Fellowship With Wilderness

So yesterday my roommate and I decided to go to Half-Moon Outfitters to ask them a lot of questions about sleeping bags and packs and shoes and the like. We really just wanted to pick their brains about equipment and things.

So we found out a lot of valuable information like that I'm a medium pack size even though I would have thought I was a large. So that's good know. I guess I just have really long legs and a torso that's not quite proportion it. But I think I'd rather have that than a long torso and short legs... Anyway we worked our way from the packs to the shoes. For shoes I think I'm going to invest in some merrels or something like them. I don't want to have to wear big high top heavy ugly boots. I would much rather have something lite and easy to move in. So I need to go back and try some different ones on and decide if I want something like Solomon trail runners or NorthFace ones or some Merrels.

Then I need to get some SmartWool socks and I'm looking forward to those. I've heard great things about those and will probably buy those soon so I can wear them on campus and around.

I also discovered that I probably won't need to get a sleeping bag liner to keep me warmer. The temperature should support my 40 degree bag and I should be warm enough outside at night.

Then one of the guys downstairs in the store overheard that me and my roommate were preparing to hike the AT and started asking us some questions about our plans and seemed very knowledgeable. So then he showed us the section in the store that has books and informational stuff about trails and several were AT specific. Well he asked us if we knew where we were going- what section and I am dumb haha and said "wait, there is more than one part? What?"

Listen, side note is taht I thought he was talking about different trails all in the same area or soemthing like that. I probably can't justify a dumb question like that but whatever.

Emily... so dumb! Tyler, Katie and Sarah were with me and started laughing at my question. So I misunderstood the question and sounded like a fool. The guy we met- his name was Jonathan- was probably like "this girl thinks she can hike the AT? She doesn't know a thing about it... oh great she's going to need help" haha. That was just one of the several odd and ridiculous things I said that day though so lack of sleep was getting to me.

Well anyway I'm very glad that we met him and he seemed knowledgeable and really nice. So we'll probably go back in and ask him lots of questions.

And then me and Katie are meeting on Tuesday of this week to discuss our route and check out maps and decide which section we want to do- which will allow us to begin to plan more of our trip.

I'll update on which section soon!!

The name of my blog comes from a bumper sticker for the AT that me and my roommate are planning on hiking this summer for two weeks. I love the wording. The complete quote is on a plaque at Springer Mountain at Georgia which describes the AT as "a footpath for those who seek fellowship with the wilderness." This alone makes me want t to hike the AT that much more. I cannot wait to go this summer and fellowship. The term fellowship makes me think of God and I want to have fellowship with him and all that he created.

I just bought a new sleeping bag last week which just came in. It's a 40 degree bag down and I think it will be suitable in the night for me.

Next week my roommate Katie and I are going to dinner with a girl that hiked the entire Appalachian Trail this past summer so she'll be able to give us useful tips. And a friend of mine is going to help us with our route and another person has had useful advice for us too.

I think that at this point the way that people always have things to say and questions to ask and advice to give when they find out I'm going this summer encourages me in knowing that fellowship will not only be with the wilderness. I'll meet people now until the time that I go that will form friendships based on our soul connection of this 2175 mile trail. Once I'm actually there I know more relationships will develop with people we meet on the trail.

Fellowship- I'm ready to embrace every form of the word in every relationship I encounter on my journey from now until the last day of my travels.