Since
I moved to North Carolina, 3 years ago, I have found that I very much enjoy
hiking. I’m pretty proud of myself when I leisurely knock out a 3-mile loop at
Eno River State Park. That said, what I call hiking is humorous compared to
what a former coworker, and good friend of mine, is in the process of doing.
This Spring Mr. Schwing put his career on hold to follow his heart, and
hike the Appalachian Trail. The entire Appalachian Trail. In June, he started his
trek in Mt. Katahdin, Maine.
Before
he is finished (in less than 500 miles now!) he will have entered, and
exited, 5 national parks over the course of 6-ish months. He will have hiked
2,185.3 miles through 14 states.
That is 5,500,000 steps (give or take). 5.5 MILLION steps! Occasional
tweets note his progress (and reassure friends and family that he is, in fact,
still alive). Inspiring Instagram photos share the magestic scenery he is
trekking through. And this morning I got a text from Schwing. A care package I
had mailed intersected his path in Damascus, VA.
It
was a challenging process deciding what to pack, and send him. Who am I kidding? Hiking the AT in its entirety is challenging. Deciding what to pack, and send
him, took a little bit of consideration. Consideration because he will have
three options when he receives the package. 1) consume the contents immediately
2) pack them for later or 3) give some away/leave them for others. When hiking
nearly a marathon daily, the less weight the better. So, he was sent all kinds
of nonsense. Here is the break down…
- 2
packages of natural and unscented wet wipes – don’t want bears sniffing him
out, and dude probably needs a shower.
- 10
assorted tea bags - the guy enjoys his tea.
- 12
Starbucks VIA instant coffee - although he is a tea drinker, he can trade or
earn some trail magic (aka random acts of kindness), +12 xp!
- 6
Justin’s nut butters - the more calories consumed the better.
- 3
mini liquors including Maker’s Mark, Jameson, and Patron - for sterilization
purposes or bug repellant, of course.
- 1
bottle of Trappistes Rochefort 10 -
thoughtfully provided by a friend of ours… Good luck chilling that beautiful
beer, Schwing!
Realizing
he won’t carry it all with him, I hope that he can make another hiker’s day by
giving them some coffee, honey peanut butter, or a stiff shot. Boost that trail
magic karma!
As
an aside: I could hear the single bottle of beer, and all 3 mini booze bottles,
slosh around as I set the package on the post office counter. My tell-tale
package. Glug-glug. Glug-glug. Thank you USPS for not asking me a single
question about its contents. Cheers!
After
the crazy amount of time, the crazy amount of miles, and the crazy, crazy
amount of steps, I have this vision of Schwing emerging from the wilderness. He
is changed both mentally and physically - a sense of enlightenment, wrapped in a
slender Grizzly Adams package. He has a bird on his left shoulder, and a trail
of small-to-medium-sized mammals following behind him as he emerges triumphantly...
Either that, or he stumbles out of the forest mumbling something about beer,
pizza, and a soft, air-conditioned place to sleep. In either scenario he has
accomplished much, and has a wicked unruly beard.
Whatever
the case may be, I hope the little package helps him along the way.
Top: Seared grit cake,
avocado, pea shoots, poached egg, roasted okra.
