PDA

View Full Version : how things change



cupcake
01-29-2005, 01:30
the highlight of my week came in an email tonight. i received a message from someone i started the trail with last spring. after awhile, i had no idea what had happened to him. at some point, he left the trail. the email said he'd had some bad luck with work, and had joined the navy, just finishing boot camp. this person is special to me because he gave me my trailname. i can picture us all crammed into a shelter one night, all laughing, and sampling walkabout's dehydrated icecream. the part that touched me was how we could all share that moment, all have that same memory, and then scatter like seeds in the wind.

The Hog
01-29-2005, 07:52
One of the great things about hiking the Trail is how shared adversity brings people close together in a hurry. And, to be honest, it's really mild adversity, there's nobody shooting at you, you're not storm bound on a mountain in the Himalayas. I can't even imagine the bonding that must take place under life and death stress. But, having said that, the bonding on the A.T. is pretty amazing.

I climbed Katahdin with a group of five that I had hooked up with midway, a group of people that would never have gelled under normal circumstances. By time we got to Katahdin, it was destined to be a very emotional last climb because we knew that we were sharing one of the peak moments in our lives, then we'd spread out across the country and hardly see each other again. And, twenty years later, it's true, we rarely get together. But the bonds are as strong as ever...

rocket04
01-29-2005, 12:07
i can picture us all crammed into a shelter one night, all laughing, and sampling walkabout's dehydrated icecream. the part that touched me was how we could all share that moment, all have that same memory, and then scatter like seeds in the wind. Ah, the memories. I can still remember how I pushed for miles for days just to catch up to his sorry ass. And how we spent a couple days in Fontana so my achilles could heal, hoping you, Solace, and KTR would catch us. Good times...

cupcake
01-29-2005, 17:47
i miss his sorry ass too.