Week 1, Jan 1-6
“Yesterday was so last year.” I wrote that in my journal before starting the walk that cheered me up after a bad ending to 2024. I went to bed that night depressed, after a disagreement with people I love. The next day, the start of 2025, I decided to walk before breakfast. My in-laws live on a busy road, but behind their house is a short L that never gets traffic. I walked out, and looked up at the tall loblolly pines and deep blue sky. It was cool but sunny, and the trees reached up to the sky. I hadn’t even reached the bend of the L before my spirit soared, and I knew I would be ok. My shadow reached before me, and the woodsmoke of a fireplace cheered me. I instantly texted my dad, “I’m going to walk every day and measure my steps on the AT, the Appalachian Trail!”
He texted back his standard reply, a thumbs up emoji. He and I are always trying to encourage each other to get out and walk. He is the reason I love to walk. We grew up hiking, backpacking, and in general enjoying nature and the outdoors. Even so, it can be hard to remember, to step outside and take a few minutes to do the things we enjoy. I walked the L two times and returned to the house uplifted and ready to handle anything. Later that day, my dad texted he had gone out to walk as well.
The next morning I did the same, two times on the L. The following day I drove over to a local college and walked the path that circles the campus. It was near sunset, and clouds were threatening from one side, while deep colors decorated the other side of the sky. I thought about my moods, my inability to sometimes control my emotions. I have spent a lot of time reading Stoic books, and I understand there are things I can control and things I can’t. If someone has a bad opinion of me, I can’t control that. If people I love hold opinions I can’t relate to, that isn’t a reason to get upset. I can control me. I can control how I react, how I choose to behave, but I can’t control the opinions of others. Politics and worldview ideas are no reason to destroy relationships. I sigh as I walk. I want the people that think differently than me to understand I’m not choosing to be contrary, I’m not brainwashed, I’m a person who has thought long and hard about my ideas. I want to be a person who listens to other ideas, considers them and then decides what to think. I didn’t do that on New Years Eve. I felt attacked, I reacted sharply and I escalated the problem. No more. It is my duty to be respectful, to approach myself and others with grace. I can do this. I choose walking outdoors and loving people over fear and anger.
We drove back home, through sunshine, followed by heavy clouds, snow and limited visibility. I watched snow fall on a field, horses galloping towards the barn. It was beautiful but also a little scary as we drove over slick spots. Eventually we left the snow and drove into a brilliant sunset. The next two days I had no walking, but finally we made it home. This morning, day 6, I was in the kitchen when I heard the beautiful call of Sandhill cranes. I ran outside in my shirtsleeves to watch the cranes fly over my house, in groups of 20 - 30 birds. They circled over the park down the street and headed south. Shivering, I grinned, watching them fly. Before walking the dog I put on my heavy coat and a hat, and out the door we went. Dog was so happy to be out walking. The wind blew, and my cheeks grew numb.
My favorite part of the walk is on an alleyway like road behind my house. My yard butts up to the empty lot of the neighbor, and on the other side of the road is simply trees, both pine and hardwood. As we walked that section snow began to fall, just little spits of snow. Maybe the cranes knew something I didn’t, as they headed south. We walked from our neighborhood to the circle of a nearby neighborhood, and saw no other people. The wind was cold, and the sky grey, but the walk was perfect. I passed a sign in front of a house, declaring Trump 2025, Take America Back. I wonder who he thinks he needs to take America back from. I bet he watches Fox News. If so the sign owner probably thinks we are under attack from “others” and “liberals.” This is the kind of thinking that makes me sad and angry. I walked a little faster, then breathed in deeply the cold air. I was not going to let him and those that think like him destroy my day, or my country. Love and Optimism, that will be rallying cry for 2025.
I will walk, I will love, and I will bring optimism to the discussion. I have walked 6 miles, rounded. At this rate my mood will be great, but I won’t even finish the approach trail to the AT.
The approach trail begins at Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia, and many people say this trail is one of the hardest parts of the hike. It’s a good shake down for the longer hike, as it climbs up a steep grade. The trail begins in the park, and is mostly wooden steps that stop at the top of the waterfall. If you wish to make it to Springer Mountain and the start of the AT, it is 8 long miles. Years ago I was walking this trail and I passed a man struggling with an overloaded backpack. He was stopping every few feet, and breathing hard. I asked him if he was going to Springer and he said he planned on going all the way to Maine. I hope he made it. Today I am nearly at the top of the approach trail. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll make it to Springer. Will I make it to Maine? We shall see.
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