Biding the Wintertide 

“Wholehearted living is about engaging with our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion and connection to wake up in the morning and think, ‘No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.’ It’s going to bed at night thinking, yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.” – Brene Brown

In the time between section hikes I am experiencing a bit of FOMO. I follow a few Appalachian Trail hiking groups on social media, and I see a lot of people getting ready for, or starting, their 2024 thru-hikes and I’m sulking from behind my screen. In the two months since my last section hike, and consequently my last blog post, I’ve had some amazing life moments. The holidays were great. I have been traveling but more so for work now so I haven’t felt called to write about those trips. I turned 41 a few weeks ago and celebrated at a Michelin star restaurant in DC where the chicken wing was stuffed and topped with caviar. I got to work remotely from a hotel pool in Miami, spent some time in Yosemite (where I basically stayed in bed with Covid ,)- all these wonderful moments have been filling what sometimes feels like a void. The only true void has been my lack of writing, really.

We can’t always be on the go, on the trail and in life. Those I know who try burn out pretty hard and fast. It’s easy to view the “times in between” in life as a waste. The time in between can be anything from the big gaps between jobs, partners, children, to the small gaps between seasons, projects, even meals. While it may be an overused analogy, it’s true that the view from the top of a mountain is much more spectacular if you’ve started from the bottom. To get from one peak to the next, time and energy has to be spent in between. I got to thinking about how important it is to respect the down times. So while at times I feel cooped up, and have FOMO looking at the 2024 thru-hikers setting out, I can remind myself that all these moments in between are no less worthy of reflection, and even a few keystrokes.

Best of luck AT thru-hikers as you start out in the coming weeks. I’ll be with you in spirit, and hopefully soon out there on the trail.

-Liz