Jenni is a few steps behind me nursing tendonitis in her left foot. AK is right behind me. Janet is two days ahead of us (my trail name for her is “Next Shelter”). We are walking on a high ridge and the trail is narrow and rocky. There is little room on either side before the mountain drops off sharply. I really have to go to the bathroom. And not for a quick squat, either. Finally I find a small ledge where the mountain is held in place by a tree and an outcropping of bedrock. I grab my toilet paper from my backpack. I had run out on the second day; fortunately a thru hiker named Beans gave me a full roll.
I step over the ledge, pull down my running shorts and hold on to the tree trunk. I didn’t bother to dig a cat hole, but at this point, who cares? Seconds later, the flies are attracted to me and start buzzing around.
What am I doing here? Why am I attempting to hike 75 miles on the Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park instead of attending my law school reunion? I could be sleeping at the Williamsburg Lodge instead of in a stone shelter with no electricity. I could be drinking Appletinis instead of Propel. (Even though my trail name is Happy Hour, I foolishly left my martinis behind). I could be eating peanut soup instead of Ramen and tuna. I could be smelling boxwood hedges instead of the pungent body odor of thru hikers. Some of these thru hikers have apparently not taken a shower since they got on the trail over a month ago.
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| Narrow, rocky trail |
