August 23, 2007

8-23-07.
From Old Forge, NY. Waiting on locksmith.

A great friend, Spoonman, summed up his 2005 AT thru-hike by saying it was all about MANAGING DISCOMFORT. This discomfort can take on many forms for many people in many different endeavours. What Spoonman said resonated with and will stay with me until they throw dirt in my face.

Discomfort, setbacks, mistakes or hard times are as much a part of any long distance endeavour as they are in life. We all experience them. We all experience them. How we manage them is the only thing that differentiates us from the next fella that loses his wallet, his paddle, his hiking sticks or his job.

I appreciate the kind emails offerring encouragement and support while I splash along North during this padddle and soon trudging South for my hopeful conclusion of the AT thru-hike. The emails or voice mails, believe you me, seem to always come at a most crucial time. My only hope is that I can be as supportive, encouraging and understanding of others moving forward. Might this be THE most important lesson?

Along the Northern Forest Canoe trail I have had some setbacks, endured discomfort, overcome bad decisions both in the water and on the ground and hit emotional breakpoints. I am no different than anyone else who has attempted this trail or any other. But we perservere in the end and more importantly when we are in a pinch. Some of us finish, some do not. Some, regardless, get what we are looking for and others have only had their palate teased and will move on in search of another journey. I fall somewhere in between.

I am excited to soon be paddling the last 160 miles or so of the NFCT up in Northern Maine. With some help shuttling I might add some more miles. I also am excited about hitting the AT again and seeing all of its' splendor. Also, I am curious to see how my legs and lungs will fare after all the water time.

When this season is over and I head back West, to begin working and saving, I will not stop thinking and planning my next adventure. There is just too much beauty out there in the woods for me to just read about it in a magazine. Our life is pretty short and we all want to make the absolute most of it regardless of where that occurs.

Doing this paddle solo has really taught me about interdependance and while I am fortunate enough to possess a support net that ranges from sea to shining sea, I have proved to myself that I can survive, that I can work through a problem by assessing, planning and executing. Of course I can and do still whine from time to time. Perhaps, the whining puts us on notice that a change to a situation is imminent and most necessary?

I met John Aralia the other day while getting on a bus from Gorham, NH. We visited the whole time and wound up splitting a rental car. I arrived here last night, we camped and early this morning John headed back to NJ. He had just completed the IAT, SOBO and is already planning his next adventure which may be a hiking trip across Ireland. We are both cut from the same stock. We both have the same spirit and lust for adventure. He has hiked many long distance trails and had great stories. Our meeting was truly fortuitous.

One more note on fortuitous meeting... From Groveton, NH I recieved a ride from a guy to Gorham, NH where I hoped to hop a bus the follwing day to Old Forge, NY. We got to town and John dropped me off in front of THE BARN hostel. I saw Mr. Smoke (2004 AT) walking from the hostel to his truck. We had not seen each other since Trail Days. In a NY minute I was in his truck visiting with he, Mrs. Smoke and 2004 Socks. We had a bbq and visited that night, had ice cream, talked paddling and watched aconcert in the park. The next morning we got up, had breakfast, visited and Mr. Smoke drove me to the bus stop. What I did not know, is that they are avid paddlers and have had many experiences paddling in Maine. They gave me tips on the Allegash and shared their stories. Great people, great friends. I am the luckiest guy in the world. And now, if Paris Hilton would come paddle this last section with me, I'd be so close to complete.

Happy Trails,
Totally Different Subject