46 Days. Keeping Up With Jennifer Pharr Davis on the Appalachian Trail

167 Pages·2011·5.78 MB·English

by  Brew Davis

46 DAYS
46 DAYS
Keeping Up with Jennifer Pharr Davis on the Appalachian Trail
BREW DAVIS
Foreword by
Jennifer Pharr Davis
Copyright © 2011 by Brew Davis FIRST PAPERBACK EDITION
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval
systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer
who may quote brief passages in a review.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Davis, Brew.
46 days : keeping up with Jennifer Pharr Davis on the Appalachian Trail /Brew
Davis with Jennifer Pharr Davis.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8253-0678-5 (alk. paper) 1. Hiking—Appalachian Trail. 2.
Backpacking—Appalachian Trail. I. Pharr Davis, Jennifer II. Title.
GV199.42.A68D37 2011
796.510974—dc23
2011043243
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome,
dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your
mountains rise into and above the clouds.
Earth Apples: The Poetry of Edward Abbey (1994)
First to my wonderful wife.
Then to the Pit Crew, who helped her to do something amazing.
CONTENTS
Listening and Following, by Jennifer Pharr Davis
Introduction
Frequently Asked Questions about the 2011 Record
DAY 1: 56 miles
DAY 2: 44 miles
DAY 3: 46 miles
DAY 4: 42 miles
DAY 5: 41 miles
DAY 6: 38 miles
DAY 7: 31 miles
DAY 8: 34 miles
DAY 9: 30 miles
DAY 10: 38 miles
DAY 11: 43 miles
DAY 12: 36 miles
DAY 13: 42.5 miles
DAY 14: 43.5 miles
DAY 15: 47.3 miles
DAY 16: 48.7 miles
DAY 17: 48.3 miles
DAY 18: 49 miles
DAY 19: 49 miles
DAY 20: 45 miles
DAY 21: 52.7 miles
DAY 22: 48 miles
DAY 23: 46.9 miles
DAY 24: 53.9 miles
DAY 25: 51.9 miles
DAY 26: 52.9 miles
DAY 27: 50.2 miles
DAY 28: 52.1 miles
DAY 29: 46.8 miles
DAY 30: 52.9 miles
DAY 31: 49.7 miles
DAY 32: 52.6 miles
DAY 33: 46.9 miles
DAY 34: 47.3 miles
DAY 35: 50.3 miles
DAY 36: 49.2 miles
DAY 37: 46.9 miles
DAY 38: 49.8 miles
DAY 39: 46.1 miles
DAY 40: 45.5 miles
DAY 41: 47.2 miles
DAY 42: 50.8 miles
DAY 43: 46.3 miles
DAY 44: 48.2 miles
DAY 45: 52.2 miles
DAY 46: 60.2 miles
DAY 47: 36.2 miles
DAY 48: aka, The 19th Hole
Reflections, by Jennifer Pharr Davis
Acknowledgments
LISTENING AND FOLLOWING
Life is filled with voices. On a daily basis we hear the opinions of
advertisements, faith groups, politicians, friends, and family. We constantly
process external noise that tells us what is responsible, what is successful, and
what is normal. All the noise makes it difficult to find silence and the differing
opinions make it difficult to find ourselves.
The most popular question surrounding our 2011 record attempt on the
Appalachian Trail was why? Why would I want to hike 2,181 miles as fast and
efficiently as possible? That, in itself, is not a difficult question to answer, but it
is challenging to explain.
The simple answer is, that by attempting to set an overall record on the
Appalachian Trail, I was following my heart. I was listening to the internal voice
that screamed in the silence, filled my head with dreams, and made my stomach
feel uneasy—excited and scared—as if I were on the edge a cliff. For over two
years, my every run, every hike, every lull in the workday was filled with
dreams of the record. I wasn’t trying to think about record, and at some points, I
most certainly did not want to think about record, but its daily presence was
undeniable.
If I had to describe the voice inside that led me back to the trail, then I would
say that it was loud, loud and hopeful. My reaction to the voice, however, was
much different. My response to the swell of possibility within my soul included
fear and reason. I was scared I would fail, scared what other people would think,
and scared that my husband would resent me for monopolizing another one of
“our” summers. I also rationalized that hiking the Appalachian Trail, for the third
time, wouldn’t prove anything, and it wouldn’t put me any closer to the kids and
stable income that I wanted to be a part of my future.
But on the trail, I get to leave the noise, erase other people’s expectations, and
listen to my heart. For me, these silent times of reflection and prayer are found
hiking in the woods. I believe that I know who I am standing on top of a
mountain, and that I make my best decisions in the heart of the forest. It took ten
weeks of backpacking through Europe together before my husband and I made
the decision to listen to hope, strip away fear and reason, and try for the overall