Lucky Relic

I met with Heather today, A.K.A Morning Glory which was her trail name, for being exceedingly chipper at daybreak, and in two hours she answered all 106 of my questions…she IS an amazing woman. She hiked the trail after designing an outdoor adventure for school and in three months had planned for her 4 ½ month tour of the 2,000mile long footpath.

Yes, there is a thing called “Naked Hiking Day” on the AT which takes place on the first day of summer at which time you can be “bear” bottomed. At the halfway point in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, thru-hikers can enter the ½ gallon of ice cream challenge. Thru-hikers mostly talk about “food, digestion and pooping; its color, shape and size” She craved Orange juice and a hot shower from civilization, while she lavished in the simplicity of the woods. She struggled with finding the balance between companionship and solitude on the trail. A few key items for hygiene on the footpath include: foot powder to reduce the stench, rubbing alcohol to prevent infection, and petroleum jelly to reduce friction; a great feat for feet. She suggested that “entering a hike with someone is like entering a marriage: you need to be upfront about the rules and remember that this is your journey." She never wanted to give up and knew that she was going to see it through from the moment she planned the hike.

I learned that you are able to make a stove out of a couple of coke cans. Below is the link to a great website that explains how you CAN make one of these stoves:

http://how2dostuff.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-make-pocket-stove-from-soda-can.html

Basically you cut the bottoms off of two cans, fit them together, poke holes around the edges, poke holes in the middle, fill with alcohol and ignite. Other than it taking longer to heat up, the stove is a less expensive and lighter alternative.

I was curious to know if Heather had any emotional breakdowns on the trail. Let me explain. Last summer I worked for my dad’s construction company. And, no, I was not answering phones and doing secretarial work as everyone usually presumes, instead, I was doing everything from framing to siding along with LOTS of sweeping and trips to the dumpster. I was working with my brothers and my dad’s foreman and there were three times during the summer, which usually coalesced with “code red” where I would disappear behind the dumpster, one time in the pouring rain, to ball my eyes out. I don’t think anyone would argue that the brains of men and women are wired completely differently and I usually read into how I was directed to getting them tools or fixing a mistake too emotionally. “You have to take the emotion out of it” they would tell me, and I tried to do this, but words stuck to me like glue. Heather said that she experienced a lot of emotional times while she reflected about her life journey and the state of the world and that these days were very cathartic for her and she preferred to hike alone. 

In terms of physically dealing with the “red plaque” they have what is called a Diva Cup for women which is a small funnel that can be inserted and used to collect  “natures’ offerings” then be dumped off the trail. According to Heather it is “a comfortable, earth friendly and safe alternative to tampons.” This way waste does not have to be kept in your bag as bear bate.

Heather ended up shaving her head half-way through the trail, because she was sick of it being matted and tangled. One time she hitch-hiked into town and was picked up by a guy who greeted her by saying, “How’s it going bud?” once he realized she was a woman he got “a bit weirded out.” I asked her if she thought it was beneficial being perceived as a man on the trail, and she said while her golden locks had invited a lot of attention her shaved head discouraged company. I had joked about gluing facial hair to myself to deter men and reduce the possibility of assault or harassment. I guess too much or too little hair in the right spots could do the trick! I don’t think I would actually do this, it would probably be too itchy.

After reaching Mt. Katahdin, Heather stepped unwillingly onto the fast tracks of civilization without breaks. Coming out of the woods accustomed to living a life of necessity—eating, moving, sleeping, and conversing—her life had become instantly filled with school, schedules, appointments and traffic. In an effort to reclaim the simplicity of the life she once experienced on the trail she moved out to Arizona to live among the homeless. “It was the closest I could be to the trail, these people had no home and carried all of their possessions which was not much.   

One of the 106 questions I asked Heather was if she kept anything for her protection while she was on the trail. She explained that her school mates were trying to get her to carry a gun, be accompanied by a black belt or be guarded by a pit bull, but instead, she had her lucky coin. This 1979 Susan B. Anthony coin has traveled from the East to the West coast in the pocket of a biker who believed it would keep him lucky and it did. This same coin was given to Heather, in 1999 who kept it with her as she trekked over 2,000 miles from Springer Mountain to Mt. Katahdin. “I’ve been waiting to give this to the next person,” she said as she walked over to the little box she kept on her windowsill. I was filled with honor. This was a pivotal moment for the two of us, she was passing on one of her only artifacts from hiking the AT and I was receiving a token from a woman whose footsteps I’m following. “This coin has a lot of positive energy in it,” she said as she handed it over to me. Now as I turn the lucky charm in my hand I can definitely feel it.