The Word "Cumulative"                                   

    I am typing this post while staying at a shelter where no cell phone access is available. So I cannot start off by giving you the Webster's Dictionary definition of "cumulative."

Websters-- Cumulative: increasing by successive additions—found it

     However I can assure you it is a term which has represented a very important concept or principle for our AT thru hike. 

     For instance, when the would be long distance hiker enters an REI Store, or one similar, he/she is confronted with a multitude of options for really neat gear. However, if you do not keep track of the cumulative weight of those gear options, you may    find yourself carrying far too much weight and struggle unnecessarily. 

     We have been    told that %75 of those who register with the ATC to do a thru hike drop out before completing it. A large % reportedly drop out before even hiking 100 miles! They most likely did not think hard enough on the principle of cumulative.

    Nephew and I have made many stops along the way to buy food.  Now we all know how dangerous it can be to shop for food when hungry, and these days we generally are feeling a voracious appetite. So we have to be guided not just by our rumbling stomachs, but also by the idea of what amount makes for an appropriate pack weight. Because for sure you are going to soon be carrying that pack up steep inclines, over and through rock scrambles, on narrow ledges, and down dizzyingly severe declines filled with boulders. And nobody is suddenly going to appear out of the woods and offer to carry that sucker for you! 

     Cumulative also relates to the impact of the trail's various challenges      on one’s body and psyche. The biggest cumulative effect on my body thus far has to do with my right foot and ankle. In the mornings they are stiff and I have to walk heel to toe for 200 yards + before they warm up. And they do warm up, for over the last 4 days we have walked on average around 16 + miles per day.

     One cumulative effect that is positive is our bodies' growing ability to recover. One ends the day thinking "I am toast!" only to discover the next morning that you are ready to do it all over again. 

    So as you consider your own life today, how is the cumulative principle either helping you or making you weaker?