Date: 2011-09-15
To: The End
Miles today: 0.0

this is probably going to be a poor attempt at summing up my AT experience, but here it goes nonetheless.in a quick search to find a photo that would suit my epilogue well, i took a look into my trail journals photo library, and stumbled across this one from the first day. and upon seeing that photo, i realized that much has changed to me in the last five months.although much has happened since, i remember that day pretty clearly, without even going back and reading my journal. i slept horribly the night before, and in the morning was barely able to stomach breakfast, probably due to nerves. i squeezed a call off to my mother before we departed. my pack weighed 36 pounds without water, which probably put it around 40. the gang that i started with all signed the register at Springer, which was an art form in itself that i wouldn't get used to for quite awhile. then walkabout and i cruised off, never to see any of those people again, with the exception of Trek. i remember the trees being bare, the walking was mostly easy, an old dude pooping right next to the trail, passing a lot of litter on the trail (discarded items and such), almost running out of water before getting some at a stream, pausing at gooch gap shelter to quickly sign the books, and then generally feeling like i was running out of steam a few miles short of our intended campsite, camping at gooch gap where i pitched my tarp rather lousily before cooking up a meager dinner.that night was the only night where the idea of 'quitting' ever really crossed my mind. and it's not like i actively thought about it. it was more like my mind was asking me: 'do you really want to do this? you know, you could just take all of the money you saved up and live on a warm beach in florida somewhere for the summer.' tempting thought really. but the next morning i woke up and kept hiking, the decision to do so having been made long before i began my hike the day before. and so i continued to do this for the next 140 days.i would say that my overall feeling of coming off of the AT is split into two parts. on one side i feel accomplished. and the other part of me feels so very appreciative.as far as the accomplishment goes, i feel that my hike was a success, not in the outcome, but in the continual success that the journey unfolded to be. i never got sick or suffered any serious injuries, i probably only lost 2-5 pounds, my hiking stick made it the whole way, i met some incredibly awesome people, experienced some of the most beautiful land in America, and i feel that i kept up a fairly respectable pace without going too fast - left some time to enjoy the finer parts here and there. and i finished the hike having no regrets, would not change any part of it in any way.the other side of the coin, the appreciation i feel, is the more unexpected side of the journey. i came into the hike with only a small inkling of what i would encounter in trail life. to say the least, i was overwhelmed by the AT community. i definitely would not have had the same incredible experience without all of the help, time, generosity and love given to me and all others on the trail from this community. whether it was a cold Dr. Pepper on a hot day, a ride into town from a stranger, the free health clinic at trail days, a free place to stay in the middle of nowhere, the trail seems to run on the kindness of humanity. and that is pretty awesome. heck, the trail itself, the actual walking path, wouldn't be there and continue to exist if it wasn't for the millions of hours donated by volunteers. i hope to start sending out thank you letters some time in the near future, but these will only reach a small percentage of the people who actually helped me. thanks AT community. keep the love flowing.i would also like to directly thank my parents and all of my immediate family who supported my with care packages (patty and larry, pam and charlie, aunt susie, pam robel, karla and kevin), and for every single person who sent me e-mails or dropped a line in my guest book. your encouragement and support was extremely appreciated continually.cheers to future adventures and endeavors.