(no subject)

[melannen]

And OMG, it was *amazing*. We got back Monday night but I want to go right back and finish! Now that I can finally move my legs again!

That was the first time in my life I have ever been somewhere where there was no sign of human technology other than me, and what I carried, and the existence of the trail - no trash, no airplane noises, no distant highways (and wow, highways are *loud* when you've gotten used to not hearing them), no human voices (also so strange to hear voices in the distance and realize you haven't heard any for hours.)

The being alone is amazing; so are the people you're on the trail with. Oh, and the shelters at night - at least in the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club section - are, and there is no other word for it, *posh*.

I am so incredibly out of shape and so incredibly slow (note to self: don't try to keep up with thru-hikers unless you are one) but I could already feel myself handling hills better by Monday Morning, and when we finally got to the much-anticipated flat part, I missed the climbing.

(Also, I have successfully proven it is possible to hike the trail, in great comfort and with quite a light pack, without spending any money whatsoever on special trail gear. Though if I'd been by myself I probably would have wanted a stove to boil water, though I could have got by without for a short trip, because there was no shortage of shared campfires at the shelters.)