JUST WALK

After a short  12 mile day yesterday  I  fell asleep  early  evening. Possibly  it was the 6 serving  instant mashed  potatoes  but likely  I  am  still  feeling  the lingering effects from  being  sick .  Today  I  didn’t  stress about  leaving  early  or making big miles  but ended  up at a leisurely  pace going 17 miles  on relatively  easy terrain ,  possibly  the easiest  of the trail  to date. I ran into Forever from the Forever Waiting  duo. ( two females, one name Forever because she takes forever and the other named Waiting because she was always waitin,g) Apparently  Waiting got tired of waiting and moved on. I could tell Forever was having a tough time finding her way alone. I hope she doesnt quit.  Later when I got to a shelter, in walked Waiting with  her boyfriend  who was visiting  for a time. Awkward. 

Everyday I  hike  I  think  about  friends and family. Often I labor  over the past.  In  my mind  I  do the what if’s and if only’s yet it doesn’t  seem  to  change  anything. Sometimes  I  think  about  what  my life will be like  after this pilgrimage and how I  wish to be, what I  want to do. And  I think  about  what Thruhikingthrulife  means to me.

Thruhikingthrulife for  me means  living  like  I hike. Specifically this means:
   Just walk
   Leave a small footprint . 
   HYO Hike  your  own  hike 
   When your mood turns sour look up and realize you  are likely climbing.
   Stay positive  on the up hill and don’t worry  when the  down  hill is tougher than the up hill.
   No regrets, none 
   Smile at the trees,  they dont hate you when they don’t  smile  back
   Up hill  is good  for  the  heart, down hill  is  bad for  the  knees
    Let it go, man, let    it    go 
   Just walk 
I expect  my list will  grow…
Or maybe it will get shorter