Date: 2012-06-13
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I had breakfast at the Inn which included pancakes, strawberries, cantelope, granola, soy milk, juice and tea. Everything tasted great but I was having a tough time dealing with my emotions. I didn't feel comfortable talking to Sigi who was sitting on the far side of the breakfast table so I ignored her. My section hike ended yesterday and I felt very disconnected from the other hikers who were still on the trail, or who were about to head out.I took a slow walk through town trying to collect my thoughts and I was partially rescued by Sunrise, a 2002 AT thru hiker who works at the Artisian Galleries. She is one of the many trail angels who were always in my path when I needed someone. She recognized that my lack of Verizon phone reception was because I had a pre-paid calling card which the local phone carrier doesn't recognize. She kindly lent me her cell phone to make several calls which helped me refocus on what I had to do.Back at the Inn I said my goodbyes to CO and Sigi, my two closest friends from my month-long journey. I wish I could have been more expressive of my feelings but I did the best I could under the circumstances. I could see that CO was sad as well. Sigi did not confide in my how she felt.Last fall when I planned my hike I assumed that the day after I finished my hike I would celebrate and be on top of the world. But the last thing I felt like doing was celebrating, and anyway all my friends were off the trail, or miles behind or ahead of me. I recognized that I had to get out of there as fast as I could. That's when fate stepped in my path again and Garrett, a hiker at the Inn offered to give me a ride to Asheville, a town about an hour away. From there I could find a way to get home. When he and his friends, Erin and Kyle dropped me off an hour later at the Asheville Airport I knew my hike was really over and I was back in the real world. It was like running into a cement wall!I took a flight to Charlette, NC, had a 3 hour layover, then got on a second plane to Newark, NJ. In between, I restlessly paced the airport corridors using my hiking stick, which I refused to check, to register even more "trail miles."Over today's 11 hour journey I munched on peanut bars which I got from the hiker box at the Inn, and on M&Ms from the Dollar General. I felt driven to get home, much like I was driven during my 22 mile hike 5 days earlier, and during my last hike when I was obsessed to get to the Sunnybank Inn as fast as possible.During the Newark flight I looked out the window at the mountains below and thought of my friends on the trail and where they might be.Worn out and emotionally exhausted I wondered how I might get home from the airport when I started a conversation with the woman sitting next to me on the plane. Cassie, a director from a pharmaceutical company spends a lot of time in the outdoors with her husband and children. She enjoyed seeing the trail photos on my digital camera and hearing about my journey over the past month, and my journey today. When she heard I had no plans for getting home from the airport she said, "I'll drop you off at your house!"It took me awhile before I could nod my head and gasp "thank you." One final time a trail angel was put in my path to help me when I needed help. In recent years I have come to believe in predestination but during my 5 week journey a lot of trail angels were working overtime.Before Cassie dropped me off at my house I took her photo, assuring her she will appear as a trail angel in this hiker blog.As I staggered into my house I looked at my watch. It was 9PM, "hiker's midnight." I thought of my friends one more time and how they must be in a trail shelter ~1,000 trail miles away drifting off to sleep. I hoped they would have a good night's sleep; they'll need it for the trail tomorrow. I also knew that try as I might I would never get to sleep tonight.