For me, the AT is home. I have hiked many a mile, spent many nights enjoying the mountains. It passes to the east of me, along the visible mountain tops that extend in both directions, north and south. I have not traversed the entire trail but have hiked the portions across the Smokies northward to around Damascus, Virginia many times.
Having talked with several “through hikers” on occasion, I was put off by their obsessive thoughts of miles per day and or elevation gained. By speeding along, they missed the inherent subtlety of where they are and just being.
They missed the glory of the acres of Catawba Rhododendron and the spectacular blaze of the orange wild azaleas. They missed the tastes of the water taken from the many springs along the way. They missed the joy of traipsing through a carpet of Bluets, or the rarity of Gray’s Lilly.
But,that’s just me.
I’m not a hiker, but that would certainly be the point for me: The glory of this beautiful world we’ve been blessed with.