Sentimental Hiking – The Trek

It’s happening!

My dream of hiking finally came true! I’m officially here marking miles and heading north! As a Georgia native, there have been many interesting moments as I begin my hike on my own turf. I have been privileged to have my supportive family be able to join chapters, meet for lunch, or take rides into town. What a gift!

But Georgia is no joke. They are ups and downs. It’s rocky. It’s windy. It’s gray. It’s snowing. But it’s exactly where I want to be. I have a way of romanticizing things that aren’t glamorous at all. That’s exactly why I found myself crying on my hour-long commute that I dreaded every day for 3.5 years on my last day of work. This chapter is closing! What a gift to have had a trip that I hated so much! It may sound frivolous or fickle, but I think it’s actually a skill that has and will continue to serve me quite well along the way. It allows me to look for the positives and be grateful even when things don’t go exactly the way I wanted. Oh, the shelter is an extra 1 mile from the trail and you’re already exhausted? At least there will be less people and I’m sure the animals will be less trained to bother this place! Oh, did you get caught in the rain when you really wanted to beat the storm? Maybe the rain will force you to slow down and be careful not to run down a rocky slope. Further! Look how green everything is! And this rain? It’s really more of a refreshing mist!

I am grateful for this ability to see things in a way that keeps me full of gratitude. He will be a big part of boosting the mental game of this extreme goal. There are rough patches, climbs, and sore feet, but many sections of this trail you may never go through again. But for the sections I’m watching again, it’s been very special to add new memories to old ones.

Then + Now

I have been able to reflect on my early days of hiking and backpacking in these same mountains when I was in middle and high school. Crossing Woody Gap I felt like I should look for my first car, a silver Volkswagon Golf, still parked in the parking lot from a day trip with friends when I was a senior in high school. As I took in the view from Preachers Rock, I realized I was potentially even wearing the same tights (I wasn’t).

I chose to wear my older pair of hiking boots for the first few days even though the rubber is peeling off and I have better options. But it was sentimental and surreal for me to be able to start my hike with those same soles I’ve had since high school (or maybe it was my second pair of the exact same type?). Either way, let me be a fool about it!

Arriving at Neels Gap and stationing myself outside the Mountain Crossings store, I remember marveling at all the cool hikers after completing my second backpacking trip to Blood Mountain when I was 16 years old. I remember thinking, «I have to do that someday. I want to be one of those hikers that passes through this place.» I’ve never forgotten how amazed I was by those hikers and how much I wanted to feel that sensation myself. And let me tell you, you are NOT disappointed when you tell someone, “Yes, I plan to go to Maine!” It’s me! I’m one of them now! 16 year old me (and current me) is ecstatic!

Me as a high school junior in Mountain Crossings after my second backpacking trip.

One of the first places I heard someone talk about hiking in Georgia and beyond was at the Len Foote Hike Inn in Amicalola Falls when I was in high school. I had the feeling of «I have to do that before I die.» That’s why it was important and nostalgic for me to spend my last day before arriving at Springer Mountain with my sister at Len Foote, where I had felt the pull of the trail so strongly more than a decade ago. So special! How wonderful!

It’s going to be cheesy!

Here’s the thing: the road is difficult. So be cheesy! Be nostalgic! Romanticize that Type II fun! Enjoy those feelings! Take a sentimental walk! Make it as special as you can for yourself! Find the positives! Accept help from old friends! Walk with new friends! Create new memories for yourself in the future!

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