BUCKET LIST

Most people my age have a bucket list, that is, a list of things to do before you croak. Truthfully, I've only had one item on my bucket list and it's been there for the last 50+ years. In high school my best two friends and I were very much into hiking and backpacking. We climbed many mountains in New Hampshire and enjoyed the state's outdoor splendor as rugged, youthful outdoorsmen.

There was one climb that we all vowed to do. That climb is the arduous 2,180 mile Appalachian Trail that stretches from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine.

Someday.

Along came the military, college, family responsibilities and the onslaught of our later years when the body doesn't work as well as when we were 17. The "someday" that we'd do the climb has been passed over many times.

Now retired, I've decided that 2016 will be the year that I tackle the AT and cross my one bucket list item off. There's no turning back; damn the torpedoes and full-steam ahead beginning in mid-March of next year. The summit of Mt. Katahdin will be mine by mid-September. The first step was to do the obligatory research. I ordered two books from Amazon - the Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers' Companion and AWOL on the Appalachian Trail. They arrived on Saturday and I dug into them with a fervor that came from deep within my soul. This challenge makes me feel alive, more so than I've ever felt. There's something about new goals that keep one stimulated and engaged.

I'm all in.

Digging in to "AWOL", I learned what life on the AT is like. It starts out as a traveling frat party of sorts with many enthusiastic hikers crowding the limited campsite spaces. People sleep "asses-to-elbows" in the limited space. Twenty-five percent of those who start the trail drop out in the first 30 miles. Injuries take their toll. The hikers eat like locusts, devouring any edible items that aren't tied down. Eating a dozen donuts is a breeze. Three Big Macs is a snack.

I'm undeterred by these minor obstacles.

In the mountains of Georgia and North Carolina, snow is not uncommon well into April. In Virginia, bears are routine. Mice will do anything to steal hikers' food stash. Snakes regularly appear on the trail. Mosquitos in Pennsylvania, black flies in Maine.

Big deal.

I was undeterred by all of the challenges described in the book. That is, until I read the information about personal hygiene on the AT. To reiterate this information would only serve as a gross-out so I won't burden both of my readers with such drivel. I will, however, briefly allude to the passage that stopped me dead in my tracks. That was the fact that AT hikers normally travel with but one pair of underwear and wear them routinely for a span of two weeks.

As my 14-year old niece would say: "Ewwwwwww!"

Truthfully, the thought of my wearing undies for a two-week stretch doesn't bother me as much as being around people who do. Enough about that.

Through this brief vicarious journey into life on the AT, I have come to realize why they call it a "bucket list". It's a list of things that we should just throw in the trash bucket and go on, happily living our lives.

I've decided that, rather than hiking the AT, I'm going to donn my backpack every Wednesday and walk a mile to the brewpub for lunch and a cold beer. During the walk home I fully expect that I'll have to knock on the door of a stranger's house and ask them if I may use their bathroom.


Readers, enjoy your day.