Twelve Days until Send Off
March 12, 2024...Training
Dale has been spending some time training (with a trainer) in the gym, gym time on his own, as well as hiking. He says he is in pretty good shape. Sunday, he logged 8 miles on the trail (no pack), Monday trail maintenance and a shorter hike with the dog, today hiking with a pack and tomorrow with the trainer.
Dale knows that this hike will be very different than the section hikes that he and Ben did. One of the biggest changes is he has to change his mindset from trying to prepare for every contingency to letting things play out. In the past, Dale has spent countless hours preparing food to make sure that all bases were covered. This time he seems to be much less concerned. Is this good or bad? Time will tell. He is truly trying to think like a through hiker regarding these things. (I will be a phone call away if things go wonky. Trial and error may play a part.)
David, Dale's hiking partner, has never done a thru hike, but he is an experienced hiker. David has been doing his due diligence researching the ins and outs of thru hiking as well as food, clothing and gear needed. It sounds like David is going to have the research down by send off.
A big concern for me is that thru hiking with a friend, as opposed to your son, is very different. These guys are going on a "blind date" that is going to last six months or more. We will see how these two men, both introverts, manage good communication, resilience, and the tenacity to tolerate extreme conditions. This is real life survivor where there is not a weekly vote off the island!
Expectations are high. Stay tuned for updates as the story unfolds.
Sharing a memory of from 2007. Ben and Dale hiking in Tennessee...a very wet year for a hike!
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