Date: 2016-10-09
To: Post Hike Travels
Miles today: 0.0

The wave of homesickness turned out to be an emotional breakdown post hike. Saying goodbye to my hiking friends started the tears and they would not quit. It started when I returned the poles to Dick and told him I was going home. I apologized to Miss Janet for the meltdown. She understood completely and gave me lots of words of encouragement for transitioning back home. AT Gracie was there and we said our goodbyes until next year.I drove back to Boston and flew to Richmond. Tim picked me up at 10:00 pm. After more tears, I crashed for two hours during the ride home. On Sunday, I saw everyone at Smyrna Church. My journal was posted every week before the worship service. Everyone at Church has been a great support for me. I wanted to visit Bill and Nancy right away. They had tried to see me in June but we missed each other by minutes. I drove to Harrisonburg and we had a great visit. Then I headed for North Carolina to see my Mom. (I was only home about 14 hours!) My Mom is doing great! She lives at Pittsboro Christian Village in North Carolina. She said I didn't need to come right away, but I said it had been almost seven months and I did need to visit now! I stayed with my brother Jeff and nephew Zack; both had hiked with me for two days in April. My Mom's visit was super. Tim sent her an 8x10 of my summit picture, so all 100 residents and staff have now seen it, some had already seen it. Now to complete my hike I needed to go to the Smokies to hike the 7.9 miles between Clingmans Dome and Newfound Gap. I contacted Lisa Kim and she said come on to her house. Fish is in from Georgia and would like to hike with me. Wow, where else would a twenty-something want to hike with a sixty-something! After a nice visit with Lisa Kim, we hiked south and summited Clingmans. Fish and I talked non-stop the whole way. I found out that Fish and Spicey (my son's friend) hiked 500 miles together and summited together! I am now officially done! On the drive home, I called Southpaw and we shared all about our hikes after Delaware Water Gap. I hope to see him at Trail Days next year.I also called White Owl. His voice sounded so great on the phone, I realized how weak he had sounded before we split up. He had been very sick. I am so glad he recovered! He summited October 8. His daughter hiked part of Katahdin with him. Chatterbox and Troy summited with him. While driving home, I got a call from Gormet Dave wanting me to hike an overnight we with his high school class. Yes! We hiked on Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 16th. I had a great time with the class.An unexpected benefit was meeting South-bounders. The first one greeted me, "Hi IWOX!" I did not know him. He is Parson Tripping from upstate New York and he knew me from my journal! Next came Budget and Buffalo who I remembered passing up north. Along came Denim! We had hiked the same pace for a week in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He looks for work along the Trail and flipped to Harper's Ferry recently. Seeing him was a great surprise.A chapter of my life is over. 8 years of planning and 6.5 months of hiking. I plan one more entry. I miss the hiking, but my people even more. What great friends I have!Bill and NancyMy Wonderful Mother!Zack and FamilyLisa Kim, Fish and JillFish