(Sat. 4/28/12 late) Daleville, VA - Phone Update from Brett

After seeing the beautiful photo of Brett on McAfee Knob, I was hoping that things were going better for Brett. Not so.

It started pouring rain about a half-mile before Brett got in to Daleville. He had lunch at Pizza Hut and went shopping for supplies. He talked to Ed on the phone. Ed was ahead of Brett on the trail, and they hadn't seen each other in a few days. Ed was heading out of Daleville when the downpour started. He continued six miles on the trail before he decided he was done. Brett asked Ed walk back to Daleville. Then the two of them went out to dinner and chipped in on a hotel room. It was almost midnight EDT when Brett called me.

It sounds like Brett and Ed had a good conversation over dinner. There is a big wave of drop-outs in Georgia, and another in Virginia. Brett said he saw two other hikers walk off the trail that week. The "Virginia Blues" are hitting everyone. By the time you get to Virginia you have seen just about everything you are going to see: rain, snow, hunger, blisters, hills, and more hills. The vistas all start to look the same. You start to ask yourself, "Why am I here?"

Brett hit a wall last week, and was still in a funk the next day. Then he was climbing a hill in the rain and said, "I've got to change my attitude." He started singing out loud one song after another. Before he knew it, he was at the top. He had a dry hostel to look forward to and was starting to feel better.

Now, however, he has started questioning himself again. He saw how relieved and excited Ed was about going home. Ed was happy with his decision. There aren't many guys in the same situation as Brett and Ed. Most people on the trail don't have families and a home to be homesick for. It makes it a little tougher.

I had told Brett how people ask me whether Brett is having fun. Brett said he thought about that some more. There are a lot of things at home that Brett has fun doing. Throwing the frisbee with Copper is fun. Fishing and hunting are fun. Going out on the boat is fun. Sleeping in a warm, comfortable bed, while not exactly "fun", it sure is nice. Hiking and going up hills is not fun. But the experience is more rewarding than temporary fun is.

Brett know that this experience will be very rewarding, but feeling good about the hike "now" is a more difficult. It doesn't help that Brett's body is starting to feel the stress of hiking every day (he crossed 700 miles the day prior). His feet are starting to do better, but four days previous to the call his left knee started bothering him. It especially hurts when he is going up or down steps (hate those hills!). His tooth is also bothering him. We'll need to find a way to get him to a dentist on the trail.

Now Brett needs to reevaluate his hike. He will need to work through his emotions this week and find his answer to the question, "Why am I doing this?"