This is just the challenge we were hoping to find....

Day 13
3/19/2006

Started and Finished: Harper's Ferry, WV. (Rest Day spent just off the C&O Towpath in Maryland, across A.T Footbridge where A.T. turns to the south away from the ADT.)

Today's ADT Miles: 0
Total ADT Miles: 218.3

It's time for a quick look back at the first two weeks of this journey. Today is a good day for reflection, it's our second zero day in a row and our third zero day of the trip so far. Today's the thirteenth day of our hike. The ten hiking days in which we put in ADT miles have brought us 218.3 miles west from Cape Henlopen State Park on the Eastern Shore of Delaware where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Delaware Bay. The three zero mile days have been spent in a combination of ways and were taken for a combination of reasons. There is one reason that was a key player in all three zero mile days, though, and that was our bodies telling us to, "TAKE A BREAK"!
We've always been very good at pushing ourselves, we were both very active and competitive athletes from as far back as either of us can recall. We both still maintain the competitive Minds we've always remembered having, and nowadays we are most competitive with ourselves'. We feel like we should both still be able to maintain the youthful and resilient Bodies we both remember having as well. Unfortunately that's the hard part! Randy has discovered that his Mind can end up doing his Body more harm than good if he doesn't leave the Mind vs. Body competion out of this hike. His Mind has been looking only for the silver linings, the positives and the miles. His Body found that a shoe blowout caused a minor problem for his right heel, a problem that the Body felt could have used some rest and that the Mind thought could be hiked through. The Mind won that round and the minor problem then became a moderate problem when the limp from the right heel caused the left leg to take a beating that created a bone bruise in the left shin. The Mind, still willing to search for the, "Oh! I'm fine!" attitude, took round two from the Body as well, and after 40 additional miles of bone pounding steps the lower leg and ankle were now a major problem, both swollen and discolored. The discomfort had allowed the Body to make it's voice heard and even the Mind agreed that a break was now mandatory. So, today is a second consecutive zero day. We're allowing Randy's Body to take the rest it needs, while his Mind reflects on how It's competitive push should be refocused.
The Mind doesn't need to take on a whole new outlook, It just needs to be reminded of the outlook that had allowed It to be involved in deciding to take this journey. This journey wasn't choosen to be able to say we, "had hiked" the American Discovery Trail, it was choosen to be able to "actually be hiking" the American Discovery Trail. The miles will come, and the "discovery" can unfold at it's own natural pace. The Mind and Body are now working as a team! Day 14 will not have a goal destination, not even a minimum distance. The Body will take a casual approach to the hike, take inventories often and give the Mind all the information. The Mind will actually listen and then use the information to make a logical decision as to when to call it a day. The Trail's not going anywhere, the next mile will be there waiting whenever we get to it.
This type of Mental and Physical challenge is the exact reason Sheri and Randy love to live the long distance backpacking lifestyle. We don't want this hike to be a "walk in the park". We want to be challenged. Challenged by our own bodies, challenged by each other, challenged by the Trail. We know that we are up for the challenge! We know that each and every one of our "discoveries" will be more rewarding and memorable if they happen as a result of overcoming these challenges. We're enjoying each and every challenge that's come our way, and to this point the overall "state of the hike", if you will, is that we're LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!
Trail life is a unique experience that we truly love. The time together, the seclusion of the wilderness, the comfort of the small towns, the active cities and all the challenges the Trail can throw at us is why we are on the ADT, and so far we are getting everything we hoped for. We are so glad we've just begun, and can't wait to see what's around the next corner....no matter when we get to it!

Our day today was just plain lazy. We stayed off our feet as much as possible. We checked out our supplies and prepared for the next couple of days of hiking. We counted calories and selected enough food to get us to our next resupply point. We simply enjoyed a day of rest (Randy enjoyed the day a little more than Sheri thanks to George Washingtons upset of UNC in the NCAA Basketball Tournament), it was the classic Sunday afternoon of peace and quiet. Harper's Ferry really is a great place to hang out for a day or two. The history is plentiful, the outfitter is super helpful to hikers, the locals are totally trail friendly and the backdrop of landscape, a mixture of mountains and river valleys, is beautiful in every direction you look. Harper's Ferry even has a good size Red Fox that hangs out around town, we saw him twice and he just watched us walk by. We hope Harper's Ferry is just one of the incredible trail towns we "discover" as we make our way across America. Tomorrow we hike. How far? Who knows? We're just happy to be at "Home" on the Trail!

Your Friends on the ADT,
RANDY AND SHERI

P.S. We can't thank Sheri's Mom and Dad Natoli enough for coming to visit us. We really enjoyed the time we shared and truly appreciate their support of our hike.