly as I awoke this morning. I immediately sent Stewart a text message (he is in Arkansas visiting with family) expressing my disbelief that we had such few days remaining until we set off. I think the stress of packing was putting a stopper in my excitement. I'm slowly crossing things off of my "to-do" list here at home: pack the kitchen, clean the bathroom, print such and such forms off the internet, re-pot plants, etc. Somehow, I've still found time for a two-hour nap each of these last few days... ! :) I can't take things too hard, now can I?
Lastly, I've been checking the weather for Amicalola online and it's looking pretty good for us. Temps during the day in the low 60s, lows at night in the mid 40s. Not too shabby. It's going to be rainy, but I expected that for winter/spring weather. In fact, whenever I daydreamed about us setting out, it was always with our rain gear on. It will just add to the authenticity of the start of our AT hike. What hike is not complete without a messy two weeks of rain and pain in which you don't question why you ever started in the first place? Even Earl Shaffer had that experience. I say "Bring it on!"
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