My biggest fear of hiking the AT is the cold. I think I can deal with being hungry and am confident I’ll have water but I don’t want to be cold…cold and miserable. So l spent another night out in my tent and things were good even though it was in the 20’s. Then began the rain. It rained the whole night, sometimes pretty hard. I didn’t stake out my fly tarp good enough so it rested against the sides of the tent and quickly soaked up water. Thank goodness for my blow up pad. It looked like I was floating in a pool. As long as I didn’t fall in, I was OK.
But falling asleep was another matter. I guess it happened but I really don’t know when. So I got up at six, packed everything up but the tent and hiked for 4+ miles just to see what my rain gear would do. The Columbia rain pants worked great, my Ski Round Top jacket, not so much. But nevertheless I was warm and dry. And ever so happy to get home and eat a bowl of cereal. My knee is giving me some cause for concern but I feel like I’m committed and don’t want to let anyone down, particularly me. I quit the wrestling team in 10th grade and a Triathlon a few years back and I will never get those moments back. So now my biggest fear is being cold and wet. I’m gonna knock that one down too.
Don’t feel too bad … I quit the Boy Scouts on the first trail on the very first night when it rained buckets
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A friend of mine taped a presentation I did back in the Fall and recently edited it so I could post it on Youtube.com. After going to the website, just search for Andy Davidson thru hiking thru life and you should get the 3 parts. The total presentation lasts about an hour. Hopefully it will make you laugh and think. Since I last wrote, I have to say I really miss the trail and miss conversing with y’all even more. I’ve been working on another project which I hope to announce in the near future. Until then I have dreams of jumping in the truck with Lor and Belle (our Springer Spaniel) and back packing out West this summer. (Just don’t tell my employer).
Take care, “Phantom”
I can’t thank you enough for all the support. Feel free to spread the word and I apologize to some of you who may be getting this notice as a repeat.
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