Into the Thick of it

This is what I asked for. I must remember that. I can hear my own voice telling Laura while sitting in some cold, hard, forgettable shelter. "I can't wait til I have a schedule." When everyday, you wake up and put on almost frozen boots over definitely frozen socks, then trudge up and over a mountain then down then up another, you really miss the small things. Like a schedule. Something regular besides the trees and an empty stomach. Then I hear it. "I can't wait til I have a schedule." What was I thinking? A schedule was what I had. Every day I knew my tasks; walk, eat, sleep. No easier schedule than that. And I tell you the truth, trees aren't that bad. Good listeners, actually the best. Not too demanding either. I miss it, and yearn for it. I must find a way to get out of the city to see some trees. It is interesting that I've taken to imagining skyscrappers as trees. If I squint, and in just the right light, I can make out the trunks of huge metallic Oaks and Ashes. When Laura and I first started the AT, we would get claustrophobic from the woods. Walking for miles at a time, never seeing the direct rays of sunlight, living in a twilight world. The trees seemed to never end. But after a while, the forest became more like an oversized security blanket, always surrounding and comforting you. I'm hoping that's what this city will also become. I know it will in time, but til then I'm off to find some real trees. Peace out.