A Gift From the Trail

One of the new view points that has been my new constant companion is that even though I may need help performing certain tasks, my size does not make me weak. I have packed in as much muscle as my small frame can fit and it's okay to need help. Sure, less muscle mass means things are harder to lift for me than for others and if I had the job of bringing eight giant 5 gallon insulated containers of coffee to the AFI before the trail, I would have been embarrassed to keep asking for help each day. But I know my limits and am perfectly okay with them because being this small didn't stop me from the greatest adventure ever last year. Because of the trail, I know I am capable of grand things even though most people would never presume that I had it in me. While on the trail, I was becoming conscious of where my limits are and would sometimes surprise myself. In my 18 mile day in VT that I finished in just over 6 hours, the last stretch before the shelter included a particularly grueling uphill and I just kept saying to myself, "You're a horse. You're a horse. You can do this". This part had been more challenging because my weight had gone down to 107 when my prime hiking weight is 120, but I did it without injury. Like I said, I know I'm small but I've got more power in my limbs than most people would expect. I know most people have a completely different body image struggle and I'm sorry if you're just laughing at my post, but as I've mentioned before, I just want people to take me seriously and to avoid looking like an easy target to would be perps so I thank the trail for changing that particular mindset.