“It is not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena,…”
The criticism comes from those that have not been in the arena, or shall we say from GA to ME. One thing I learned while on my hike is that it is not a physical challenge, it is a mental challenge. The last 500 miles was nothing but will power. The desire to finish was tremendous. It was a “high” knowing that the journey was near completion. The memories are daily, sometimes hourly. It is hard to explain why thru hikers feel so strong about the “hike” unless you’ve walked it. Call us SOBs, but we are family and we feel very strongly about “our” hike and those we got to share the journey with. It is not a “chip” we carry, in concert I’m sure other thru hikers would wish those that think that would start in GA in March (or Maine in May) and walk for six months. Then judge us. My guess is they would feel as strong as we do about some of these issues.
Papa Smurf