About the Author, Britta Sharp: I’ve lived an unconventional and eventful life, so how to do a short bio? Hmmm….well, I’ll just be current. Married to my best friend, soul mate, partner in crime for 24 years. He’s retired, I’m just mooching. Ok, not really. Sorta. He retired, I quit and got myself a B.S. in Economics from THE Ohio State University at the age of 45. At 49, I’m still trying to figure out what to do with myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not lazy – I have 2 careers behind me. Just haven’t found THE ONE yet. We are currently thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Maybe that will help. We met rock climbing. I love to ski and hike and ride roller coasters and chase lobsters in Florida. My husband once accused me of being an adrenaline junky. That was fair.
I did an exercise about three years ago where a group of us (“Rising Stars” at work) were given a list of words describing what might be important in our lives – success, marriage, reading, kids, education, whatever. We were asked to circle the 10 or 15 we found most important. Over 3-4 rounds of narrowing down our original list, we were each left with the ONE most important thing. Most people ended up with Family. I ended up with Adventure. I was the only one. I’m not sure what that says about me as a whole, but I’ll just take that as a solid truth and go with it.
So here I am, not a Rising Star, hiking the AT with my best friend. Currently sitting outside the library in Hot Springs, writing my first ever blog post. That’s adventurous, right? Back on the trail tomorrow. I’m happy and excited about that. Looking forward to new moments. And stories. And memories. And views. And even “Embracing the Suck.” Because one of my “Why”s is to be a badass girl (woman) that’s hiked 2192 miles. Starting in February. Someone who’s used micro spikes because she had to. Slept in shelters with snorers. Sandwiched a hypothermic stranger between us to keep him safe overnight. Hiked through the pain. Because you can’t be a badass if there isn’t any Suck
But it can’t be too much Suck; it has to be balanced out by Awesomeness. Views for miles. The first sunny day after 5 days of rain. The Tramily that just comes naturally comes together. Realizing people are CHOOSING to hike with you. That first meal when you get to town. With a beer. And friends. Retelling stories. Reuniting with the Tramily after you’ve been separated. And the realization that you are truly grateful for the “little” things in life. A toilet. Tissues. Cuddling in a real bed with your husband. Belly laughing.
Walking to dinner tonight, my husband said he was reluctant to leave tomorrow morning. He really likes this town and it’s been so much fun. I asked him if he realized that one of the biggest reasons it’s been so much fun is because we’ve been hanging out with our friends and if we don’t go, we will lose our tramily. And the town wouldn’t be the same without them. Tomorrow is Thursday. Storms are coming Friday and we are looking at a 16 mile day from shelter to shelter. The Suck is coming. But at the end of the day, we will be warm and dry in the shelter, laughing about some silliness with our trail family. And that will be Awesome.
