The peace and fulfillment of yesterday has continued on. There are a number of things that I did not accomplish this summer on the trail. I know, however, that the trail accomplished everything in me that I needed.
September 5, 2013
The path of the AT is marked from Georgia to Maine with white rectangles of paint, or white blazes. Usually they are found on trees, but sometimes are painted on rocks or on posts driven into the ground along the trail. Although the trail is better marked in some places than others, most of the time you can't go wrong by following the white blazes through the woods. (I have, however, gotten turned around and had to determine if I was following north or going south!)
The are another set of blazes painted on side trails along the way. These are a strong blue color. They signal pathways to water or shelters. Sometimes they lead to a road or a hostel. Occasionally a blue trail leads around a section of the AT or offers a shortcut to the hiker. Most through hikers look down upon these shortcuts and refer to those who use them as "blue blazers." While every through hiker must use these from time to time, through hikers will avoid them as a rule, unless it means retracing their steps back to insure that they don't bypass the white blazed path.
There is a third blaze in the hikers vocabulary, the yellow blaze. This refers to the stripes painted on the highway and speaks of the through hiker who finds a ride around different trail sections as they travel north. To be a "yellow blazer" is to move close to the bottom of the social ladder. The problem is not that they skip parts of the trail, for everyone is here to hike for themselves. The problem is that they hide it from others.
I guess I am guilty of being a yellow blazer. I have jumped several hundred miles north of my last mark on the trail to be able to finish the hike into MD before I run out of summer and funds. On the other hand, although I am technically still a through hiker (hiking the trail for just one season) I am also resigned to the fact that I can not finish the journey this year. In a few days time I will officially become one of the thousands of people who are "section hiking" the trail. As a section hiker, any piece of the trail I complete adds together to form the whole when finally completed. In other words, I am in transition. Today, I am one of the last through hikers on the trail heading north. In a few days time, I will be a section hiker who has done a big chunk of the southern trail. At this point, both are fine by me.
The peace and fulfillment of yesterday has continued on. There are a number of things that I did not accomplish this summer on the trail. I know, however, that the trail accomplished everything in me that I needed. Blazing New Trails was a success for the Disabilities Ministry and looks like it is opening doors for the on-line community and training retreat to move forward. As for me personally, the trail has been a teacher, a challenge, a discipline, and an adventure. It has changed me forever. I wish I could have gone farther. I wish I could have finished. At the same time I know that this summer opened and closed doors in my life that couldn't have happened in the routine rhythms of a normal season.
Am I going home to a job? I'm not really sure. Do I know what the future holds? Not a bit more than when I started. I have learned a few things that I will take home with me. I have learned that I can do more than I thought possible. I have learned that each day is a gift that rises up out of the day before it and leads you to the day after. Use it well to get where you need to go.
I have learned a thousand other things that I would love to share with you all, and hope to in the days to come. As for now, it's time to pull it all together and finish this part of the journey well. I'm headed toward my personal finish line!
The path of the AT is marked from Georgia to Maine with white rectangles of paint, or white blazes. Usually they are found on trees, but sometimes are painted on rocks or on posts driven into the ground along the trail. Although the trail is better marked in some places than others, most of the time you can't go wrong by following the white blazes through the woods. (I have, however, gotten turned around and had to determine if I was following north or going south!)
The are another set of blazes painted on side trails along the way. These are a strong blue color. They signal pathways to water or shelters. Sometimes they lead to a road or a hostel. Occasionally a blue trail leads around a section of the AT or offers a shortcut to the hiker. Most through hikers look down upon these shortcuts and refer to those who use them as "blue blazers." While every through hiker must use these from time to time, through hikers will avoid them as a rule, unless it means retracing their steps back to insure that they don't bypass the white blazed path.
There is a third blaze in the hikers vocabulary, the yellow blaze. This refers to the stripes painted on the highway and speaks of the through hiker who finds a ride around different trail sections as they travel north. To be a "yellow blazer" is to move close to the bottom of the social ladder. The problem is not that they skip parts of the trail, for everyone is here to hike for themselves. The problem is that they hide it from others.
I guess I am guilty of being a yellow blazer. I have jumped several hundred miles north of my last mark on the trail to be able to finish the hike into MD before I run out of summer and funds. On the other hand, although I am technically still a through hiker (hiking the trail for just one season) I am also resigned to the fact that I can not finish the journey this year. In a few days time I will officially become one of the thousands of people who are "section hiking" the trail. As a section hiker, any piece of the trail I complete adds together to form the whole when finally completed. In other words, I am in transition. Today, I am one of the last through hikers on the trail heading north. In a few days time, I will be a section hiker who has done a big chunk of the southern trail. At this point, both are fine by me.
The peace and fulfillment of yesterday has continued on. There are a number of things that I did not accomplish this summer on the trail. I know, however, that the trail accomplished everything in me that I needed. Blazing New Trails was a success for the Disabilities Ministry and looks like it is opening doors for the on-line community and training retreat to move forward. As for me personally, the trail has been a teacher, a challenge, a discipline, and an adventure. It has changed me forever. I wish I could have gone farther. I wish I could have finished. At the same time I know that this summer opened and closed doors in my life that couldn't have happened in the routine rhythms of a normal season.
Am I going home to a job? I'm not really sure. Do I know what the future holds? Not a bit more than when I started. I have learned a few things that I will take home with me. I have learned that I can do more than I thought possible. I have learned that each day is a gift that rises up out of the day before it and leads you to the day after. Use it well to get where you need to go.
I have learned a thousand other things that I would love to share with you all, and hope to in the days to come. As for now, it's time to pull it all together and finish this part of the journey well. I'm headed toward my personal finish line!
RSS Feed