Would I Lie to You?

Would I lie to you? Well, not intentionally. It's been almost two years since I last posted on this blog. At the time, I had just begun my Masters degree program in World War II Studies at Arizona State University. I intended to continue my Appalachian Trail hike with long section hikes during the semester breaks as I pursued my degree. On April 27, 2021, I set out on what I intended to be a 9-day section hike southbound on the AT through the Shenandoah National Park (SNP). Marci, Erin, and I were on a trip to Winchester, VA to visit our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. We had dropped my truck at a hostel south of the SNP where I intended to be picked up by the hostel owner after completing this section. Marci dropped me off at the trailhead on VA 602 and I headed south on a beautiful but hot, sunny day. I hiked just over 12 miles to the Gravel Springs Hut were I camped for the night. During the day I passed several northbound thru-hikers as the traditional hiker bubble gradually moved up the trail. It was a beautiful section, but quite dry and very buggy.

Entering Shenandoah National Park

Sometime during this day or the following, I finally had an epiphany. It was not the epiphany I was expecting. Over my years of hiking and backpacking, I have always anticipated a glorious evening on trail where I would be at a campsite, soaking in the view, enjoying the sense of accomplishment from the day's trek and really feeling I was exactly where I was meant to be. I love hiking. I love walking from point A to point B on a trail. But I finally realized I was a proud day-hiker rather than a backpacker. I don't enjoy camping overnight on the trail. It's not because of any fear of the outdoors or anything like that and I've been at some beautiful campsites as well as many dull and dreary ones. But I never sleep well on trail. I'm usually exhausted at the end of the day when I arrive at camp and then face the chore of setting up my tent, preparing an unappealing meal (usually of some dehydrated packaged food), and then tossing and turning all night trying to get a decent rest. I'm always up early, partly because I haven't slept well, and quick to be on my way. My epiphany on this trip was that overnight backpacking and a thru-hike were not really what I wanted to do. This took me some time to come to grips with. For years I had envisioned myself as a backpacker and eventual AT thru-hiker. Facing my own reality was a bit challenging as I finally realized that was not who I am. Instead, I much prefer day-hiking and then sleeping in a fairly decent bed somewhere and having a good meal.

View along the trail.

With this revelation, the following day I called my trail angel wife and asked her to pick me up at the Elkwallow Wayside. I hiked the 6.3 miles from Gravel Springs Hut and Erin eventually met me there. The following Friday we all spent the night at the Big Meadows Lodge, a historic accomadation in the SNP. The weather had changed dramatically from hot and sunny to very cold and foggy with a driving, misty rain. It was a fun trip even though it turned out completely different than I had imagined it would.

My hiking days are not over and I have been on many hikes since then, some of which I'll be describing in future posts. I will also do some backpacking occassionally when in the mood. I may never finish the entire AT but I am good with that now.

With the "trail" family at Big Meadows.

"Would I Lie to You?" - Eurythemics