Rank, Order, & the Train

So, 4 months into it, I know who the other Sobos are. We all move along, and the people around me are like people in the same compartment of a train as we hike South. Want to see what the people ahead of you are up to? Just push hard and hike a long day, and you'll be in the next "train compartment". Sick of those people? Take a slow day or a day off, and you'll see all the people in that other car again. Whenever I take a day, I'll get back to the trail and discover those great guys I haven't seen since Connecticut. I didn't think I'd see them again, but they knew they'd been gaining on me for weeks. Likewise I know everything about the people in front of me, and nothing about those behind me. This is part of why some people want to get to the front of the train, as if that somehow makes them the conductor of the train. These competitive conquerors think that finishing the trail first makes them the best hiker. There is no ranking out here, and the guy who sprinted through everything missed some of the finer things, and end up with the shortest vacation. A 10 mile day out here is better than any day at work. A 25 mile day is not. I've done big-mile days, but they suck. They're the days you hike all day long, and do nothing else. I like getting sidetracked by towns or conversations or natural wonders. And at this point, a lot of people are trying to push to finish by a certain date. Not me. I'm going to still enjoy every day and (gasp!) finish a week or two after all these people who are sick of the trail and are just wanting to finish.

We're at that funky spot where we're well over over halfway, but still have a long way to go. To quote Julia, the person who inspired me to do this thru hike: "I was past the 1/2 way point, and my psyche shifted. That happens to me in almost all things - whether I'm reading a novel, writing a paper, in a tough work-out, or even on a vacation. The second half is less easy to hold onto one's in-the-moment-zen thing." All the other hikers I've been talking to are all talking about what they have to average to finish by certain dates, and what they're going to do after being done with the trail. But they still have a month to go (and I have roughly 6 weeks), and that's a lot of time to just look forward to the next thing, since this one is almost done. But I'm rejecting that, and even though it means I'll be closer to the Caboose, I'll be having a better time, and stop and smell the flowers. That's part of the point of a thru hike. If I was in that big of a hurry, I'd just drive to Georgia.