Date: 2003-09-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I hiked my own hike.Well, it was one week ago now that I walked down from Baxter Peak, Katahdin. Somehow, I need to bring closure to this journal that I began with my first pre-hike entry of June 22, 2002.There is a cardinal rule on the Trail¢¦everyone ¢hikes their own hike.¢ That is a philosophy that there is a ¢freedom¢ on the Trail to walk your own walk¢¦do your own thing, In Jim Owen¢s ¢The Thruhiking Papers¢ he says, it starts with taking responsibility for your own actions. Secondly, you don¢t hike someone else¢s hike or allow them to influence yours. Finally, you allow others to hike their hike their way ¢ whether you agree with them or not, as log as what they¢re doing isn¢t interfering with your hike or damaging the AT or the Trail community.What I set out to do was continuously walk the entire Appalachian Trail from Springer to Katahdin, South to North, passing every white blaze with my loaded backpack on. I felt if I was going to put forth the effort to hike 2000 miles, I could climb every NOBO uphill and do it with my backpack on. That was what I would try to do¢¦if I ran into problems I could always rethink and adjust accordingly. I don¢t consider myself a ¢purist.¢Let me say here that I never meant to ¢copy¢ others¢ hikes or impose my values onto other hikers. I did get an idea of what mileage I might be able to do by reading other¢s journals. All of the 2002 hikers that I followed on Trailjournals hiked their own hike, and I had tremendous respect for every one of them. None of them were the same. Big Red, who fought right to the end to make his hike happen¢¦Two Scoops, who returned to the Trail after being off for 2 weeks with an injury. He rarely took a zero in town and most often camped in his tent. Funky Avocado, who had to leave the Trail near the end due to injury. Blaze, Horseradish, Yossarian, ReRun, M.G., and Charlie Foxtrot¢¦all hiked their own hike.Not only did I want to hike the AT, but I wanted to have some fun doing it¢¦that was part of hiking my own hike. Meeting some wonderful people along the way really made it happen for me. You probably know who they are if you¢ve read my journals¢¦Mule, Driver, Charlie, Eli, Liteshoe, 2X4 & Taiyoo, Mag, Dag, Goldberry, Magnolia, Molasses, Ranger Rick, Tang, Fido Dido, Chameleon, Bob Mike & Bob, Miss Kitty, Orb, Stringbean, Lucky, Lady Walks Alot, Earl, Sue Bear, Itchy Foot, Hotfoot, Bearly Bald, Radio Shack, Hazmat, Just Do It, Wicked Wizard, Splash & Cobra, DeJaVue & Songbird, Skittles, Red & Blue, Weeds & Gator, Mousebait & B-rock, Drifter, Sticks, Spike & Hopper, Coolfoot, Nate, Gambler, Noah, Doulous, Goldwing, Euchre, Cosmo Kramer, Tapeworm, Jersey, Ben, LaDeeDa & Snail, Sally & Snail, Zapman & Sparky, Crazy Rick & Canary, Just John, Buffalo Soldier, Dolemite, El Dude, PaHa, Squirrel Master, Dirty Harry, Paparozzi, Rocky, Bulldog, Hiking Viking, The Colonel, Nature Boy, Mauro, Kismet, Family Man, Swift, Poncho & Moose, Spielberg, Toe Bow, Coop, Mud, Tail Wind, Home Run, TJ & Josh, Wingfoot, Old Corpus, Typhoon, Uuum, No Na Me, Chris, John from Barrington, Hamlet, E-Dogg, Border Riever, Just an Echo, Fremont, Coyote, Sleeping Beauty, Digger, Tripod, Dirty Bird, Tunnel Vision & Noah, Bodie and Hot Dog just to name a few. Some of them are special friendships that will last forever. One of the reasons I think I was successful was the zeros I spent in towns and hostels along the way. Almost without exception, I felt better hiking out of town with a full pack than I did hiking in after several days on the Trail. It was refreshing for me to rest in town for a day or two and eat big. I rarely ate enough at the shelters and campsites. Sleeping on a mattress also helped. I would have spent more nights tenting if it weren¢t for the weather. In a way, the only regret I have is making such a big deal in my journal about hitting the milestones along the way and making it to Katahdin. I was very happy to have completed the AT northbound, but as I look back, it was #1 the Trail and #2 the people that were most rewarding¢¦if that makes sense. I wander if I was too focused on completing it at times.It was, without a doubt, one of the most rewarding things I¢ve done. Yes, I got tired and the rain and mud got to me at times. But, I never wanted to get off of the Trail itself. I guess I just like to hike.I didn¢t come back totally unscathed. The front of both my feet are numb¢¦I would say I have about 20% feeling in my toes. I have talked to others and this is not uncommon in thru-hikers. Small price to pay in my case...many others did not fare as well. They say I should get the feeling back in time. The big thing will be to adjust back to ¢normalcy.¢ I hope to get to the Gathering in October and even get back to the Trail and do some trailmajic.If you are planning a hike and I can be of any assistance, drop me an e-mail. You might recall it was a big decision for me to retire and do this¢¦and I¢m glad I did.Take care & Hike On!