Date: 2018-03-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

In looking back over my journal entries it seems that I¢ve managed to write an entire whiney novel after only two weeks of traveling by foot on the Appalachian trail.  I walked with a heavier than necessary load strapped to my back for almost 100 miles (95.4 mi.) covering the Georgia section of the AT. I averaged 8.67 miles per day hiking over steep and difficult terrain, slowed often by unseasonably severe weather conditions. And I did it with no previous hiking experience, out of shape, and with some minor health issues at 53 years of age.My original goal for the AT was to hike 100 miles (essentially the Georgia section) before that idea grew to a possible Thru-Hike all the way to Maine.  So, at least the original thought was achieved.  My top moments on the AT in Georgia are;  1. Hiking the section after Neels Gap and meeting some nice people on that section.  2. Reaching the Summit of Blood Mountain.  3.  Reaching the North Carolina Border.  Honorable mentions; Waterfalls, Mountaintop Views, Starting at Amicalola under the arch.The worst experiences were;  1.  Overcrowded Lance Creek campsite.  2.  Climbing Blood Mountain in the freezing cold.  3.  Muskrat Campsite in the freezing cold.  Dishonorable mentions;  Overnight at Hawk Mountain campsite (cold and gunfire), Long evenings and nights in crowded camps, The smell of damp down, Trail food.I can¢t express how much the encouraging and thoughtful comments on Trail Journals have meant to me.  Reading those were perhaps the most uplifting moments of the whole experience.On my wall map, I completed about an inch of three-and-a-half feet of mapped trail from Amicalola Falls to Mt. Khadadin, Maine. My absolute minimum goal was to make it to Neel¢s Gap, nearly 40 miles from Amicalola - I did that. My next goal was the North Carolina Border - I did that too. I had hoped however, to be able to make it at least to Fontana Dam, but the weather drove me off the trail at Deep Gap.I still see Squatch looking me in the eye when I met him on a rock overlooking the mountains, with his special forces training countenance, he asked me where I was going. I said I hoped to make it to Maine. And then he told me, ¢I can tell right now you are never going to make it that far. Making it to Maine has to be the most important thing in your life if you¢re going to get there. There has to be definiteness of purpose, and that definiteness isn¢t in your voice¢¦ Now where are you going?¢  I replied that I was going to Maine!  But the definiteness in my mind was not there. Fear of what lie ahead based on what I experienced behind me prevented me from taking the option of quitting off the table. Would I like to pick up where I left off and finish a thru hike to Maine?  The answer is a resounding Yes. And that still isn¢t totally out of the question. However, there is one thing that is more important than the trail to me right now, and that is my wife. I think she was more disappointed than me that I didn¢t stick with it, and my return to the trail would have to be with her blessing (which is still a possibility). But first we are going to take a break, get some things done around the house, vacation at the beach for a week, and then we will see a bit more clearly. It might be more reasonable at this point point that I hike long sections over the next two or three years as circumstances allow it. But then again there are no guarantees that those circumstances will materialize.Hiking the AT during peak season in March was definitely not the wilderness experience I thought it would be. It did get a little better after Neels, Gap, and then it got a little better after Unicoi Gap, and better still after Dick¢s Creek Gap. It seemed that the AT was slowly filtering out annoying and inconsiderate hikers. If not for the weather I¢m sure I would still be on the trail.I must confess however, that all during my hike, I worried about all the things I could be accomplishing at home in my continuing seven year effort to restore and renovate my civil-war era home. After all, I am a carpenter more than I am a hiker.  When I started hiking the AT I wasn¢t a hiker at all. But now I AM a Hiker. The boot camp of the Georgia section of the AT in an unseasonably harsh month weather-wise, made me a Hiker. And so now a thirst has been instilled. Whether it be on the AT, or in my own beautiful state of West Virginia at Dolly Sods or Cranberry Wilderness, or on the Florida Trail, or in the Smokey Mountains, I WILL find the time to hike. And I sincerely hope that my family and friends can enjoy hiking with me from time to time.I¢ll continue this journal should I be fortunate enough return to the AT as either a Thru-hiker or section hiker. Until then¢¦.Happy Trails!