Wanderlust

I'm not sure what it is- the super mild February weather, the hundreds starting their thru hikes or just my frustration from feeling like I'm stuck in a rut- but I'm dying for an adventure. 
My cousin and I are known for our road trips not so much because of where we go, but more for what happens along the way.  Though, when I think about it, it's also because of where we go.  Several years ago we packed up our camping gear and flew across the country to stay at the UFO Ranch in Trout Lake, WA.  And even though we met a Santa Claus look-a-like wearing overalls, an alien T-shirt and a straw hat and holding conversations with an alien head he kept in a dog bed, it probably wasn't the craziest trip we've been on.  Really.
On a trip to the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, WV, we drove through 4 tornadoes, torrential rain that had us searching for a motel (we never found one), fog so think we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of the car, Biblical flooding of the Ohio river and mudslides.  Oh, and we spotted vultures sitting in a dead tree above a rusting hearse while "Dueling Banjos" played on the radio.  And we got shot at while checking out an abandoned asylum. 
Then there was the time we spent the night at the closed West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville.  It was so creepy inside that we took our cat naps outside on the concrete wall in the exercise yard in shifts.  This after being taken on a private tour by some caretaker in a section that was off limits, smelled of burning flesh (from Old Smokey the electric chair's chamber) and ended up being locked in a cell in said off limits area with the aforementioned caretaker we didn't know.  Scarier was the room at the hotel we stayed in that sported a giant bloodstain on the mattress (they kindly flipped the mattress over so I wasn't laying on the stain, but it was still visible), strange leering men in the parking lot and a tub I didn't want to think about using.
So, I'm ready for adventure.  Ready to hit the trail or hit the road.  Or hit the road to head to a section of the trail that is more than an hour away.  I'm ready to go check out some of the spooky places I've researched for the Haunted Appalachian Trail book I'm still writing.  I just need to go.
I guess it's happening to me the way it happened to John Muir: "The mountains are calling, and I must go."

Roam If You Want To

I finally ventured out last evening on my first walk/hike in around a month (or since the physical therapist told me to take it easy).  After managing to walk around Camporee this past weekend without too much difficulty, I figured it was time for a little more.  Rather than hit an actual trail, my mother and I opted to walk down a private lane near her house.  It has one long hill but is otherwise flat.  Just enough to test the waters.   As we walked down the hill, we saw two horses running towards us- not in a fence.  Loose horses are always an interesting thing to deal with so I realized this little walk might end up being a lot more adventurous that I had originally thought.  There was a house near by that had a pasture with a gate open.  My mom went to see if the horses were possibly theirs and see about getting them back home.

In the meantime, I had coaxed one over with a handful of grass.  I took off my sweatshirt and used it as a makeshift rope to keep the horse from running off.  I was at least hoping it would keep the horse from running off because I really didn't want to lose my sweatshirt.  Eventually my mom returned and told me to turn the horse loose.  Apparently the owners let the horses out of the pasture to roam where they want to (I know, the B-52's song is stuck in my head now too).  As a horse person, this is pretty much ridiculous.  There are countless things that could happen to a horse when it's pastured let alone wandering aimlessly in areas you have no control over.  But I can appreciate the horses' desire to roam because that's part of what lead to this back packing business in the first place.
We continued on our way and visited a couple more neighborhood horses (who were appropriately paddocked) before turning around to head back.  I was having very little issue with the muscle injury.  There wasn't really any pain involved, just issue with the muscle being tired quickly- a consequence of not being used for a while I imagine.
Eventually we came to the long hill we had to climb to get home.  The photo doesn't do the hill justice, as it looks almost flat, but believe me, it's a big hill.  And I know it doesn't compare to hills out on the AT, but I haven't climbed anything in a month and hills cause the most pain with my injury.
I managed to make it with only a couple of breaks and I was pleased that the problems I had seemed to be due to lack of conditioning.  Once I get my muscle strength built up, I might actually be okay.
Even this morning I felt okay.  My piriformis muscle is a little tight, but it was much better after some stretching, which I plan to do a few times throughout the day. 

Things are looking a little more hopeful.

All Who Wander

"Not all those who wander are lost" is a line from a poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien that always resonated with me.  While I don't know the specific meaning of the line based on the actual Tolkien book (because I've never read any of his books), for me it says that sometimes you need to journey to find yourself.  That even though some people might think you're floundering around, you're actually learning how to find your way. It's similar to the idea that it isn't the destination that matters but the journey it takes to get there. 

There have been many struggles in my life in the last 20 years- some bigger than others- that had me feeling as though I had completely lost who I was.  I don't really consider it a mid-life crisis but more of a life crisis as I've felt like this for some time.  Just somehow in the life choices I made and the people I encountered and the things that I had to go through, I was not the person I wanted to be.  Or rather I didn't really know anymore what kind of person I wanted to be.  I know I'm not alone in those thoughts.  I'm sure there are many other people out there thinking the same thing.  As I mentioned in my post about how this hiking trip came to be, I had found an old list written on a post-it note of things I wanted to accomplish before I was 30.  I hadn't completed any of them.  And the moment I had it in my mind to plan this trip- even before I actually voiced my intentions to others and actually started to plan the actual logistics- there was a sort of awakening.  Something I thought was lost started trickling back. 
Lately I've had one struggle after another and sometimes I just want to lay my head down and just give up.  Just let the depression take over because it feels easier.  But that little awakening, that little tiny bit of light that started was enough to keep me going.  It's gone from a tiny pinprick to a beam, and every time I struggle, I just focus on this trip. 
I've been learning that it really is the journey that is important.  And by journey I'm not just talking about the actual 40 (or 60) mile hike.  I'm talking about all the planning and prepping that is going on before the actual hike.  Because while preparing, good things have happened.  I've turned an acquaintance into a friend.  I've discovered some health issues before they developed into more serious issues.  I've become healthier by starting to eat better and by joining the gym and being more physically active.  I've been spending quality time with family outside every week- which means my 8 year old son is also outside hiking and not playing a tablet or DS.  I've gained online acquaintances with like minded people on Facebook groups and in doing so I've learned quite a bit.  I've had my long ago interest in the paranormal reignited while doing research about the Appalachian Trail.  And I've begun seriously thinking about writing a book (which was on that post-it note list) about some of the paranormal things I've come across in my research.  And I'm excited.  
This is just the beginning.  This one hike is just the first because I've already set the new goal of completing the entire AT section by section.  I'm liking this new person I'm becoming.