During our three weeks so far on the trail, it has been fascinating to observe and adjust to the culture of thru-hikers. Striving for practicality and minimalism, we have quickly learned to eschew excess to make the hike easier. For physical possessions, one must strike a delicate balance between lacking gear and lugging around excess weight. Often times hikers will leave unwanted food and gear in "hiker boxes" at hostels, motels, and outfitters that are frequented by thru-hikers. My best find so far is a capilene long underwear base layer, well worth the leftover bag of grits I left in a box down the road. I didn't particularly need the base layer and ended up sending it back to Charlotte; apparently my hoarding mentality remains for now.
However we have clung to some creature comforts, even earning our group the trail name "The Comfort Boys." Our meals on the first night of camping after resupplying in town are luxurious by hiker standards. After our resupply in Hiawassee we cooked beef tips over the campfire, and after Franklin we filled up on presto tortellini. If it is not actively raining we often get a fire going after finishing our hike for the day, and usually end up cooking dinner over the open flames in lieu of stoves.
In the refuge of the trail, hikers also discard their given names for creative trail names that offer some level of anonymity. From Bambi to Batman, a trail name describes or tells a story about its owner in comedic fashion. As the fastest hiker up big climbs, Kyle has earned the name Gazelle, while Trent's slow and steady pace made him an obvious candidate for the name Turtle. As I insist on fires for all but the wettest nights, Fireman seemed an appropriate name for me. Our favorite hiker so far is named Loon; more on him in another post.
But more importantly than giving up comforts of life, hikers gain a level of freedom and flexibility that is not easily attainable in normal society. We have blank calendars and nowhere else to be but the trail. Our only deadlines are self-imposed, and presently it is time for us to get back on to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. See you on the other side in about 7 days.
