Mason-Dixon

So many milestones:  2000 miles a few days ago, then 1000 miles on the AT itself, then the West Virginia and Maryland state borders.

I can see hikers responding to these artificial but still real milestones. "I just want to be done with Virginia", "I'll get to Harper's Ferry and then decide what's next", "I want to do the four state challenge".

I'm goal driven by nature. Very goal driven. It is such a prevalent strength that in excess it sometimes it becomes a weakness.

Much of my PCT hike was an inner dialogue. "I'm not committing to finishing the entire trail because if I do then that obsession will take over. I'm just going to hike as long as I am enjoying it." But I still made sure I clocked 20 miles each day and kept calculating completion days. I never really convinced myself there wasn't a goal. 

On this hike-paddle there is no question about the goal. Read most of my initial hiking entries and you will see they are about miles, enough so that previous hiking buddies cautioned me to slow down and enjoy what this trail has to offer.

Still, I watch the milestones. As of this afternoon I have completed more miles on the AT than the Florida paddle and connector hike. I recalculate my hiking stats daily (19.4 miles per hiking day, 17.5 including zero days). See what I mean? 

I end the 19 mile day by crossing the Mason-Dixon line and entering Pennsylvania. A milestone.

The difference between North and South is a big deal in the South, with its proud history. I was in the south for six months though and see lots of differences within the South. Gunshots ring out throughout the swamps and backwoods of the gulf region as locals get their evening meal. In South Georgia locals caution us by asking if we ever saw the movie Deliverance. South Florida with retirees and immigrants has a short local history. Central Georgia has embraced the civil rights struggles as a joint past and moved onward. North Carolina and Tennessee begin with southern culture, manners, and gentle speech and throw in some hillbilly music and moonshine. Virginia is history, history, and history. There is no single South, except for the commonality as being distinct from the North. Maybe they share a common thread as churchgoers - this is the Bible Belt. 

Neither they nor I know for sure how westerners fit in. "Are you a Yankee?"  I don't think so. I'm not Southern either. But as we hike North both Spirit and I are intrigued by the South Appalachians. Good people and beautiful country. 

In another day and a half I will cross AT mile 1088, exactly half of the AT. Another milestone.