Like all children, I lost baby teeth and grew adult ones. I thought that my two front top teeth would continue to grow until the gap between them would just fill in. 
It didn’t happen. I also noticed, that my Dad’s teeth were the same as mine. I tried everything I could to try to get rid of that gap. I tried braces, an operation to remove the gum between the teeth and ultimately but unsuccessfully, I had the dentist drill a hole in the side of each tooth and put a filling that matched the color of my teeth and connected them together. That last attempt would break every time I used a spoon and accidentally hit one tooth. Snap! Separation, ugh!
Eventually, I gave up. I could accept my teeth the way they are or let the comments I hear, even now, become an upward climb.
Recently, a little girl smiled at me and I smiled at her. Then, she asked me how I lost my tooth. I was about to answer her when her father said, “Shhhh, that’s not nice.” The girl looked confused at her father and then concerned at me. I shrugged and went on my way smiling. 
Then my dad asked me 3 weeks ago, “Why don’t you get a tooth put in your mouth?” I just answered him, “Well, I inherited your teeth.”
I suppose you are all wondering why I am talking about teeth, when this blog is about the Appalachian Trail?
Well, it’s the gaps. Without those gaps in the mountains, we wouldn’t know about high points or low points. And, if we filled in all those gaps, we would just be hiking on very flat monotonous land and what would be the fun in that?
So, as I hike past Deep Gap, Low Gap and Unnamed Gap, I have the biggest smile and the hiker going past smiles back because we are both embracing the gap. What a glorious day!
Some hikers are south bound (SOBO). Some hikers are north bound (NOBO). Some hikers start in one location and hike either south or north and then shuttle back to their starting point and hike the opposite direction. It really doesn’t matter. It’s all about personal preference. In the grand scheme, it’s all about the cookies. 
Food, it’s on every hikers mind. How much to carry? How many calories? Can I count on trail magic or stores along the way so that I can carry less food? 
Every hiker in the beginning, always carries more food than they will eat. I carried more food than I needed all of 2016.
My last night on the trail, I finally got it right. I had 1 breakfast left. Trouble with that, a mouse the last night just couldn’t leave my food bag alone. I guess he wanted my oatmeal more than I did. I tried to get him off my bag twice during the night, but exhaustion took me. I woke in the morning to the telltale hole in my food bag. Oatmeal gone, but at least I had my coffee. 
I would have to wait till Abol Bridge to get my husband Tom’s homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Reminiscing from Grayson Highlands 2019
The excitement of the trail, quickly turned in to, damn I’m getting old. Which computes to out of shape. 
Yes, we are on the road, for a reunion of sorts. Just like on the AT, I’m counting the states we are going through. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana… There is excitement as well as fear. Maybe they always go hand in hand. This hike with touch 3 states by foot. A few more by vehicle.
Beyond the Range 