March 24, 1997 (Day 5 – milepoint 44.0 – “Chuggers Knob”)
Up with (after) the mating call of the grouse. Another beautiful day. Happy Birthday, Edith!
Pushed to Low Gap Shelter (mile 41.5) for lunch and an extended break. Joined again by Fiddlehead and Bulldog, as well as newlyweds Jesse and Kip (from Maryland). A beautiful spot and a hilarious afternoon of random conversation. We started a “thru-hikers pool” in the shelter register to see who can guess the date Chugger, a very strange but spirited character from Texas, will reach Katahdin. His itinerary says September 18th or bust. Bulldog and Fiddlehead were skeptical, I said September 19th. Jesse agreed with Chugger and said the 18th. Kip said “bust.” It will be fun to see how he does. We left responsibility of determining a winner and providing an award to the guy who left the register at the shelter.
Camped around mile 44 with Roaming Gnome, Ned, and Chugger, who proudly picked the spot and was adamant that we give him credit. He seemed pleased when we named it “Chuggers Knob.”
Mind, body, spirit, and gear seem to be holding up quite well.
After five days of walking, my socks have become lethal weapons. At the moment, they are strategically placed around my tent to keep critters from coming close looking for food. My boundary wall must be at least 20 feet.
Rhoming Gnome and Ned gave me a trail name today: AQUAHOLIC.
March 24, 2009
I’ve rarely been threatened in my life to the point that I had to consciously set boundaries and think critically about other people’s intentions. I am a white male who grew up in a middle class family in the Midwest. There wasn’t a lot of drama I couldn’t manage. I always trusted people and I always trusted that things would work out. Even when I started to become aware as a child that there are a lot of people in the world with a far different reality, my comfortable reality remained intact. Boundaries were not a conscious issue for me because I was not threatened by anything that could keep me from freely pursuing my life.
Things started to change, though, in the past couple of years when my marriage (and therefore my family’s security) became increasingly threatened. As things progressed, it was like a domino effect, and with so many dominoes falling in different directions it has become virtually impossible to manage. Boundaries help you create structure around behavior and decision making. When solid boundaries are not established, it is very difficult to control the dominoes.
Consequently, I’ve fallen behind. I am no longer the master of my domain. In order to get that back, I need to set reasonable limits by which I can live, otherwise I will never be free to give and be my best.
My resolve is to take better care of and protect myself so I can take care of and protect my children. There is nothing more valuable.
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