Date: 2012-07-07
To: People are still reading?
Miles today: 0.0

Dear readers,I am quite shocked to see that the counter on my journal continues to rise, albeit slowly. There are, apparently, still people out there interested in reading what I had to say during the course of my thru-hike. That makes me really happy. While I had no intention of keeping the blog for any other reason besides so my friends and family could follow me along on my adventure, by the end, I hoped and tried to make it something that could be a valuable resource or inspiration for those who followed in my footsteps in the years that followed. Since the counter still rises, I'm hopeful that that has indeed, been the case.Life has felt nothing short of a whirlwind since touching the sign on Katahdin on August 26, 2009. While so much has happened in the time since then, it's amazing how much it still feels like it was yesterday. And it's amazing to think how much a part of my life the trail continues to be. Will and I were fortunate enough to get back down to the AT over Spring Break in March and continue our section hike where we left off on our honeymoon. We did 65 miles and have officially completed everything south of the NOC! And, unlike our honeymoon, it was thru-hiker season! Yeah! It was a fun, but brief, visit back to the trail. We felt right at home amidst the AT class of 2012, most of them newbies to the world of thru-hiking. While I kept my seasoned veteran status to myself, Will couldn't help but brag about me to those we met. I gave my insight when asked and hopefully made some people feel a bit more confident about the journey that lay ahead of them. The lure to continue on to Maine with them was strong. We met some wonderful people who are well on their way to reaching Katahdin, including Bomber (who just finished!), Wildflower (Lyn on TJ), HeadnOut and Taggin Along, and many others. As I watched the community of 2012 hikers form around us, I smiled at the disbelief that the girl I met in the pouring rain on Springer Mt. on March 15 would become one of my best friends and stick with me for all 5 million steps to Maine. What are the odds? I feel lucky that I had one companion who stayed consistent amongst such a fluid, ever-changing community.And, as luck would have it, Plunger and Mr. Right (who currently reside in San Fransisco) were in the area for a week (Mr. Right started with a friend of his who is thru-hiking) and shuttled us from the NOC to Neels Gap! Life works out in funny ways. It was wonderful to reunite with them again, if only for an hour or two.Besides longing to be backpacking every chance we get, life really is not that exciting at the moment. I am entering my third and final year of grad school for high school counseling. That will consist of a year long internship at one of the topic public school districts in Missouri. Fingers crossed it helps lead to a job. And since I don't want to also have classes on top of interning, I've decided to take four classes this summer to wrap up my remaining coursework before the school year starts. Who's terrible idea was that? Mine, and sometimes I regret it, but I think I will be thankful next year when I can focus solely on performing well as an intern and looking for a job. Not to mention, it's been five billion degrees here in St. Louis (okay, not really, more like 105 degrees) every day for weeks, so having to spend my days in class and typing papers in the overly-air conditioned library has not been so bad. It would be a lot worse, say, if it were a reasonable temperature that made it enjoyable to be outside.I continue to work at the wonderful local outdoor store, Alpine Shop, part-time. I occasionally do presentations on my thru-hike, and frequently get customers doing an AT section who want advice with itineraries or gear selection. It's fun to continue to feel connected to my AT experience and be able share it with others on a regular basis. And, of course, I occasionally get the jacka$$ customer who doesn't want me to fit them for a pack or for boots because I'm a girl. But I patiently deal with their better-than-thou attitude and wait for the magic question, "So, have you ever backpacked before?" It's fun. A few weeks ago, I actually checked off the next big thing on my bucket list since my thru-hike (besides deciding what I wanted to do with my life and going to grad school for it! I ran a marathon. And it was a trail marathon. Most people thought I was crazy for attempting a trail run for my first marathon. Apparently the course was considered a bit challenging, too, by Missouri standards. But I looked at the very differently. A trail run seemed so much more enjoyable and easier to me than running 26 miles on concrete through city streets. My knees also told me they thought a trail run was a much better idea. I feel at home in the woods and the extra physical exertion needed seemed like a small price to pay for the increased enjoyment I get out of it. A marathon on roads sounds absolutely dreadful¢¦ For me, it would be much more challenging mentally and a lot less fun. I¢ll stick to the woods, thanks. ?It was really really fun. It was a hot day, and simply wanting to finish, I went really slowly, finishing in 5:48:47 and stopping for a few minutes at every aid station to refuel on food and drink. But I did it and it was fun. All three of my goals were accomplished: 1.) Finish 2.) Have fun 3.) Finish in under 6 hours. Will borrowed his dad's truck and met me at most of the aid stations which were located at trail intersections with fire service roads. There were less than 100 people entered, so the field spread out pretty quickly. I found myself in the back for the first few miles, but one by one, I started passing people. And that was a good feeling. The last fifteen or so miles were run basically alone, except to occasionally pass someone. The heat got to a lot of people, causing almost 30 people to drop out before the finish line.I felt smart and strong throughout the race, even if I averaged just over 13 min/miles. That pace was enough to earn me the 8th spot among females and 27th overall. Not bad for my first race! Most importantly, though, I had a really good time. I loved running alone through the woods, complete with frequent flashbacks to the miles I hiked alone on the AT. The whole experience felt eerily similar to my thru-hike, just on a much smaller scale. I even had to dig a cathole at mile 18! (thanks to the soda and peanut M&Ms consumed at mile 16 -not a good idea). The feelings upon finishing the marathon were similar to that of the AT, too. I felt proud of achieving my goal, proud of the effort I put into training for it for the prior 5 months, excited to check another item off of my bucket list, and just proud of myself for even attempting it. The dominant feeling I felt next to the sign on Katahdin was "If I can do this, what can't I do?" and that feeling continues to resonate with me today. I felt it during my marathon, I feel it when I am writing a 30+ page essay exam due the following day, and I'm sure I will feel it as I embark on my internship and job search. It is empowering and reassuring, and so far, has yet to fail me.To celebrate the end of a summer much too focused on academics, Will and I have a planned a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park!   We¢ve got a couple nights planned in the backcountry to help us acclimate, then we¢ll be summiting our first 14er, Longs Peak, as a day hike. It will be a monster day for us, beginning at 2am in order to get up and down below tree line before afternoon thunderstorms roll through. We can¢t wait!!!And after that, life becomes utterly career-focused. But that¢s a good thing. I¢m ready. It¢s only taken 30 years, ha! A regular schedule and a salary sure will be nice. Without having to work weekends, hopefully we can get out for a bunch of local backpacking overnights here in Missouri with our pup, Scout. She loves it, and while she was very anxious and didn¢t sleep much her first trip or two, she quickly learned that the comfort of thermarests and down sleeping bags beat sleeping in her kennel at home. It¢s a good thing we have a three man tent, although she still cramps my style because Will doesn¢t let her on his NeoAir. Life is wonderful. Sometimes it¢s less exciting than others, but always wonderful. I feel very fortunate for the path my life has taken since I summited Katahdin. The AT was one giant catalyst for leading me to where I am today. Without it, who knows where I¢d be or what I would be doing. It remains a giant part of who I am and how I got here, and it always will.   I can¢t wait to show Will every inch of it, even if it takes a lifetime. Gangsta and I continue to talk and text regularly. She informed me to keep an eye out for the next JOURNEYS magazine published by the ATC.   I might be the cover photographer, all thanks to Gangsta who submitted some photos of mine along with a beautifully written article of hers that might be getting published¢¦ She might be the cover girl, too! I love that our experience continues to be celebrated, three years later. Mawgawet and Fwancine still make guest appearances on occasion, too, usually in the form of voicemails or Facebook messages to each other. They certainly live on. And maybe someday, there will be a book. Will gets mad at me almost daily for not having written one yet. I told him I¢d do it if he found me a publisher. And Gangsta is keeping up with her writing, too (as you might see in the next issue of JOURNEYS , although she is about to burst any day with her second little one, so she¢s going to be a busy woman for the next few years¢¦ All I know is that I couldn¢t have met a better person to hike 2000+ miles with!I am eternally thankful for white blazes. For me, the white blazes led beyond Katahdin. They led me to St. Louis, to my husband, to the career of school counseling, and who knows where else they will lead me in the future. Ever since I stepped foot on Springer Mountain on March 15, 2009, life has felt full of purpose, direction, goals and desires.   Who knows where I would be if it weren¢t for white blazes. I¢m thankful.