319 Zeros. That's what it feels like. 319 days that I didn't hike any miles on the Appalachian Trail. I never really felt like I "quit" and I never felt any compulsion to start over in Georgia. To me, this has felt like a continuation of my thru-hike. It may not fit the technical definition of a thru-hike in which the entire Appalachian Trail is completed in one calendar year, but I'm not done. The trail is still calling me and it is calling me to finish.
And so today I head out back to the woods to continue walking north to Katahdin. I have spent a large majority of the last 11 months battling
Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. It is a pernicious little spirochete bacteria and one I will have to live with the rest of my life. I am in remission now, and going out better armed to protect myself against reinfection from the little buggers with continued antibiotics and special homemade bug spray.
I am actually all packed and ready to go this time (rather than leaving late and arriving at 3am like last year!). My food is prepackaged in daily bags with help from my sister and her friend (who wrote stuff on every bag -what sort of stuff you ask? -I don't know I'll find out as I go).
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| Complete with random TV show character paused creepily in the background...didn't notice that at first! |
This time I was good and took over my own room for food prep, rather than taking over Meredith's room; a fact I'm sure she appreciates.
One main difference on this portion of my hike is that my noble Sir Ernesto Peppington will not be joining me.
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| Cue obligate picture of my adorable pup! |
Although Peppy had a wonderful time hiking with me on a trip out east to visit friends in February, the northern section of the trail is far rockier and cliff-ier (made up word) than what we have already completed. By leaving him at home I don't have to worry about carrying him up cliffs and ladders sections. It also has the added bonus of making my pack significantly lighter (approximately 6 pounds lighter!) which is very helpful seeing as the nasty spirochetes
may have had an impact on my health and fitness over the last year.
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| "I'm going there soon!" From the top of Julia's mountain, I could see Mt. Greylock and the ridgeline of the Appalachian Trail in the distance. |
All in all, I am ready to get back out there and finish the journey I started last year, though I am a bit nervous to see how my post-Lyme body handles the rigors and stress of the trail. I started reading
Walking by Thoreau, thinking it an apt book to read on the eve of a walking expedition. I was delighted by Thoreau's derivation of the word "sauntering" from an expression for those supposedly seeking the Holy Land or "la Sainte Terre" in the Middle Ages. "For every walk is a sort of crusade, preached by some Peter the Hermit in us, to go forth and reconquer this Holy Land from the hands of the Infidels." It is my turn to resume my walk, to take the next step in reconquering my life from the hands of
Borrelia burgdefori.
And so I'm off to follow a small footpath through the woods and see what new adventures may follow...
~Little Bird
