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“The first week was bad because being sick wears you down, and it
was raining,” Corsentino reported during an April 5 interview that
found him temporarily in civilization north of mile marker 130 in
North Carolina, by this point with some of the highest peaks of the Trail
traversed behind him. “(The last few nights in North Carolina’s) Blue
Ridge Mountains were 20 degrees with 45-mile-per-hour winds and
it’s going to snow. It’s been more physically demanding than I expected.”
Corsentino sheltered himself from these frigid temperatures with
the comfort of an old army surplus sleeping bag he is carrying alongside his tent, clothing and other necessities packed into a 65-liter
Osprey ruck.
“You want to get rid of any item you can and even carry as little
water as you can,” he advised. “Ounces lead to pounds and pounds
lead to pain.”
Provisions are restocked every four to six days via detours to towns
off the Trail where he also gets access to showers and laundry.
“I tell people to think of it as a series of four-to-five-day hikes,” he
clarified. “The more you do it the better you get at it, and then the
better your day is. The first week-and-a-half you’re thinking ‘why am I
doing this?’ And it’s fairly technical, so for the first couple weeks I didn’t
really see more than five feet in front of me; you want to make sure
you’re not going to misstep and roll your ankle. Then you get into it and
start moving along. It becomes part of your daily activity, and you
know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. It’s one step at a time,
one day at a time.”
When Corsentino passed through the Great Smokey Mountains
that straddle the Tennessee-North Carolina border, he was finally
“used to the hike” and was able to look around and take in the view
more often. He also discovered that it’s the little things that make the
hike worthwhile.
“It’s been so cold, and I actually enjoy hiking in the rain,” he stated.
“But when you find a sunny spot in a grassy patch and sit down and
eat lunch and chill out with nobody around… that’s been it for me.”
In fact, with Trail Season in full swing, finding a little solitude in the
middle of the woods can be harder than expected.
“There’s quite a few people out there,” Corsentino confirmed,
describing the mixed crowd as mostly recent college grads with “older”
retired people flanking him on the other end of the age spectrum. “I
ran into some vets that just got back. You can tell who’s the hippie college kid and who’s the military guy. Not that I avoid any of them. I talk
to everybody. Everyone’s on the same mission, but everyone goes at
their own pace. A lot of times you’ll run into people and then not again
for a few days or a week, but then you run into them later on.”
Speaking of later on, Corsentino hasn’t planned more than four to
five days ahead except for his daughter’s Aug. 13 wedding. And that’s
all that will deter him from completing the 2,190 miles in one fell
swoop.
“I’m mission-oriented,” he related. “If I circle a spot on the map, I’ll
get there or die trying. I wanted to be done by the wedding, but now
I’m at the point where the purpose is not to be on that clock. I’m trying
to not (be so mission-oriented) and enjoy my time.”
When Corsentino reaches mile marker 1,293 –where the
Appalachian Trail passes through New Jersey – he looks forward to
running into a certain special person: Bernards Township Local 357
member, and his wife, Peggy.
“I have no desire to do the whole trail but if I can do a portion of it
with Vinnie, that would be really cool,” she disclosed. “It’s neat for him
to do this on his own – to be by himself and figure out what his next
years are going to be.”
So for now, we will follow Vinnie and his tales from the Trail. Stay
tuned for further updates. d
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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