Two is Company

It's been two days now that I've been hiking solo. For the past few weeks I've been hiking with a brother and sister from Ohio, and another hiker from North Carolina. We've had fun together, but agendas don't always match, and it came time for me to move on in order to put in some longer days.

The good news is that not all goodbyes are permanent. I don't know when or if I'll see any of my recent hiking partners again, but I do know something better. The goodbye that Tera and I exchanged at Springer Mountain is almost expired, and on Sunday it will only be a memory.

Amidst a busy season at work, Tera has spent the last few days, even weeks, prepping for our hello. That's because this time it's not going to be just a weekend in Hot Springs like back at Easter, but two weeks of hiking ... together. No more waiting for cell reception on a ridge to say, "Hi." No more goodnight texts. No more eating meals alone.

So just like I did in late March, Tera is now checking to make sure she has all she needs, and arranging it all in her pack to make sure it fits. She's even done some walking with a weighted pack to break in her legs and her new shoes. And that's in addition to all of the trail support she has continually offered me.

All that preparation will help us hike together for two weeks, and I'm looking forward to it. A lot. It will have been almost two months since I left, with one all too short weekend in between. There's a lot for each of us to catch up on, and a lot for Tera to learn about life on the Appalachian Trail. I'm eagerly anticipating Sunday, and in the meantime am doing my own preparation: hiking some longer days to get to our meeting spot on time.

I can't wait. It'll be a new chapter to my trail hike, and likely one of the best.