The End of Comfort

I’ve got a belly full of cheese curds, taco salad and a few IPAs at Franklin Tap in Chicago and my brain is very aware that this is the last time for a while I’ll be comfortable in belly and body.

Comfortable sleep ended Saturday night. One day later and I’m already sleep deprived after a restless night in an overnight train coach seat listening to the clatter of wheels and train horns. A sleep restless enough that my Garmin watch didn’t even recognize it as sleep.

Although I have another night of the same ahead of me, I’m happy because I know that tomorrow night my body will be in a sleeping bag and my head on an inflated pillow and the sounds around me will be nature.

The comfort of food ends now. This is my last real food before I hit the trail. My last real meal. Cheese curds because in this part of the country it’s an obvious choice. Taco salad because I think I probably should eat a vegetable before walking into the world of protein bars, Poptarts and dehydrated meals. On the trail you’re never full.

I suppose I could also talk about flush toilets, but I’ve mentioned it. You get the idea.

This is it.

The end of comfort. The beginning of adventure.

I can’t wait.

Peace. Love. Hiking. – Elfmeister