Slowing It Down

720 miles into this hike!  Yet, it took almost 650 of that 720 miles for me to realize that there is no point in rushing.  That's not to say that I've "wasted" those previous miles.  That wouldn't be fair. However, if I wanted to get to Maine in a quicker fashion, I would take a train, plane, or car.  I'm hiking voluntarily.  If I want to see a certain sight or do a certain task, why not?  I'm out here to be out here.  The ultimate goal is Maine but why not enjoy the days along the way?  In short, I've decided to slow this journey down a bit for several reasons...
One reason is that I would like to see the fall colors come out in Maine.  Another reason is that I've found out the hard way that pushing to do big miles just for the sake of doing big miles is pointless.  It wears you down too much.  What do you see or hear during the day?  Very little... you're too focused on going, going, going.  It's not enjoyable.
My biggest day so far is 24 miles in one day.  That's a lot.  You might think I would get to see a lot in that 24 miles, but not really.  It's so easy to get caught up in the miles and trying to make big days that it's even easier to lose sight of why you're out here.  I'm not out here to rush or push.
During the first month of my hike I would hear birds singing. I would stand at overlooks.  But now I fully listen to the birds singing-- how they answer each other and sing a perfect song.  I study the land and my thoughts at overlooks.
It's time to slow it down a bit.  After all, isn't that why most of us are out here?  The picture below is of me dangling my feet from McAfee Knob.  Dangling my feet from here was one of the things on my to-do list.  Check!  :-)