Getting Lost...
You can't get lost on the A.T. they say.
I did.
On my third day, I woke up and I was hurting - My leg muscles were extremely fatigued and I was tired. It was all I could do just to get out of my sleeping bag, but I strapped on my pack and plodded on for three miles.
Then a sinking feeling... "Hey, that tree looks familiar."
Somehow in my fantasy world that morning, I started heading back south down the trail instead of north. Because the daylight was on the opposite side of the mountain, everything just looked different and so I kept walking.
When I made this discovery that I had walked 3 miles in the wrong direction, I just dropped my pack to the ground and wept for 10 minutes. But eventually, I put it back on and trudged 3 miles back to the shelter again and called it a day.
It was a disheartening day, but I lived.
After all, one of my reasons for being out there was to learn to pay attention again.
posted by Ron Jaffe @ 9:49 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I have read all your posts in the Blog Ron, often a funny, but always a thoughtfull read. Will be following ... take care, you are an inspiration to us all. And what great hero of humanity has gotten around doing his heroic deeds without crying or pain?! Those are stocks of the trade so to speak.
Played some real chess yesterday ... lost but the playing was the important thing, not the winning or loosing. I get better each time.
Maxim
Haven't been lost on the AT, but have certainly had to reverse course and hike the same terrain again due to inclement weather. No fun no matter what the circumstance. Hang in there!
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