Day #6 - AT Hike

Wednesday, Match 18 - Day #6 - AT Hike

Miles Hikes Today - 15.4
Total AT Miles - 58.2/2,193 (2.65%)
Low Gap Shelter to Tray Mountain Shelter (Camp at Tray Mountain Shelter)
Total Ascent - 4100’
Total descent- 3400’

So — we just had a detailed discussion on Trail Names. Note - AT thru-hikers traditionally come up with “Trail names” (nicknames) for each of their fellow hikers. Generally it’s something you do on trail or something unique about a person. I’ve thought about this a lot before the hike — what are people going to call me?  It’s quite frankly fascinating to sit in a group of people (that literally know almost nothing about you) and see them try to come up with a Trail Name for you — while you’re listening to the entire discussion.

So we’re sitting at Tray Mountain Shelter - Mile# 58.2 on the AT Trail. It’s raining, extremely foggy - but James (fire guy) got a roaring fire for all of us to enjoy. So I’m sitting there with Nora, Maddy, Abby, Wilson, Josh, and Pepper.  Here’s some of the discussion:

Group — “ Kyle - have you thought about your Trail Name yet”

Me — “Nah - not really” (although I’ve thought about it a lot over the past 4 months)

Group — “What do you think he should be called.  You’re a really soft-spoken, nice guy. Super chill”.  (2 or 3 of them simultaneously say) - “Yeah - SUPER CHILL”. “Well - we can’t call him “Chill” because that’s the other guy - remember?”

Me - “As a default - KB4 could possibly work”. I have 3 other siblings and we all have first names beginning with the letter “K” - and I’m the 4th and youngest”

Group - “I like the way that rolls off the tongue”. “But don’t you think he needs something from the trail”. (Everybody chimes in). “Yeah - Kyle we gotta see you do more before we can finalize this”

Me:  “I’ll try to perform to make it easier for you”

So ———-  still no official Trail Name for me yet.  It’s interesting - only a couple people in the group have one. It’s thrown out there - people talk about it - but the person has to approve. It’s a whole thing here!!!  This is even better than high school. Abby’s name is “Dirty Toes” AKA - “DT”

You know what astonishes me most — how people look at me. (Have you been in a group that knows nothing about you - the impressions you make, how they look at you). It’s extremely interesting to me. When I told Nora I was in finance, she said:  “Wow - I would never have thought that. You impression to me like someone who works in the outdoor industry - like a guide or something”.

Wow- wow - wow!!  Fascinating!!!  At my past job - there isn’t a single person in the building that would describe me as “ Super Chill”. Not even close. And —— I’m not at that company anymore.

I guess we’re always learning so much about ourselves.  But — when I am at my absolute best - I am “Super Chill”.  I still have that fire inside, that passion, that drive (that these guys know nothing about). But - the best version of myself is having that “Super Chill” outside persona - losing the anxiety, the worries, the lack of confidence — while still holding that passion to strive for bigger things inside.  Can I please bottle the formula for this so I can take a swig everyday.  I’ve said it before and it proves true now — when I’m on a vacation trip and my anxiety is set aside - I’m the best version of myself.

Did Nora just tell me what my next profession should be?????

Sorry for the rambling above - but life defining moments don’t happen everyday.

So — I unfortunately slept poorly again last night.  I gotta nip this thing now - I can’t be setting out on 15+ mile hikes everywhere in a zombie state after sleeping in my tent. The excitement of the moment can only take me so far.  I ended up leaving a bit earlier than the group at 7:45 am. The first 9-10 miles were really nice. The weather was overcast - but pleasant. I ran into Caleb and we walked together for a bit. I was nearly hyperventilating to keep in reach of him. He stated:  “Yeah - my training for this hike was jumping on a treadmill with my 30 pound pack, setting the incline to 10, and then I’d walk at 3.5 miles/ hr for a couple hours. WHOA!!  After I heard this - I was looking for an excuse to back off. That is superhuman stuff. Give this a try sometime. Actually - just try to walk at 3.5 miles/ hr with no incline or pack for 2 hours — this would not be a given at all.

Today was the flip of yesterday. The morning was nice - but around noon when I was starting the final 5 miles - the weather turned angry. Heavy fog and rain. And — this so happened to be the hilliest section of the day. 2 really steep climbs. I’m going to start putting the total elevation gain at the top (because it’s important to understand the difficulty of the hike). Today was around 4,100 ft elevation gain. It was like a mountain stage in the Tour de France today - we finished on a mountain peak. Brutal!!  But I’m still standing!

It’s 10:15pm now — I gotta try to get some sleep. My group is heading into town tomorrow doing a Nero (near zero day). We exchanged info.  Guthook (the incredible app that I’m using for guidance on the trail) - let’s you send out your shelter location. We exchanged info. I’ll likely see these guys again - as I’m taking a Nero-Zero in Franklin, NC in 3 days. I’ll explain later

Good night from a “Super Chill” guy - this makes me happy

First fire on AT for me

Abby, Josh, Nora, Maddy