Date: 2014-08-14
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It's difficult to know what to say in this, my final Trail Journals entry. I thought a great deal about what I wanted to communicate while on the trail, but being so close to trail's end makes me suspect that I simply won't do the experience justice. Time and reflection will make everything clear.Did I enjoy my time on the AT? I relished the opportunity to challenge myself and plumb the depth and breadth of my resilience and ability to honor my commitments, and I'm satisfied with what I learned. I encountered tremendous beauty and met some amazing people, and I'll always be grateful for that. It was also extremely mentally and physically challenging, and I found myself in tremendous pain and discomfort, homesick, and exhausted far more often than I ever expected. The way I hiked the trail made much of it a grind, and there are only a handful of sections of the trail I'd consider hiking again. The AT is a brutal footpath--rocky, muddy, and covered in tree roots--for much of its length, and it punishes those seeking to hike it. But that punishment is also part of the reward, given that completing the trail is an accomplishment commensurate with the trail's difficulty. I will never regret my decision to hike the AT, and I'll always be grateful for what it taught me about perseverance, commitment, and steadfastness. So to answer my own question, I enjoyed some of my time on the AT, and I didn't enjoy the remainder. But it was the experience of a lifetime and I earnestly hope I'm a better man for having completed it.I could not have completed the trail if not for my faith. Spending 147 days hiking alone in the woods allowed me to spend untold hours in prayerful meditation, and I began nearly every day by praying for my family and friends, for my fellow hikers, and for myself, giving thanks for the myriad blessings I've received in my life. There were many times when my isolation left me no earthly source of comfort, and my faith provided me the strength needed to persevere through both physical and emotional pain. I never suffered an injury or illness so great that it broke me, and by providence the only challenges I encountered were those that could be overcome and which by overcoming made me a stronger, better man. The type of man my loved ones deserve. Timothy 2:7 and Hebrews 12:1 both speak of running the race; to apply them to a thru-hike is overly literal, the real point--persevering in faith--is something I sought to do daily and something I hope others witnessed through my journey.Thank you to my fellow thru-hikers, I'm a richer person for learning your stories and sharing the trail with you. Special thanks go to Double Shot and Space Cadet, Bubba, 19, Scout, MaRT, Wraijth, Mad Jac, Lost And Found, Dirt, Simple, I Believe, Yote, Mobius, Crocs, Taz, Lyons, Right Here, Time To Eat, Seabiscuit, Haiku, Lunch, Captain Phillips, Toast and Big Spoon, Long Haul Trucker and Trail Bunny, Mosey, Grasshopper, and many others. Thanks also to the hostelers and trail angels who gave me shelter from the storm and who made my hike possible. Special thanks to Gary and Lennie at the wonderful Blueberry Patch, Rob and Robin at the Buffalo Creek B&B, Neville and Michael at Woods Hole, and the good folks at the Blue Mountain Summit B&B, the Green Mountain House, the White Mountain Lodge & Hostel, the Farmhouse Inn in Rangeley, and the Lakeshore House in Monson. Lastly, many thanks to the ATC and the numerous AT clubs that maintain the trail. I saw their volunteers hard at work in every state, and our journeys wouldn't be possible without them.Thank you to my wonderful friends and family who supported me along the way. Thanks to Andy, RJ, Travis, Chris, and their families for a wonderful picnic in Virginia; to Brett and Caroline, for a great evening in Harpers Ferry (and for a much needed WolfGale Special); to Erica and Sabrina, for climbing with me and giving me much-needed HEALTHY sustenance at Annapolis Rocks; to Pam Rissmiller and her family for providing me a warm bed and an amazing dinner with my Pennsylvania family; to Marcus and Nate, for their encouraging emails; and to all those who kept me in their thoughts and prayers as I progressed.Thank you to the donors who comprised Team 2,000 Miles From Home. Their belief in me and their selfless compassion for those less fortunate made it possible for us to raise over $22,000 for People Serving People and Minnesota's homeless families, enough to transition 22 families from homelessness to self-succificiency. I am deeply honored to be part of this movement and to have made this incredible difference in the lives of so many parents and children in need.Thank you to my family. My parents equipped me with the strength and character to persevere through the hardships that accompanied the AT. They were my biggest cheerleaders, they supported my highly-risky decision to leave my career and start over, they cared for my dog Copper while I was gone, and they took the time to travel to Maine to share in my completion of the trail. I simply cannot imagine being blessed with better parents or better examples of how to love one's children, and anything I have ever accomplished is rooted in how they raised me and how they continue to teach me still. I love you, Mom and Dad. Thanks also to Molly & Brad and Rachel & Jake, for your love, encouragement, and active participation in my fundraising. You made this outcome possible.Finally, thank you to Ms. Britta Johnson of Saint Paul, Minnesota, formerly of Fairfax, Virginia. You supported me in my bid to thru-hike the trail and raise money for PSP. You traveled with me to Georgia and said farewell to me at Springer Mountain. You spared no expense to visit me in North Carolina, Virginia, New York, and New Hampshire. You joined my parents in traveling to Maine and you summited Katahdin alongside me. You endured countless texts about my on-trail hardships and struggled with the difficulty of helping from afar. I'm absolutely certain the support you provided was more challenging than actually hiking the trail, and I succeeded in no small measure because of you. I love you, and I hope to return the favor someday. My achievement is yours.With that said, it's time to move on. The coming months will entail settling down here in Minnesota and, God willing, beginning a new career of service in the nonprofit community. I have a long way to go and a positive outcome is by no means guaranteed, but I take some solace in the hope that my accomplishment on the AT and via 2,000 Miles From Home will prepare me for whatever hardships await me.Thank you for following my journey, I hope it was instructive or entertaining for you and it was a pleasure to have you along for the ride. Good luck on your own future adventures, God bless, and HAPPY TRAILS!