[at-l] Some musings on being half way

[Allen Freeman]

Two years ago this weekend I was taking a zero in Boiling Springs.
Below is an excerpt from a journal entry I wrote while there. When I
think back I think I was putting on a brave front when I wrote this,
as it was a huge mental struggle to make the adjustment I wrote about,
and I struggled on and off for the rest of my thru-hike.

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Some musings on being half way:

It was really exciting as I got closer and closer to Harpers Ferry as
a goal I had been working towards for nearly three months was within
reach. Then I got there, enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment, and
spent four more days getting to the actual half way point. That was
kind of anti-climactic. And now, having reached the half way point,
the full weight of the realization that I am only half way has
descended upon me. I find myself contemplating the second half as a
huge chunk of work ahead of me, and it’s intimidating. This is only
temporary, I know. I just have to go through the process of adjusting
my thinking and start picking out intermediate goals. And that should
be easy as the states go by pretty fast from here up to northern New
England: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, where a friend has already offered
me a meal and a warm bed for the night, New York, then Connecticut,
where I have family and a lot of hiking friends. Then comes
Massachusetts, my home state, and then I’ll be in Vermont and hiking
through the chunk of trail I have helped maintain for many years. Then
will come New Hampshire and the mighty Whites, and finally the amazing
wilderness of Maine. So much to look forward to.