A Change of Style

So the blogging app that Squarespace built is really terrible. Constantly deleting updates, so I'm going to change the way I write this blog to save my sanity. Seriously though.... Squarespace is worth 500 million and they can't hire a few developers to build a Android application that isn't broken as hell. 

Anyway, I am currently in Cheshire, MA, Mile 1578, almost in Vermont!  

Somebody asked me the other day whether hiking the trail has become a job. It took me a long time think about it before I could answer them. In reality, it was probably me staring at nothing for 30 seconds with a blank expression on my face....

Anyway, hiking the Appalachian Trail is just like any other long term commitment. There are ups, downs, sideways, and zigzag days. Sometimes the trail is beautiful and sometimes it's just fog. After being on the trail for over 4 months now, I honestly have to say that yes, hiking the trail can feel like a job. Why is this?

Sure I'm technically on a vacation, losing money everyday, doing something I love while other people work. People say the trail is a social experience and all these things. At the end of the day and at the core of everything is that only you can hike those miles to make it to Maine. Nobody can hike them for you. While you may be taking a nice day off trail enjoying a town, somebody else, including your friends are making miles ahead of you. It's a very tough realization to come to. At the end of it all, you need to put in those 10, 15, or 20+ miles to make that tiny bit of progress toward Maine. Nobody can walk them for you, and it is one reason I feel some people choose to cheat and skip sections by car (also known as yellow-blazing). 

In addition, weather. Hiking the AT comes with dealing with the weather. Sometimes it rains for days, maybe even weeks on end. Or maybe it's snow. Or it's cold. Or whatever it is, you don't want to deal with it. Nobody wants to leave the warmth of a sleeping bag or the dry area under a shelter, but that's the reality of the hike. It's packing up your stuff in the pouring rain and making miles toward your destination. Hiking the AT isnt about being a fair weather hiker, it's about taking it as it comes and dealing with it. 

Sure I may want to stop and get into town to enjoy a hot shower and meal, maybe rest my feet, but at the same time I do not want to be left behind by my peers and my friends. For these reasons, I have to say that yes, hiking the trail is not always sunshine and rainbows and often feels like a job.