What I Learned On Our Walk

We got home last night from our walk in the woods. It was the longest walk I've ever taken. It lasted three days. We walked from the second highest point on the east coast – Clingman's Dome in Tennessee – across several miles of the Appalachian Trail that skirted the line between Tennessee and North Carolina, through miles of forest land, over the Goshen Prong river where we stopped to swim in the chilly stream and back down the Elkmont Trail.

Here are some things I learned on our walk.

:: Human beings can be selfish and stupid. Someone thoughtlessly (and dangerously) left an empty sardine can in the fire ring outside our first shelter. Because of some idiot's poor choice we were visited by a black bear three times on our first night of camping. I don't blame the bear. It's the human that needs to be shot.

In the interest of full disclosure here, the above picture was not taken on our first night in the woods. I was far too busy fearing that I was about to die to worry about where the camera was. . .this was taken a few days later while we were touring Cade's Cove. However, it is a bear and I saw it with my own two eyes!

:: The choices for potty breaks in the wilderness are slim. It was a self-composting privy the first night or a shovel in the woods the rest of the time. Personally, I quickly came to prefer the shovel in the woods. Ali, on the other hand, appears to love the privy!

:: After you've encountered a bear three times by moonlight, a rattlesnake on the trail in the middle of the afternoon is really no big deal.

:: I learned that there's a TV show called Great Weekends hosted by Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel. Why did I learn that while walking in the woods? See the sleeping bag in this picture? She and I both slept in it!

You have to look hard – it's the sleeping bag on the right. . .and, yeah. . .We attempted to sleep in those "bunks" even with the midnight bear scare!

:: I learned that there is nothing quite as refreshing as mountain river water on your tired body in the late afternoon after a long day of walking. It also does wonders to get rid of the incredible b.o. that one develops after three days on the trail! Possibly the only thing more surprisingly good was the mini Babybel cheese which was in our snack packs! Those little red cheese circles became the currency of trade for the rest of the trip.

:: It wasn't until about half way through that I realized how incredibly gifted our guide Andrea was. She was a combination teacher/motivational speaker/counselor/nurse/bear influencer/chef and architect of our little moving village. She was funny, unflappable in the face of what we feared might be our end at the hands of a hungry bear and most importantly, respectful of each one of us. I want to be like Andrea when I grow up!

That's our fearless leader in the middle!

:: I was reminded that no matter how big I think my life, my worries, my joys or my problems are there are so many things that can put it all in perspective. This tree has been on this earth for more than 300 years. Think of all stories it could tell.

:: As is becoming more and more common for me, I found myself to be the oldest one in our group. I was worried that I would struggle or that I would lag behind, perhaps even slowing everyone else down. At the beginning of the trip Andrea asked each of us what we wanted to take away from our time in the woods. My answer was that I wanted to be proud of my accomplishment and have a sense of confidence about my body.

As the days wore on I slowly began to be proud of my strength. I wasn't always last. I wasn't always slowest. And, I realized that it wouldn't have mattered if I had been. That wasn't what it was about.

Another woman in the group was about my age. I thought that she was nervous about the trip as well. She had told us that she had lost 140 pounds in the last few years but that there were still a lot of people who probably thought she was fat. I sensed that we had a lot of the same reservations about ourselves and our bodies. On the second day out we were walking next to each other on the trail. I said, "I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel kind of proud of myself! How 'bout you?" Her answer summed up the trip – "Proud?? You're kidding me right?I'm fuckin' proud!!!"

Me too Kris. Me too.