THANK YOU!!!

Now that my trip has reached an end, I want to thank everyone who helped me along the way. Everyone that I met in the trail community was so friendly and helpful! Thanks to everyone who sent me care packages along the way, or left words of encouragement on my blog site or with my parents. Just knowing that I had so many family and friends following my trip helped me through the tougher parts of the journey. Thanks to those who hiked with me and met me at road crossings, especially my parents. Throughout Maine I had personalized trail magic: they met me at every road doing the "trail magic hop", resupplying me, getting me dried out if it rained. Although I did the hiking, it's thanks to everyone who supported me that I made it all the way to Maine, and had fun along the way. And of course a HUGE thank you to Liz, my webmaster and blogger :-)

GAME 10

(Georgia to Maine, 2010 in hiker short-hand)
March 7 I stood on Springer Mountain looking north. August 6 I stood on Katahdin. 2,179.1 miles and 5 months of hiking through spectacular scenery, meeting wonderful people along the way. Many people hike the trail for profound reasons. In the words of Benton MacKaye, one of the founders of the trail, I hiked the trail “to walk, to see, and to see what I see”. Watching the seasons progress from winter to summer, from south to north, seeing the leaves unfurl, the flowers bloom, the mushrooms emerge. The first time I climbed Katahdin almost 10 years ago, and saw the white blazes headed south, I wanted to know what the trail looked like and what it passed through on the way to Georgia. Now, standing on Katahdin looking south, I know where the trail goes. I really enjoyed the hike, and I think the trail was a perfect length for me. I can't see myself doing another hike of this length, but I'm already reading about some shorter (maybe a month or so) long trails for my next excursion :-) However, right now I'm ready to move on to my next adventure—Newfoundland!

August 6, 2010

Up early to beat the crowds, Rob and I headed up the Hunt Trail for the last 5.2 miles of my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. The summit was in and out of clouds, but we had made arrangements with Pamola (Keeper of Katahdin, a creature with the head of a moose, wings and feet of an eagle, and torso of a man) for clear skies from 11 to 1, and he kept to his word. We met some thru-hikers coming down across the Tableland....including Picker!! It was really great to see him again. I hadn't seen him since Pearisburg, VA! At the summit Rob and I re-staged a historic photo of Myron Avery and his measuring wheel (I packed a converted bicycle wheel up the mountain with me), and attracted a LOT of attention. We came down via the Knife Edge and Dudley, probably the hardest way off the mountain, but it was fun.

100 miles to Katahdin

The last 100 miles of trail in Maine (the famed Wilderness) went quickly. I had hiked the section two years ago with Liz, so I remembered a lot of the trail, and I was in between thru-hiker bubbles (hiking alone). I had excellent hiking weather, watched the loons on numerous lakes, and even saw a bear! The last night I tented on the shore of a lake and watched the sun rise over the shoulder of Katahdin. It was magical. My folks all met me in Baxter State Park, where we waited a day for good weather. In the meantime my brother and I climbed Doubletop Mountain and went swimming at the natural rock slide at Ledge Falls on Nesowadnehunk Stream. We had many moose sightings, and watched a beaver swim up the stream across the falls, within 4 feet of us!!

15.1 Miles to Go

Emily is at Abol Bridge today...will do the next to last section tomorrow...Barb & Rob come Tuesday...looks like Mt. Katahdin will be later in the week to finish her 2,179 mile trek from Georgia!!!

Coming to you from the Appalachian Trail Cafe in Millinocket, Maine.