Just as there are lots of firsts in my life, as I know there are in yours, there were also a handful of firsts this next backpacking trip.
For starters, this is my first time staying in a hostel. It was also the first I did not encounter another hiker for the majority of 2 days. While solitude is nice, it’s also kind of nice to know that if you run into trouble, another hiker will most likely be along shortly. I had my first fall (of which I will come to find out won’t be the last but many more in the coming years) I had on the AT.
It’s the first I stayed in a shelter all by myself with no one else sharing the shelter or even the tent spaces in the area. If there is no one else around, I am the only choice that bear will have. It’s the first waterfall I have seen on the AT. And it is also the first time I climbed to the top of a spiney ridge with nothing but drop off down either side. Lots of firsts, including questioning for the first time as to whether I really wanted to stay committed to this thing called section-hiking.
