Date: 2013-10-26
From: Dan's Pulpit

To: THE FINISH LINE-PORT CLINTON, Pa
Miles today: 17.8

It is my LAST day on the Appalachian Trail, Saturday, 10/26/2013!!! My FINAL day breaks cold and sunny which is exactly like my very first day on the AT began. The only difference is that there were several inches of snow on the ground in Springer Mountain, Ga on Thursday, 2/28/2013. I broke camp, had a quick breakfast and started hiking. To say that I was somewhat euphoric is an understatement of grand proportions! The trail started off with a gradual descent that went on for nearly three miles. As usual in Pennsylvania, the trail was very rocky. But, on this day I didn't care what the terrain was, I would glide over it with ease and that I did.Since shortly after I began my hike eight months ago, I always went through a mental check list as each day began:1-How is the weather?2-How are my feet?3-How are my knees?4-HOW do I feel mentally?5-How is my energy level?6-How is my water supply?7-How is my food supply?8-What is my objective for today?Well, the answer to the first seven questions is PERFECT! And, the answer to the last one, THE FINISH LINE, is the zenith of perfection!!! Today is Saturday and a great day for hiking and there were dozens and dozens of locals on the trail for day hikes. We were going in opposite directions and when we passed each other, I would look them in the eye, give them a big smile which, no matter how hard I tried, I could not remove from my face, and greet them cheefully. Many of them wanted to talk and I would stop and talk as long as they wanted to. Invariably, they would ask where I was coming from and when I told them from Springer Mountain, Ga by way of Mt. Katahdin, Maine, I would get the most incredulous looks. "Are you kidding me?" they would ask. Several times, groups of five or six hikers would be gathered around me firing questions one after the other. I felt like I was back in the third grade at a "Show & Tell" session.When I wasn't talking with hikers, I would let my mind meander back through the past eight months. I thought of all the wildlife I had seen. I thought of all the panoramic vistas I had viewed with awe from the mountain tops. I thought of the days filled with ice, snow, howling winds and temps in the teens. I thought of the bugs, blisters, bruises and falls and the hot, humid and rainy days. I thought of those wonderful Trail Angels. I thought of all the quaint, interesting little towns I had visited. I thought of the exhausting, back breaking days of climbing, up and down. But, most of all, I thought of all the wonderful people I had met, hikers and non-hikers alike. How generous, accommodating and just plain nice they had been to me in one way or another. Each had a story to tell me and, after gleaning their minds and souls, I would have a story to tell about them. I can honestly say that I never met a mean spirited, stingy or repulsive person out here. One or two were mildly unpleasant but we all have off days, even me. Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail is unequivocally the toughest, most challenging thing, mentally, emtionally and physically, I have ever accomplished. Nothing else comes close. The endless, grinding hour after hour, day after day, week after week of hiking in all types of weather and terrain can make the strongest person wilt. I often got discouraged but I never gave up. The AT reduces a thru-hiker's life to the basics, the absolute essentials, we hike, breathe, eat, sleep and, if we're lucky, interact with a few other folks during the day. Then, we crawl out of our bags the next morning and do it all over again...and again...and again... No, it is not for the mentally or emotionally weak. That is why 70-80% of those starting a thru-hike never reach the finish line. Let me leave you with these wise words from Warren Doyle, the Director/Instructor of the Appalachian Trail Institute which I attented before I began my journey. 1) Walking the entire Appalachian Trail is not recreation. It is an education and a job.2) Walking the entire Appalachian Trail is not 'going on a hike'. It is a challenging task - a journey with deeper ramifications. Are you willing to accept them and learn from them?3) Don't fight the Trail. You have to flow with it. Be cooperative with the Trail, neither competitive nor combative.4) Don't expect the Trail to respect or be sensitive to your domestic comfort level and desire (and past habits) to control your environment. In your avoidance of discomfort, you may become more uncomfortable. You can't make a mountain any less steep; a hot summer afternoon any cooler; a cold morning any warmer; and, daylight any longer. But you can actually. How?5) Time, distance, terrain, weather, and the Trail itself cannot be changed. You have to change. Don't waste any of your energy complaining over things you have no control over. Instead, look to yourself and adapt your mind, heart, body and soul to the Trail. Remember, you will be a guest in someone else's house the entire journey.6) The Trail knows neither prejudice nor discrimination. Don't expect any favors from the Trail. The Trail is inherently hard. Everything has to be earned. The Trail is a trial.7) Leave your cultural 'level of comfort' at home. Reduce your material wants while concentrating on your physical and spiritual needs.8) "The more I know, the less I need." Yes, one can wear one t-shirt the entire journey; you don't have to take any showers; don't need to cook your meals; one does not need a roof and four walls around them at night; you don't have to carry a canteen of water with you all the time.9) It is far better, and less painful, to learn to be a smart hiker rather than a strong hiker.10) Leave your emotional fat at home as well. Feel free to laugh, and to cry, and to feel lonely, and to feel afraid, and to feel socially irresponsible, and to feel foolish, and (most importantly) to feel free. Relive your childhood and play the game of the Trail. Roll with the punches and learn to laugh in the shadow of adversity. Be always optimistic - things could always be worse; don't become mired in the swamp of sorrow. Don't blame your discomfort or depression on the Trail or the weather, but look at yourself for not being able to adapt. The more afraid you are, the heavier your pack will be.Warren Doyle, 34,000+ miles hikedhttp://www.warrendoyle.com/ATI.html Happy Trails, my Friends!!