It Just Doesn't Matter

No, no.. I'm not giving up, and I'm not losing my mind.  I have just realized that the little setbacks and problems just don't matter.  There are things such as bad weather, low mileage days, and equipment issues that pop up that do nothing more than provide a bit of annoyance for a short time.

When my backpack broke at Chestnut Knob Shelter, there was no point in getting pissed off.  I looked at the problem, looked at what I had on hand, and I fixed the issue well enough to get me into Pearisburg a couple days later.  My left shoulder was a bit sore because of the malfunctioning backpack, but that went away within a day of receiving my new pack.

When my tent got destroyed in a hail storm at Rice Creek Shelter, I slept in the shelter and headed back to Pearisburg the next day to get a new tent sent out to me.  The worst part of this situation was having to pay for a bunk in a hostel for an extra 3 or 4 days, but my body was able to rest and recover during that time.  The bonus for all that was the rotisserie chickens at the Food Lion across the street.  The bird population in Virginia was impacted by my eating habits in those 4 days. 

When the thunderstorms kick up in the afternoons, I just hunker down in a safe place and wait for the storm to pass over.  It is happening on an almost daily basis here in Virginia, so it is becoming my chance to stop, rest my feet, and grab a snack.  The first storm I encountered tried to send lightning bolts through my face, but due to my superior reactions and speed, I dodged everything that mother nature sent my way.  My daily mileage is ending up where I want it to, it just takes a bit longet when I have to wait out a storm.

All of these things would have pissed me off in the past, and put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day.  It seems that being out here on the AT is giving me some ability to just not worry about the stuff that doesn't really matter when it's all said and done.  It's just walking, and sometimes it isn't quite as easy as other thimes, but it's all just walking.