Who Needs Boots?

Not I, apparently. Retrospectively, deciding to completely alter my choice of footwear 10 miles into the Smokey Mountains maybe wasn't a great idea but it did lead to my longest and most comfortable day thusfar.

Chocos are gifts from god. In the span of 1 hour my toes stopped hurting, my right heel felt like a million bucks and my arches were supported. Sure my socks got a little wet as we trekked trough streams but I will take it if it means I can comfortably do 18 miles a day.

Last night was our last night of glamping for a while and we absolutely made the most of it. I think Turtle (who has since abandoned her trail name) stayed behind but I thankfully have a great new group in Beacon, Trucker, Flip and Beetlejuice. I wish 50/50 had made it all the way to this shelter but he's about 3 miles back. All of my hiking companions are quicker than I but we meet up at the shelter at the end of the night, even if it takes me a bit longer.

It seems like everyone out here has dreadlocks or a trekking beard - I'm feeling a little plain! Maybe I should have cornrowed my hair after all. And everyone has a story. Beacon, who has crazy blonde dreads, has been traveling for years, doing meditation seminars where you don't speak for 10 days. Sometimes he walks shoeless. He's only 20. Diet Coke is walking through the Smokies to Damascus, VA to complete the only part of the trail she has yet to hike. All in all the section hikes have taken her 10 years. She's about 70.

Everyone runs the gamut out here but a few things are true across the board. Everyone has your back and everyone shares a common goal: Katahdin. It brings people together in the most phenomenal of ways and brings out the absolute best in everyone. Never before have I seen people strike up conversation with strangers, share their limited food supply and help others with such abandon. If you can make someone's trip better, you do. No questions asked. You have M&Ms? You eat a few and then pass them around for everyone to share.

Maybe this isn't actually as big a departure from society as I had thought. Maybe, instead, we are doing what we can to get closer to an ideal society - one that functions without judgement and semi-automatic weapons. I haven't quite figured it out but that's what the next several hundred miles are for.