Howdy all!
Thanks again for all the comments. I'll try to respond to a few tomorrow, as Castaway and I are doing a zero day in Erwin, TN. 338 miles on the AT. It's been a rough couple of weeks, but things are starting to smooth out right now. The weather has been pleasantly warm, but it looks like it'll turn downright nasty near the end of the week. I'm on the road to Damascus, for a May 4 arrival. At that point, it'll be 456 miles and 34 days on the trail. I'll reevaluate there, based upon my overall attitude. It's hard to keep the monotony from setting in, but hiking with Castaway has been a big help. He and I reconnected in the Smokies and have been hiking together since. He's highly motivated and won't let me quit, even when I'm as close as can be.
So far I haven't seen any wildlife at all, with the exception of a mule the other day in a pasture, but that wasn't quite wildlife. A small lizard today, the call of a coyote the other day, but not much. There's a lot of graves on the AT; people who wanted to be buried there. What I can't believe is how many miles Castaway and I do every day; the last two days have been a total of 41.6! And I wasn't in a particularly good mood, so you can imagine what it would be like if I can regain my motivation.
Nevertheless, the homesickness is tough, and I can't wait to get back and see Lisa, my parents, and my friends. Five months is a long time. If I stick with Castaway (and the trail) we'll take a one week break in mid-June and I'll catch a train back to Boston. We'll see how that goes. (Damascus is the goal, one week from Friday; beyond that is icing on the cake.)
That's all for now, because I have to tend to the laundry, which is stinking up a storm!
Matt
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Matt,
Glad you're doing ok, and taking a zero day for some well-earned indolence. 41.6 miles in two days...that'll tire the feet a bit! Hope the homesickness doesn't sap your will to see more wild mules :)
Enjoy your day off.
Tim (total information manager)
Hi Matthew-
Graves on the trail, huh? Is it more creepy or interesting?
A week off might be good...I am getting scared of your NY trip. Will I slow you down too much?
Keep on truckin'-
love
Zan
Matt,
Sounds like everything is going really well. Glad to hear it and that you've found people to hike with. I'm amazed by your progress!
Hope we'll get to do some of the Whites and maybe Katahdin with you!
Juliet
I stumbled upon your blog through a friend of mine who works with you, but just wanted to throw some encouraging words into the mix. I'm rooting for you to make it the whole way! That's an unbeatable accomplishment.
Good luck.
Matt,
Congratulations on the superb progress! At least make sure you
make it to the Broken Bridge Cafe
in Lusapoxi...
As for wildlife, you should start
seeing some black flies and mosquitos soon!
--- Dave S.
Post a Comment