Woke up on the wrong side of the world today.
Notes from a couple days ago…
Checked weather and news to see more political chaos, seemingly endless war, social unrest, and continued financial turmoil. Then, one of us decided to watch a quick video on surviving a nuclear blast. Spoiler alert, ya really can’t.
Bad moods are contagious and only grow, making trail conversation strained and silence uncomfortable.
We walked out of Aosta, mostly on cobblestone and paved roads so our feet aren’t happy. Oh, and the incredible views of the Aosta Valley, well, they were obscured by smog and other atmospheric crap, which not only made the views uninspiring, but also played havoc with my sinuses and throat. To cap it all off, we had to do some bushwhacking due to some construction and now my socks are ruined with seemingly millions of tiny thorns and stickers encountered in said bushes that no effort has been able to remedy.
At least the albergo at which we had a room reserved for the night listed the wrong address, forcing us to knock on doors and ask for directions.
Oh, and it’s gonna rain tomorrow.
I’m definitely in the “mental” stage of this trekking adventure
These long thru-hikes can generally be broken down into three specific stages; the physical, mental, and spiritual. The first third is the physical, when you struggle to make your body do things it’s not used to doing, ignoring the little aches and pains and learning how to manage cold packs and ibuprofen so your supply doesn’t run out. Luckily, we have good gear and we’re in good trail and mountain shape so this one is not that tough for us.
Next is mental. I have no day to day anymore and time has lost all meaning. So, my brain is constantly racing, searching for things to think about and trying to answer the great unanswerable. If a tomato is a fruit, why isn’t ketchup called a smoothie? Are we living or dying? And, how do we really know that we aren’t constantly hallucinating?
Hopefully, soon, the brain will just stop, find peace, and allow me to transition to the spiritual part of the journey, when the physical and the mental don’t matter anymore, you are open to some solid self discovery, and your soul is free to experience.
Anyway, we’re back in the sun.
The rain has stopped, at least for now. We are slowing leaving the Alps for Piedmont and the Po Valley, and we are only a week or so away from taking a much needed break to head up to the Dolomites for a couple days and then down to Modena for some solid food love and a lunch reservation we made six months ago.
After that, it’s back to the trail.
All I really need to know is, will the stages start over after a couple weeks off? Or, will I be able to bank on some muscle memory and continue the transition through the mental? Only time will tell.
At least we’ll be exploring those situations as we walk through Tuscany. Could be worse, right?
Ciao for now.
Cheers. Clink.
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