3a. House of the Lord
The distance hike of the Long Trail had taken 17 days instead of the normal 25-28 days. It satisfied the requirement of being out on the trail for longer than two weeks, and confirmed that I could indeed hike 10 or 12 hours daily on a regular basis.
Apparently, daily walks with Stella were talking me into a more ambitious plan without my knowing it. On the trail, a 10-mile day became just a “walk in the park” because we had already done exactly that on many mornings. At home, walking provided a time for composing my thoughts and being receptive to the inspirations of nature.
The first month of hiking on the Appalachian Trail felt like a true adventure in an outdoor cathedral. As my body weight came off, I would sometimes put my pack on the ground to run uphill in search of a trail juncture.
Yet I often pushed too much, bringing undue hardship upon myself. The ultralight idea could lead to excess, as any hiking style could. Flying solo, I was just another novice thru-hiker adapting on the way.
Labels: summary