If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I’m a recovering lazy kid.
As a child, I liked being outside, but not so much doing stuff outside. I gave up easily, I didn’t play sports, and in general, I’d rather be reading a book. Which is great: reading is SUPER important, especially when you’re a kid. But so is playing like a kid. So is getting the right amount of exercise. So is trying new things.
In the past few years, I’ve been making up for lost time by doing just about everything I can get my hands on, and my most recent attempt has been hiking. I’d been on little day hikes, with or without packs, but nothing like what we did for the past few days, which was to hike from Unicoi Gap to Addis Gap, up by Helen, GA.
Here’s what I learned from our 17 mile journey:
The first day is really hard. {And so is the last day. And, well, everything in between.} The first day is when you’re still figuring stuff out: your pack, your hammock or tent, your food, etc. You have to figure out how you want your 25-65lb pack to sit on your shoulders and hips. You have to figure out how to set up and break down your entire campsite in all sorts of {surprising} weather. Really, a lot of this would have been avoided had I practiced at home before we left. Oops.
You’re in nature. I know it seems obvious, but it’s kind of easy to forget that you’re not traipsing through someone’s backyard. You will come across dangerous animals, rough terrain, annoying weather, and you just have to push on through. We almost stepped on a rattlesnake. We had a mama grouse run full-force at us to fend us away from her young. We saw a gutted skunk in the middle of the trail. In case we needed reminders, here they were.
{See that big grey patch over the mountains? That’d be rain.}
You will discover what you can do. And you will surprise yourself. Seriously, you will. It’s so different when you’re moving forward to an eventual goal, whether it be stopping for the night at the next shelter or campsite, or getting a certain number of miles accomplished, or moving back toward your car. It’s somehow EASIER.
The view from Tray Mountain, the highest point in the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail, is completely worth the climb.
Weather is weather. No one knows what it’s going to be like, no matter what percentages and predictions they give. Our first day was beautiful until the bottom dropped out. Then the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and it poured from the moment we had camp set up {lucky bit of timing, there} until we woke up the next morning. Then the next day rained through a good part of our afternoon hike {refreshing, at first, not so much after a few minutes}.
{Blueberry cheesecake muffins made in cake-form over our camp stove! Only a slight fail involved. Mostly deliciousness.}
You will bring too much. There will be things in your pack that you don’t touch the entire trip. And that’s totally okay.
There will be something you’ll wish you had brought. For me, it was my iPod with audiobooks on it. It’s not a huge regret, but it was so much easier for me to push on when I wasn’t thinking about the hike every step of the way, that I kind of wish I’d had something to distract my thoughts. Singing helps, even if it’s in your head. “The Climb,” by Miley Cyrus kept popping in my head, much to my chagrin.
Your stuff might fail. When the rain started and the temp dropped so drastically, we were wishing for an extra raincoat and a magic fire that stayed through the rain. Our fire went out, first. Then our stove broke {we later fixed it}. Then none of our lighters could fight the damp and get a flame. The last time Nick went hiking, his PACK broke. It happens.
Our natural sleep clocks really are based on the sun. It felt so much better going to bed and waking up with the natural lighting.
Hiking is really liberating. Not only do you not need to worry about your phone, your e-mail, your work, anything. But you also don’t need to worry about anything except what you’re feeling at the moment. Hungry? Grab something to eat. Thirsty? Drink water. Need a break? Take one. Ready to stop for the night? Do it. You can just think. And talk, if you want to. But mostly, think.
{We made it! Farther than we’d thought or planned, too!}
You really should bring a map. NO, REALLY.
Your plans might not work out. We were planning to be picked up at the last gap we stopped at, Addis. Then we got there and found out there was no road access. So we had to make something up. Which was fun. And I don’t even mean that sarcastically.
Even with the blisters and the incredible soreness all over {and in places I didn’t expect, like my hands, the middle of my feet, and my collarbone where the pack sits}, it’s 100% worth it.