A Titanium Spork

Since I know you've been wondering for ever so long, please be advised that Lucy definitely intends to bring a titanium spork in her pack when she hikes the Appalachian Trail in a few years. Whew, aren't you glad to have that little detail worked out? My friend Kay Killgore did half of the AT, from Maine to West Virginia, when we were in our 20's (or, hell, maybe it was our 30's; those decades are all a blur now; the only thing I'm ever sure of is if it was B.L. or A.L). It took me several years of asking Kay questions about it to get that she really, truly did that. Seriously. A little difficult for a slug of my ilk to take in. But, once I looked at a map and saw what she did and heard enough answers to my dumb questions, I was in awe of her accomplishment. I still don't understand the how (I mean, it takes months...of walking, carrying everything you need on your back, sleeping outside...animals....heat....cold...) but I get the why for certain people---people like Kay, and maybe my very own Lucy. Mostly I shake my head in amazement. And then I grin.

(The back packing photo is Lucy on a 5-day hike last year in Vermont during Farm & Wilderness Camp. All camp and hiking supplies courtesy of MaMere & Poppy.)