Date: 2014-11-14
From: The End!

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I can¢t believe it¢s been 3 months now since my final summit of Katahdin. 3 MONTHS! Here¢s the thing. I don¢t think about the trail every day. I think about it every hour of every day. I¢m pretty sure I think about it more than I did this time last year with all the newness, prep work, and excitement of the hike to come. Funny thing is, most people don¢t know that. I don¢t talk about the trail much to others, and at first it kind of bothered me, and couldn¢t understand why that was. If others ask me about the trail, then I¢m a wide eyed, experienced, know-it-all, and will answer any question you have at dear length. But, I don¢t bring it up. I don¢t start the conversation, corner others to talk their ear off, or rip out the phone to show the 1200 or so pictures and videos I have stored. I simply don¢t bring it up at all. It has to be provoked. I also have others that do some sort of preemptive ¢Ya, ya. You hiked the trail, blah blah blah, I know, I¢m gonna tell you how disinterested I am, in a round-about way, before you bore me with your ¢adventure¢, thinking you¢re all that.¢ I think that¢s hilarious considering I wasn¢t planning on bringing it up to them anyway! LOL. Reminds me of the dude at True-Brit¢s hostel who ripped ¢purist thru-hikers¢ out of the blue before a ¢purist¢ could rip him for his non-purist ways. Get them before they get you I guess? ? Whatever happened to ¢Hike your own hike¢? Man. I just remembered how much I hate that phrase. LOL. Love the preemptive passive-aggressiveness though. Is that even a term btw?I said all that to say this. If the last few ¢post-trail¢ months taught me anything it¢s that I hiked this damn thing for myself and no one else. That makes me extremely happy. The fact that I don¢t have to tell anyone about my 6 month hiatus in the woods to satisfy my ego is pretty darn satisfying. I didn¢t hike for anyone but me. To be content in my own thoughts and self-accomplishments is a great place mentally, and it always makes me smile to do so. Again, Don¢t get me wrong. I still love talking about it. I love the fact that 3 other people that I know of now have aspirations of thru-hiking due to my excitement of my hike, is probably the most gratifying thing I have gone through so far. I find myself excited to talk to them about their plans more than they are. I love that I have invites to talk to others (boy- scouts for example) about my AT experience, an ¢old-ladies¢ book club (her words not mine) to read and discuss the book ¢A walk in the woods¢ by Bill Bryson next year, plus other opportunities to do things, even on a bigger scale, that I can¢t quite talk about yet. I do find my biggest joy looking back on all the pictures and the videos by myself. The fact is, there is no real way to explain to others my time on the Appalachian Trail with words. I can say it was the best time of my life, but what does that do? I can talk about the views, and the people I met. I can talk about the hostels, the wildlife, the mental, emotional, and physical grind. I can talk about the weather, the bugs, trail magic. I can talk about all of that but what I can¢t do is covey the greatness of the ¢experience¢. As much as I learned about the trail pre-hike, and as many books I have read, I still had no idea what to expect when I arrived at Springer Mountain in mid-February. Some people I talked to think thru-hiking the AT is extremely hard, while others somehow think it¢s extremely easy. But without the experience they can¢t possibly know, and the ¢experience¢ is what I can¢t convey. I know I¢m not going to anytime soon, but I can see myself doing this again. Easily! I have aspirations on the Continental Divide Trail, as well as the Pacific Crest Trail and become a Triple Crowner. I really want to hike the Colorado Trail, John Muir Trail, and maybe even one the Mountains to Sea Trail. All in due time, Lord willing. However, the Appalachian Trail I will definitely attempt again. Maybe even before all the others. It¢s the one trail that most triple crowners say is the must trail. Even though it is shorter, it¢s still harder, but more that I believe it¢s THE trail. The most famous, difficult long distance trail in all the world! I miss it so!I want to thank everyone who made this possible for me. 1.        Mike, who ran my business for me while I was away. More than anyone, without him this would have been nothing but a dream. Most of my customers were happy with the work he did and most of my business was still intact when I came back home September 1st. I worried a little when I was gone, but honestly couldn¢t have trusted anyone more. I did give him hell a few times but he did just fine. The good thing is, he will never read this so I can praise him without him knowing it! Lol2.        Ex-wives are so awesome I decided to get 2 of them! ? My daughters¢ mom/ex-wife Kayti is the 2nd I have to thank. She sorta understood what I was doing going on this hike, but really, I didn¢t even understand what I was doing. She made it easy to take care of my daughter, as she always does. She has no issues what-so-ever on when and how long she came on the trail with me. Even drove down to Atlanta to pick her up after I started so my daughter could see my start. I was able to communicate at all times with her which made my trip super easy. Along with Mike, without her this wouldn¢t have been possible, also along with Mike, she will never read this. ?3.        My parents. My dad was my finance and logistics guy. He ran my money and most of my mail drops for food and clothing. He also brought my daughter to me in Virginia for our 10 day hike, and drove his truck to Maine so I can have a vehicle to drive home in as my daughter and I took our time getting back home. He also kept Mike in check from time to time. My mom, possibly the only one in the family that read my journals, helped out by just not worrying like a normal mom would. She also helped out with mail drops as well. But as a whole, they supported my decision from the time I told them about it, even though they couldn¢t possibly understand it. Thanks, for the GoPro too!4.        Probably my best friend from the moment I planned the hike to the moment I finished, Angela has been there. She knew the ends and outs of the whole thing, and was just as excited about it as I was. She gave me multiple care packages, kept me from being too lonely on the trail with her texts, and even came to hike with me on several occasions. I needed her just for the mental support and encouragement. Someone that understood (she trained for a full Iron Man competition) what I was going through preparing for this. She will always be a huge part of this journey with me.5.        My daughter Kaytlin. I would have not even considered this if she wasn¢t excited about it from the word go. I was very nervous on explaining what I wanted to do, be gone for 6 months for one, because if she didn¢t want me to go, I probably wouldn¢t have. I have actually lost a few friends cause of this. Not fully understanding why I would leave my daughter for a selfish dream, and for the most part I can¢t blame them. Kaytlin never wavered and was excited that I was chasing this crazy adventure. I¢m hoping that she will understand that if you want something just go do it! There will never be a ¢perfect¢ time to do anything. There will always be challenges and issues to deal with. You have one life to live, put one foot in front of the other and go out on faith. She¢s the best! Love you!That¢s it for now. Just a few thoughts about life post-trail. I know hiking a long distance trail is not for everyone. Trust me, it just isn¢t. But I do believe everyone has some sort of dream and aspiration to experience or achieve. There are so many excuses, and good ones at that, but if I can say anything, it¢s don¢t let excuses get in the way. You will regret more of what you didn¢t do, than what you did do. So go to it!SOTD, ¢Best Day of My Life¢ ¢American Authors