Ever Cried On The Trail ?

[Dolly Sods]

We we're at the blue hole (swimming hole) on the south fork of the Moorman River in SNP and my brother's dog, whom I was apprehensive about taking with us in the first place, ran off after another couple's dog. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking for her until night fall, when because of our lack of headlamps, we had go back to our cabin leaving her in the woods overnight. It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make, and my wife had to drive because I was so overwhelmed with grief, anger (for my brother forcing us to take her), and despair.
Long story short, we continued to search the next day--joined the next day by my brother and his wife. We had to leave and go back, as our vacation was over. They gave up the search too and I was a complete mess the rest of the week. My brother's dog ended up staying over 96 hours in the woods before she found a family at the trailhead. This dog ended up getting struck & killed by a car on Halloween later that year. Lesson learned: 1) never spend 800 bucks on an alpha female who refuses to listen 2) Never pressure someone into dog sitting if they don't feel comfortable with the pet.

As for crying on trail, I've found myself crying on long hikes before the three 10 month contracts to "the sandbox", simply because I wasn't sure if I'd see my family, friends, loved ones, or beautiful Appalachian Mountains again.

I also remember sharing scotch with complete strangers in camp around a fire, and through conversation, rehashed all the memories & feelings of losing a very close friend to suicide after they had explained to me they were out camping (because they had just lost a close friend to suicide). It made me realize that we (survivors of suicide) are everywhere. It was a therapeutic, yet powerful experience, and I was convinced God had a large part in our lives intersecting that night.

[Dolly Sods]

Great thread BTW to the OP. Look forward to reading more. Thanks guys!

[d.o.c]

all the time if you dont.. your lieing and god knows your lies so dont bs us we know you cant handle this reality......

[sheepdog]

There's no crying in hiking!!!

[CrumbSnatcher]

There's no crying in hiking!!!

plenty of crying here on WB :-)

[sheepdog]

plenty of crying here on WB :-)

true dat.....

[d.o.c]

sounds like you guys spend more time on your ass then on the trail^^

[CrumbSnatcher]

ive hiked more of the appalachian trail by accident than you ever will on purpose and you live right there next to the trail. and on sitting on my ass, i work 7 days a week, working my ass off to provide for my family,laying brick and block,which happens to be a very physically tough and demanding trade, 24 years now! you probably still live at home with the parents!
look i am assuming just like you were :-)
now you can add me to the crying list

[sheepdog]

sounds like you guys spend more time on your ass then on the trail^^

how would you know??


I'm not taking the troll bait hahahahahahhaa

[Lone Wolf]

ive hiked more of the appalachian trail by accident than you ever will on purpose

hey that's my line!

[sheepdog]

does doc stand for "department of corrections"?

[CrumbSnatcher]

hey that's my line!

sorry , its usually i layed more bricks by accident.
i wish i lived closer to the trail,i wouldn't be on this damn computor to get my APPALACHIAN TRAIL fix

[Camping Dave]

it's so FUNNY seeing new backpackers (can I get in a boy scout dig in here while I'm at it) drop their packs and immediately start collecting wood for a big fire as if that is the prima facie objective for any night in the woods

12 year old boys enjoy starting fires, and 45 year old losers enjoy poking fun at 12 year old boys.

[Jim Adams]

I cried for 3 days once before I found the liquor store in Franklin!

geek

[CrumbSnatcher]

I cried for 3 days once before I found the liquor store in Franklin!

geek

geek, you never had a problem sharing my booze with you! :-)

[d.o.c]

my thru hike happened completely on accident im just saying i dont care who you are theres a point where during it you break down and cry a little... im glad your giving your kids the best life you can i tip my hat to you but dont lie im sure you cried once during your dailly work to.. and D.o.c stands for dude on couch for the time i spent basicly homeless when i was 17-18 i have since fixed that and am working to get ahead with what i want to make me happy lord knows im never gonna meet a woman ha........ kinda funny cause my fateher worked for the state as a D.O.C officer... other than that i post on here when the trail is to wet or i dont feel like being there otherwise i hike almost daily till the summer where i work for production companys who run alot of the larger music festivals.

[Jim Adams]

geek, you never had a problem sharing my booze with you! :-)

...damn straight!....got me through some rough times. LOL

geek

[GeneralLee10]

I cried, I cried more than once. I'm a man it happens. I missed my little girl and now ex wife. I had a really bad dream one night scared the crap out of me. I woke crying. The next day I cried and my good caring hiking friends guided my mind in the right direction. That let me make it to Mass. Then I cried again on fathers day. Went home came back. Only to find myself crying again at Gale head hut. Then at the road crossing North of there as I hicthed a ride to town and come home. I cry still to the day knowing I failed at 1835 miles for a love that left me shortly after I got home.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I never cried, but I had an epic hissyfit in 1998 during my thru in MA. The bugs got unbelievably bad overnight. I went from not even carrying bug spray, to a bloody mess of dessicated human flesh in about 2 hours. After a solid mile where I didn't walk a single normal step because I was slapping my legs so much, I screamed, threw my poles, shook a tree, screamed again, picked up my poles, and walked back to the closest road to hitch into town.Closest I came to pulling off the trail. Spent the afternoon sitting in a coffeehouse watching cars drive by, wondering what the hell I was doing this for; then decided I was being ridiculous, went out and bought bug spray, and went back onto the trail.

Just a wild guess, but was this in the Berkshire lowlands between Jug End and Tom Leonard lean-to?

[Wise Old Owl]

I have no idea what you are all talking about...