Mile 1205. Rocks, rocks and more rocks.

Shhh…   Don’t tell anyone….

I actually love Rocksylvania.   I’m having a blast out here!

I know everyone complains about it:  “This is where boots go to die!”  “Granite slices your feet!” “Your ankles will never be the same!”

To me, Rocksylvania is a series of childhood games after childhood games.

My favorite game is boulder field hop scotch.  Here, the course is a sea of large boulders that Mother Nature just dumped into a random pile.   The objective is to hop across from one side to the other side – sometimes just a few hundred feet and other times a mile or two.  If I get the right foot combination, I get to advance to the next white blaze.  If I get the wrong foot combination, I could step into a den full of timber rattlesnakes.  Snake den holes are everywhere reminding me that stakes are high.   Speed while remaining upright, bones in tact, and snake-bite-free is the name of the game.

While I don’t like it quite as much, the pinball course through the field of mish-mosh rocks also can be a fun challenge.  Here, the course is a random assortment of granite – diagonal, perpendicular, sharp, round, rough, slick, flat, tall, parallel, perpendicular.   My feet are pin balls.   The rock combination that I chose narrows the choice of the next rock combination, which then narrows the choice of the next rock combination, and so forth and so on.   If I get the right rock combination, I get to advance to the next white blaze with a sense of satisfaction from conquering the rock beasts.   If I get the wrong rock combination, I get an ankle twist or a foot stab or another bruise to add to my growing collection.    Similarly, speed while remaining upright and blood-free is the name of the game.

The day gets even more exciting when the Trail combines twisted permutations of boulder-field hop scotch and pinball mish-mosh with standard river bed rocks and partially smooth trail.   Just as I gain momentum and think I’m going to make some good miles that day, I slow down to a screeching halt as I am forced to strategically pick my way through the next obstacle course.  

Mindset is the key to winning.  

I am not in control of the Trail.   I am not in control of how easy or tough the challenges are that day.   I am not in control of the weather or the heat or those damn little gnats that keep flying into my eyes.  

I am in control of my attitude.   I get to choose my perspective.   I get to chose how fast I go; or how careful I want to be.   I get to chose how many miles I go that day – or if I want to take a zero-mile day.   I get to choose what I put in my mouth to properly fuel my body.  

Every footstep is progress toward the finish line in Katahdin.   That is winning.