Gathering, Hanover, NH
There was a great deal more to this hike than simply walking 2100 miles. A tremendous amount of mental 'hiking', much of which is unsuitable for public consumption here, went on between the ears, a weight only the feet didn't feel. Save for one or two exceptions, I've left off the last names of the people I encountered. And to protect the privacy of others, I've omitted them completely. Yet every one of these folks affected me; overwhelmingly most all in very positive ways. This was a hidden gem of the hike -- the social aspect I never expected to encounter. An aspect that was only hinted at in some of the most recent hikes I researched before starting my own. Chaos (Melissa) mentioned her surprise at the draw (and rare but real need to escape) 'trail family'. That didn't stand out as terribly important when I listened to her presentation seven months back. It was an 'a-ha' moment only after a couple hundred miles into Spring, probably when I was daydreaming about something else entirely. The mind works like that, for me.
Hikers such as Earl Shaffer or Grandma Gatewood hiked alone. They mentioned the kindness of folks along the way -- an almost uniform goodness of people, from the Appalachian poverty to the landed gentleman farmers; the folks who opened their homes and businesses, the urban and encroaching suburban denizens. Town folk and hill folk -- all along the Trail there was magic, and it was mostly with each other.
The landscapes, too, give their own magic. I don't mean to diminish its contributions, challenges and rewards, anymore than the weather or the seasons.
But unlike the solo thru hikers of the early years, this decade has brought more of a shared society twist that changes, that alters, the experiences.
I may be six months aged and several thousand miles worn, but my spirit is a decade younger -- calm and giddy at the same time with anticipation of what a full future will bring if I can only remember to stop on occasion, to reflect on the lessons-without-words this hike imparted, to live in the NOW of things, embrace the trail magic to come and let it happen, as it will.