5 Month Trail- iversary

Last weekend marked 5 months since we've been back from the trail- meaning I've been back from the AT longer than I was on it. The past couple weeks, I've been missing the trail a lot. Countless times each day I have random unexpected flashbacks and memories to specific moments. Climbing Mousilake in the Whites in the fog and mist. Finding trail magic of muffins and gatorade in a cooler on the trail in PA.  Hitchhiking in the pouring rain in Damascus. Counting miles and planning our next day in the tent each night. I don't miss the grueling day in and day out feeling of thru hiking, but I miss the overall experience and going to bed exhausted but accomplished every day.

I rediscovered that I have several unfinished blog drafts that I intended on posting- posts about food, lessons learned, clothing, etc. A year ago when I was preparing to hike, blog posts like these from seasoned thru hikers were super helpful and I love the idea of helping someone else planning their thru. But now that I've been back for so long, it feels a little overly sentimental and annoying to keep bringing the AT up.

We get it Mackenzie, you hiked a bunch of miles in the woods all summer and ate a lot and never showered. Talk about something else now.

Agh, I try. But I can't stop!

So I'm going to continue to post a few things, and I'm already putting out a huge disclaimer that I know I'm redundant and annoyingly obsessed with the AT and blah blah blah. I gave the blog a little facelift and added "AT Thru Hike Information" tab where I've linked to some of our posts, some websites and forums, and what I'm most excited about: a list of 2013 thru hiker blogs. It will be so fun to relive our experience through theirs.

Three cheers for the Appalachian Trail!