We Passed The Halfway Point!

I was feeling elation, accomplishment, excitement, but it was tinged with a little doubt, apprehension, and a bit of tiredness and mental fatigue when we crossed the halfway point of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail yesterday. Actually, most of those feelings came later in the evening since we originally hiked right past the wooden sign without noticing it. I think it's difficult thing for most people to comprehend (even us at times) that we've hiked over 600 miles!

It's such a high number when so many people these days would rather call an Uber than walk a few blocks, or order delivery instead of take-out. I had one woman tell me that she can't even get her kids to walk around Costco when they shop, and our 5 and 7 year old daughters have walked their way right through a couple pairs of Merrel hiking boots! Perhaps it's more of an academic exercise to imagine hiking from north to south, heading west, and then back north again through an entire state. It's a distance most people would dread to even drive.

As our bodies have grown used to hiking, the hiking itself has become easier and the miles covered each day has generally increased so that by the end of each day there's a wholesome tiredness rather than abject exhaustion. However, there is an element of mental fatigue due to the day-after-day hiking, camping, and frantic 24-hour visits home to resupply and attend to real-world obligations. It's mentally draining.

Of course, lately there's been the heat and humidity which add to the physical strain, and none of us have been sleeping well. We swelter during the day on the trail, and sweat all night in our tents. We have lightened our packs again and again in an effort to exert ourselves less and cover more miles, even through the heat of the day. Add to that mosquitoes, horse flies, ticks, snakes, and other annoyances, and it amazes me sometimes how the girls can have a smile on their face every day. Yet they always do.

As we look ahead to the final 600 miles of the trail it's difficult to see how we're going to make it through. We know we can do it since we've already accomplished the first six hundred, but the hard end date when we have to be home again for work and school is fast approaching, and weighs on Nicole and I every day. Every delay chafes, every extra mile we eke out in the evening seems too little. And yet we keep marching on.

The girls have learned a lot so far on the trail, on subjects ranging from animal behavior to agriculture, from plant identification to social interaction and morals, from politics to botany. Sometimes the smallest, most mundane task of camp life is so new to young Piper that I see it again for the first time through her eyes. And I love the big ideas their small brains churn out, and the questions they ask that come seemingly out of nowhere. Most of all I love sharing this unique adventure, and my knowledge and experience, with them.

I love seeing them grow physically, mentally, and emotionally. I love watching how independent they can be, just as much as I love feeling one of their little hands slip into mine and hear them ask if they can walk beside me for a while. I love seeing how they take care of each other, and us, and I'm astounded at the level of energy they display sometimes. Truth be told, I'm a little jealous of it!

We're halfway through with our hike, and we know our exact destination and how far it is. We've made some astounding progress, not just on the trail but in our personal growth and development also. But where will our journey end? Will it be at the Western Terminus of the Ice Age Trail? Will we hike the Appalachian Trail next, as Bristol wants to do? Will we continue this discovery of each other and the world around us when we return to the world of obligations, or fall into our old routines? That, I have no clue about and I embrace this uncertainty with open arms, while simultaneously looking forward to the challenges of the next 600 miles.