Date: 2006-07-02
To: Common Questions Part 1
Miles today: 0.0

I want to end my trail journal with some deep insights and wonderful lessons from the trail but since I don¢t have any yet I will take this opportunity to answer some of the questions that I have received since my return. Where are your pictures from New England?I don¢t have any pictures from late Vermont through mid-Maine because my Treo died. I used my Treo as a camera, phone, calculator, email, and MP3 player. It survived the cold and snow of the South, the heat of Virginia and the rain, rain, rain from New York to Maine but the wonderful, warm sunshine of Maine was too much for it and without warning it stopped working. I am working to get it fixed but it looks like I will ultimately have to send it to a data recovery expert ¢ I really want those pictures! Luckily it died before the 100 Mile Wilderness so I was able to buy a disposable camera in Monson, ME. If you haven¢t seen my summit pictures, they are now posted.How much weight did you lose?On the scale I dropped from 187 to 168 but the mirror showed a transformation similar to the difference between a 5¢10¢ 200lb couch potato and a 5¢10¢ 200lb linebacker. I packed on weight before I left and am sure glad I did. Like the thrus who recommended I put it on warned me, it came off quickly. (I¢m afraid it will come back just as quickly.)What was your typical food?I never did cook but some very gracious folks did occasionally cook food for me. I continued to eat bagels, tortillas, snickers, slim jims, cheese, PB&J, ham and cheese, M&M¢s, peanuts, granola bars, Oreos, and any other ultra-high calorie junk food I could palate. In town I usually consumed pizza, meat, meat, meat, pizza, meat and large quantities of Coke and/or Mountain Dew.How much money was raised for the Free Clinic?Per Robin Roberson, Manager: ¢As we discussed, what you have done for the Clinic is totally amazing, aside from what you have accomplished for yourself. To date your hike has raised $20,000 for the Clinic in donations and pledges. That is no small amount to us; we can make $20,000 go a long way in providing care to our patients.¢How was my hammock?After toting it around for 2 months and 1000+ miles and only using it 3 times I ditched my hammock at Delaware Water Gap, PA. I never missed it. I hiked from shelter to shelter and suffered at night with mosquitoes but sure enjoyed not carrying the 2.5 to 3lbs. I spent more time hiking than sleeping anyway.Are you going to write a book?No. The primary reason being that there is absolutely no way that I could reproduce the joy, sorrow, excitement, romance, and power of this thru-hike outside of the daily updates that each of us were able to enjoy. We all walked this AT together; in real time. I love the feelings that are invoked when I reread my trail journal. A retelling or expansion of the stories would only dilute our trail experience. Besides, not only would I have to get somebody to read it I would have to convince them to buy it.What were your favorite and least favorite parts of the trail?Central Virginia, the Smokies, and Southern Maine were the most beautiful in large part because the weather was so perfect. Each section of the trail is unique and I would recommend seeing it all.My least favorite part of the trail was New Hampshire because it was so completely disappointing to me. The huge climbs in miserable weather and no views was nothing less than grinding away at a millstone. Jennel, the kids, and I drove around NH and up Mt. Washington at the completion of my hike and fortunately I was able to see some of the beauty I missed.Is it weird to be home?From about post-hike day 2 I have felt like the thru-hike was a dream. I fit immediately back into my home life. There was no awkwardness between Jennel, the kids and me. We all just fell right back into our roles. I look forward to returning to work. Besides leaving me with an overwhelming desire to exercise and some residual foot pain the thru-hike has already become distant. Another world, another time. That is what is weird.How much did your hike cost?At some point (probably when I do my 2006 tax return) I will get the exact dollar amount but a very good estimate is about $6500. I spent about $1500 in gear and replacement gear ($450 in shoes ¢ yikes), $3000 while on the trail (mostly on food, consumables, restaurants, and town lodging), and $2000 on Jennel¢s fuel and other transportation, food, and lodging expenses related to our rendezvous¢ and resupplies. The opportunity cost of the hike was very large: lost time at work, time away from the family, etc. Fortunately I did not borrow any money to finance my hike. There is plenty of opportunity for me the recoup the $6500 but would there ever be another opportunity to fulfill a dream?Did you ever think about quitting?I can honestly say I don¢t recall once thinking of leaving the trail before completion. I guess I effectively burned my ships (see my Burning Ships, 9/22/05 post). There were, however, countless times I asked myself, ¢What have I gotten myself into?¢ There were also many times that asked, and more than a few where I yelled, ¢What am I doing out here?!¢ Will you continue your Trail Journal?I am looking forward to closing my trail journal so that I can free some of my friends and family from their daily addiction of checking my journal to see if I have posted anything new. I am sure they want those few minutes of their lives back. There are some other questions with which I would like to respond and in the meantime hopefully I can get the pictures out of my Treo.