Back on the Trail!

Nano and Amicus back on the Trail.

With Trail Angel!

   So much has happened in the past year.  I moved to a new city.  I bought a house.  I started medical school.  I managed to finish an entire year of medical school.  Now, with a few precious weeks until Medical School Round #2, I find myself back on the Appalachian Trail, this time with Amicus *and* Trail Angel.  After spending 11 months under fluorescent lights, being outside feels absolutely wonderful.  We started where we left off almost exactly a year ago, in Western Massachusetts, and hiked about 10 miles.  It was a perfect day to return to the Trail.  It was sunny and about 80 degrees.  The entire section of trail was in heavily wooded forest, so we were in the shade for most of the day.  It doesn't get much better than that.  

   

View from the rock where we had our second breakfast.

    We saw several people on the trail today.  Several Northbound Thru-hikers, which surprised and impressed me.  Most Northbounders start in Georgia in March or April, which means they've been on the trail for 4 months at most.  To make it over 1500 miles in 4 months is quite an accomplishment.  Katahdin opens in May, so the Southbounders are probably already past this point, though I bet we see a few while we're here.
     I found myself very unsure of myself and my feet on the Trail today.  When I came off the Trail in October 2010, I remember being able to think 4-5 steps ahead.  Hiking out here is often more than just putting one foot in front of the other.  There are rocks, roots, trees, bushes, steep inclines and declines and critters to watch out for.  After 6 months straight on the Trail, I think my feet knew what they needed to do without having to consult my brain too often.  Today, I found myself having to concentrate all day to avoid a misstep.  That, combined with the fact that I've had my nose in a book for 11 months, which isn't exactly conducive to cardiovascular conditioning, made for slower going than I would have liked.  Hopefully my trail feet come back to me quickly.  One thing is for sure, I am so glad to be out in the open air and so thankful to have the chance to be back on the Trail during my break.
 

Nano's Back!