road trippin’

Wednesday, April 22 marked the LAST DAY of my undergrad. I completed one final exam, shift at work, packed up all my things and left Peterborough for the final time!! What did I do with my new found freedom? Start the job hunt and do grown-upy things? NO! I went on a semi-spontaneous road trip down to Virginia! Because growing up is overrated.

My friend Anica and I decided a few months ago we wanted to do a road trip and knew we wanted to hit up the Appalachian Trail at some point. We are both planning on thru-hiking the trail next spring so it was the perfect opportunity to spend some much needed time back on the AT.

Dashboard selfiezzzzz. Anica is a champion driver.

Friday, April 24th – ‘On the Road Again’

We left Toronto at ‘O dark stupid in hopes of avoiding border traffic (which was a total success). As we began to travel through New York we noticed the layer of snow on the ground was steadily getting thicker, we kept thinking “what are we getting ourselves into”. Canada had been getting hail and snow for a solid week so we hoped to find some nicer weather down in Virginia! But as we neared Pennsylvania the weather became significantly warmer – just as we had hoped!

We drove for hours only stopping for the occasional bathroom/coffee/McFlurry break (the necessities of course). I was in constant awe of the mountains that began to appear along the horizon. It was turning into a perfect road trip. But being a road trip, something crazy was bound to happen. We were following behind a transport truck when a large metal grate came loose and narrowly missed our car. It was absolutely terrifying but thankfully it didn’t get us or any cars behind us.

Harper’s Ferry is BEAUTIFUL!

As we continued on our trip we saw signs for Harper’s Ferry and decided to take a detour. We didn’t actually know where the conservancy was located so we drove around the town (and saw a thru hiker!) and ended up stopping at Harper’s Ferry National Historic Park and admired the view. Eventually we figured out where to go and arrived at the ATC just after they closed. Luckily, a kind ATC staff member gave us a tour and let us look around. It was so fun to look at the pictures of thru hikers! Harper’s Ferry is a BEAUTIFUL little town. Eventually we got back on the road and headed for Waynesboro until we found a rest stop and basically made a blanket fort in the car  for the night.

Saturday, April 25th – ‘Reed’s Gap’

The first white blaze!!!

We had a late start that morning and drove the last little bit in order to arrive at what we thought Reed’s Gap near Waynesboro. We were about a half an hour out and the gas light came on (classic crazy road trip event). By the time we arrived at what we thought to be Reed’s Gap it had started to rain. We began to see some signs for the Priest, thinking that wasn’t supposed to happen we turned around to look at the map in the parking lot. We decided we were in the right place we just started in the wrong direction. So we crossed the road and began the hike to Harper’s Creek Shelter. It was cold and rainy but we had a good time. Harper’s Creek is beautiful and even with all of the clouds the views were incredible. Two hours into the hike we found the shelter which seemed pretty quick. We just thought things like “man we’re so good, look at us go”. It turned out pretty well since Anica was quite cold. So we took out our sleeping bags and tried our very best to keep warm which turned into reading a bunch of old logbook entries. We got some solid advice, my fave being “that stump by the outhouse isn’t a bear, don’t worry it got me too”. After a few hours we were joined by a group of section hikers and a thru hiker named Lunchbox. The Safety Committee stopped by for a bit and we had some good talks about thru hikes. It’s so fun getting to meet all these cool people :)! The night ended with some Phase 10 and some good laughs. I’m really looking forward to this being my life next year.

Harper’s Creek Shelter. Sleeping beside a creek is the absolute best!

Sunday, April 26th – ‘Not Reed’s Gap’

Lunchbox set out first thing in the morning while us section hikers were a little bit slower (okay a lot bit slower). Anica examined the map more thoroughly and figured out that we did not start at Reed’s Gap as we thought. We had spent the entire day trying to convince ourselves we were seeing all of those vistas and landmarks the trail outline had described to us. So instead of doing around 7 miles we had really only done about 2. Apparently we weren’t so good at hiking super fast (surprise, surprise). We had two options: 1) hike back to our car the way we came in, or 2) essentially hike the entire loop that day (which was completely doable). Since we drove for 14hrs to do this hike we figured we had better do the second option because really option 1 wasn’t really a good option at all.

What we did.

What we were supposed to do

We set out shortly after. It wasn’t raining but it was a foggy, chilly morning which was actually really nice for the uphill climb we had. We eventually came to a beautiful vista where there was an incredible view of what I’m pretty sure was The Priest. As the day went on we even got some sunshine. The Mau Har trail led us down in a valley with some gorgeous waterfalls. I really liked being down there following along the streams. We made it back to our car by 4:30 that afternoon. We figured out the shortest route to a gas station and luckily ended up coasting most of the way!

we hiked that. NBD. 😀

Monday, April 27th – Back to the Homeland
The rest of our road trip back to Ontario was relatively uneventful. We drove to Waynesboro for some food and beer the night before and made it to Maryland where we slept in a Walmart parking lot. After hearing about the wonders of American Walmart’s camping section we discovered how cheap you could find things like Sawyer Water Filters (which you can only get at ONE store in Ontario that might as well be in the middle of no where). We made a little detour to check out an REI since we fell in love with Big Agnes’ mtnGLO and Canada does not carry it yet. Also the fact that neither of us had even been to an REI before. Verdict: it’s pretty similar to MEC except for the membership perks. Which I’m actually pretty jealous of.

The remainder of the driving went smoothly. We ran into a little trouble with toll routes after spending the last of our American money on diesel but luckily they took our Canadian money. It was a funny moment of panic as we drove onto the highway only to realize that there were tolls literally right after we used all our money.

It was a rad adventure. It’s always to exciting to see the new sights and have things go not according to plan. SO FLIPPING STOKED ABOUT NEXT YEAR! I don’t know how it’s possible to wait!

“Adventure is Worthwhile”

This week has been full of school work. Recently this seems to be the theme, which makes sense since I am a student. My current project is to read an article from the most recent issue of Conservation Biology and do 3 presentations on that article. The article I was assigned was entirely about a statistical approach of determining if conservation action is required AKA the most boring article ever. It’s a new kind of challenge to stay excited and focused on these studies. But it definitely helps to know the end is in sight, graduation is only 4 months away!!

It’s been hard to settle back into the student life since Proságo. I’ve been left with a lasting impact about the importance of adventure in learning. The traditional go to class, write an essay, and take exams style of education is great for some but it is definitely not the best way to learn. Putting yourself outside of your comfort zone is where the learning happens.

I’ve been feeling rather discouraged lately when I think about how I spent this year. I have spent most of it indoors (whether at home, school or work) and have spent most of it day dreaming of what’s to come. It’s so easy to get lost in a dream world but as Dumbledore would say “it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live”. And for these past 6 months I feel as though I have forgotten how to live. The chapter in my life involving Peterborough is coming to an end and I have been treating it as such. I did not try and make new connections or truly invest in those around because I know it is all going to be over soon. It is a horrible mindset to have. It is so important to make the most out of every single opportunity; coasting through life is just not an option or rather it shouldn’t be.

Anyways… It’s got me thinking about what my time on the AT will be like. It will also be a temporary phase of my life. I fully intend on putting my all into that experience but I wouldn’t put my all into Peterborough simply because I didn’t consider it an adventure? It seems silly really because as Peter Pan put it “to live will be an awfully big adventure”

A man practices the art of adventure when he heroically faces up to life. When he has the daring to open doors to new experiences. When he is unafraid of new ideas, new theories and new philosophies. When he has the curiosity to experiment. When he breaks the chain of routine.

– Wilfred Peterson

Ice Ice Baby

This weekend I travelled up to Haliburton to do a late Christmas dinner with my family (yay for a never ending Christmas time). It was so great to spend time up there. There was lots of snow (well more than we have here in Peterborough) and as Lorelai Gilmore would say “I love snow. Everything’s magical when it snows, everything looks pretty”. Winter is seriously my favourite time of year. It’s means my favourite activities, landscapes, sunsets, and attire.

Snowy sunsets are the best.

selfiez for dayz

Last winter I absolutely fell in love with ice climbing. I was incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to climb almost everyday. I’ve missed it heaps since the season started. Luckily, my brother is the BEST and took me climbing on Medeba’s wall on Saturday. It felt so good to climb again. I love the feeling of a good axe throw and when your muscles start to burn. It’s just the best sport.

First lap of the season!!

“Another picture?!”

After a year of waiting I FINALLY got an ice climbing wound (or scratch?). It may be small but it bled!

 

It made me miss adventure. I know there’s adventure in the day to day life but the thrilling, new, challenging adventures are amazing. Life these days mostly consists of working at the mall and school (I recently started taking two courses at Trent). I’m really looking forward to the exciting adventures that 2016 will bring! It’s been a struggle not to let the anticipation take over my life. There are still about 14 months until we leave for the AT. It is going to an AMAZING adventure.

“Why?” you ask?

So I’m not very good at this whole blogging thing. Writing has never  been something that has come easily to me. So naturally in my spare time I’ve been doing all things AT except writing a blog post (aka researching gear and starting Appalachian Trials). I never really know what to write about so bear with me…

I just started to keep a journal about my plans, gear options, and that big bad budget. I’ve started to jot down my thoughts as to why I want to embark on this crazy adventure. So many people have asked me a million and one why questions and I know I need to have answers that show how much this means to me and show the determination I know I have to complete this task. So here goes…

Just over 3 weeks ago I got into a car accident while driving to my best friend’s wedding in my Grandparents car. I was at fault. It was awful. I was alone and scared and was letting the guilt eat me away. But I was also so blessed to be okay. Thankfully, no one had life threatening injuries. After I was dropped off at the hotel I was on the phone with my Mom and it dawned on me – if the insurance didn’t cover the accident I will lose any hope of doing the AT in 2016. That feeling of utter disappointment washed over me. Now thankfully the insurance covered the car so that’s real good news for me. I don’t know if this whole situation is completely over but even that small amount of good news was just was I needed to hear. It made me realize how truly important this hike is to me. Call me crazy, but I AM bound and determined to do whatever it takes to hike those 2200 miles to Mt. Katahdin.

Here is a short summary of my reasons:

1. Adventure. I want to actively seek adventure in my life.
2. Simplicity. I am addicted to technology and that NEEDS to change.
3. Creation. “I yearn for mountains I’ve never even seen” So I intend to see them.
4. Me. I want to learn more about myself and what I can accomplish.

Doubts and My Reaction to Them

This past week, Medeba sent out their newsletter, which had a little blurb about the three of us who joined the staff team last year. In mine, it mentioned my intent to hike the AT in 2016. Since then, I have heard from several people asking me, “Are you serious?”, “What are you thinking?”, and “Why would you let them publish that?”. Truth is, I asked them to publish it. I think a part of me needed them to publish it, to make it real.

I have been a little concerned about making the commitment to hike so far in advance, knowing myself and my inclination to make impulsive decisions. I keep wondering what other random thing will pop up in my life that will prevent me from going. We’re planning to leave in about 16.5 months. That’s a LONG time! So many things could happen between now and then. I could get a really great job offer, suffer an injury, fall in love, lose my savings for some reason, or any of a number of other things. There will inevitably be things that happen in the next year and a half that will make me second guess this decision.

However, I have decided that this is something that I really want to do. And the more time I’ve had to think about it, the more convinced I am that I need to give this my best shot. I don’t want to look back and wish I had tried. I have also realized that this is great practice for the moments on the trail when I ask myself these same questions. My positive reactions to doubts, other peoples’ and my own, will build a habit so that I will be able to react positively when I have the same feelings, only probably much more amplified, on the trail.

Having had these doubts, I’ve been grateful for the opportunities in my life that have taught me about myself. Through camp and my youth group, I’ve got enough self-awareness to keep my head on straight in a hurricane. One thing I’ve learned about myself over the years is that music motivates me, and can completely turn my day around. So I’ve decided that I’m going to start compiling a super-playlist of ridiculously motivational music. Disclaimer: I’m really cheesy… Other Disclaimer: I don’t necessarily agree with every word of every song, or everything displayed in every music video.

Song #1: Bon Jovi – It’s My Life

Song #2: Selah – You Raise Me Up

Song #3: Muse – Survival (Here’s an example of a line I don’t agree with: “I won’t forgive, vengeance is mine”. But the song is still super energizing and makes me want to get up and do something with my life.)

And I will continue to build this fun list as the year goes on. Stay tuned for more fun!

Why would you want to do that?

That is undoubtedly the most common response when I tell people that I am going to hike the AT.

Actually, among those who know me well, the most common response is, “but you hate hiking!” Which is actually sort of true, and begs some explanation, hence this post.

I don’t understand hiking without purpose. Well, that’s not entirely true. I understand it from an intellectual, theoretical standpoint, but would never be motivated to go and walk around all day, just to end up back where I came from.

To which you may think, “So you’re going to drive down to Georgia, walk to Maine, and then ultimately end up back where you came from… how is that any different?”

Some of the major differences are:

• The length of time
• A clearly established goal
• The lack of shortcuts
• The hiking community

I’m sure there are others, but I will explain these ones as some of my major motivations for choosing this hike.

The length of time

We will be almost completely removed from the comforts of our regular lives, and only have access to the things that we carry with us. Doing this for an extended period of time will put in perspective those things that are really important in life. I will gain a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities by living for so long without the ‘stuff’ that I currently hold so dearly. In preparation for the hike, I am going to be getting rid of a lot of the things I currently own, and keep in storage (aka my mother’s basement) only what is actually necessary for when I come back. It will be an effective way of starting with a clean slate as far as my possessions are concerned.

A clearly established goal

The goal is pretty obvious: Katahdin. Of course, we’ll have to break the trail up into sections for mental mini-goals, so that we don’t go crazy, but that is the ultimate goal. Walk until you get to the end of the trail. Having that goal sets it apart from a day-hike or hiking in a circle (for some reason, that is a huge mental block for me). I am definitely a goal-oriented person. Defining a goal, and then working to achieve that goal, is the best way for me to mentally structure my life. When I don’t have a goal, I am likely to become very lazy and apathetic, which is not who I want to be. Setting and achieving such an extravagant goal will be monumental in my own estimation of what I am capable of accomplishing.

The lack of shortcuts

Sure, there may be some places where the trail splits, and we will likely choose the shorter path. But looking at the big picture, we are going to be travelling from point A to point B on foot, and the only option to get there faster is to walk more. I have a tendency to try and find the most efficient way to accomplish any goal. Though that is usually a good thing, it means that I often shy away from hard work. If something doesn’t come easily to me, I usually don’t see it through. This will be an extreme exercise in perseverance and determination. And one of my goals is to really enjoy the trail, so I hope to take my time and really live the experience.

The hiking community

I cannot stress enough how important this point was in deciding to hike. The people who do things like this are really, incredibly cool people (see what I did there?). I am so looking forward to meeting other hikers, and getting to know their stories, and the reasons that people decide to go on an adventure of this magnitude.

So all this to say, I’m not someone who you would expect to pack up and hike for half a year. But I’ve given it a lot of thought, and am excited for the challenge and the rewards that will come with accomplishing this goal.