Sharing A Common Struggle

Life on the trail is simple. Simple in the sense that what we (thru hikers) do is wake up, walk for miles till we find a place to spend the night, sleep, and repeat.

 

Our simple life is filled with complications and struggles. Food, water, and shelter are top priorities along with staying dry and taking care of our bodies. Comfort comes last. We hurt everywhere, almost like our bodies have been beaten by the trail. We are constantly hungry and it takes a lot to fill our bellies. And we walk for miles, sometimes days in horrible weather and trail conditions. 

Despite it all, we are the most grateful, happy, and positive group of people you will meet. Sharing our common struggles and more importantly, our end goal binds us all together in a comradry. We are always encouraging the people around us. Everyone wants everyone to succeed. We give and share what we can and we aren't afraid to accept and receive. We laugh at each other as we limp or hobble... Or any other funny complications that arise.

 

M&m's pack rolled down a hill while we were eating lunch. Luckily it didn't go too far.

We laugh at each other because we know and feel their pain and suffering. We laugh because we know it will get better. We must push on and stay positive. 

 

 That's me way back there. 

** I did receive a trail name a while back. My name is Pish. For those of you who aren't birders, pishing is the noise that birders make to mimic a mobbing call to try to lure birds closer. The group caught me pishing the one morning while we were taking a zero day. They asked what I was doing and I laughed and told them I was pishing. They obviously had never heard of this before and the name stuck.