Date: 2022-09-11
To: Review
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Lookingback, the odds of completing the trail are small, and I had manyfailures. Mygoal in 2017 was to thru-hike the AT, I failed to reach that goal, itended up being a good thing for me.I can say that I was not surprised by the brutality of the trail, thepain, the agony, the suffering, The trail is riddled with problems,trialsand struggles. I was surprised by its magic and wonder. I hiked withGiants.I chose the hardest thing, and I did it intentionally. I had goneinto the wilderness and braved the elements and even though I got mybutt kicked by nature, sometimes brutally hard, I learned andsurvived to live another day. The trail has a way of reducing livingdown to the basics, and in the process of doing so, you realize howlittle you truly need to be happy.Afew things I can now say I did: Ihave hiked the States of Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts,Maryland, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Vermont, and Virginia.Byhiking the 2,194.3 miles of the Appalachian trail, I have hiked theGreat Smoky Mountains, The Blue Ridge Mountains, Jefferson NationalForest, Cherokee National Forest, Shenandoah National Park, All 50miles of ¢The Rocks¢, The Eastern Continental Divide, The GreenMountains, 106 miles of The Long trail of Vermont, The PresidentialRange, The White Mountains, Grafton Notch State Park, and The 100miles of Wilderness.Ihave summit: Clingmans Dome 6643', Mt. Guyot 6621', Mt. Kephart6036', Blood Mt 4458', Max Patch Mt 4629', Big Bald Mt. 5516',Courthouse Bald 4708', Standing Indian 5435', Unaka Mountain 5180',Roan Mountain 6212', Mt Rogers 5729', White top 5518' , The Priest4063', Three Ridges Mountain 3959', Mt. Greylock 3491', KillingtonPeak 4235', Mt. Moosilauke 4830', Mt. Lafayette 5249', Mt. Washington6288', Mt. Jefferson 5712', Mt. Madison 5366', Bigelow Mountain 4145'and Katahdin 5267'. Just to name a few.Ihave conquered: Dragon's Tooth, McAfee Knob, Tinker Cliffs, TheRoller Coaster, Jacob's Ladder, The Lemon Squeezer, The Stairway toHeaven, Wildcat Mountain Ridge, Mahoosuc Notch (the hardest mile),Mahoosuc Arm, Knife Edge, Bear Rocks, Bake Oven Knob, and Lehigh Gap,Ihave been to Audie Murphy's Monument, Pennsylvania's WashingtonMonument, the Monument for all war reporters killed in action, andHigh Point State Park New Jersey. I saw the ponies in GraysonHighland park, to name only a few.Istayed at the Bears Den in Virginia, Devil's Backbone, Stanimal's,The cabin at Upper Goose Pond, Skyland In Shenandoah NP, the Doyle inDuncannon Pennsylvania, Greylock Bascom Lodge, The Inn at LongTrail, the Notch Hostel, Jen's House :) , Lakes of the Clouds hut byMt. Washington NH, Hiker Hut, The Hostel of Maine and Shaw's inMonson ME. Most nights I camped in the wild of the Appalachian Trail.Thisis a journey few people make. The Appalachian trail is traversed byincredible people all of which have a unique story. I need to thankmy hiking mentor Ron White again for whom I learned so much about howto hike, and all the other hikers, through the tears and the laughter, you were a joy to deal with. Thanks to everyone for all thelove and support you gave me on this journey of a lifetime. ToChristina, you told me that my plan to hike the Appalachian trail was¢Grossly Ambitious¢, as normal, you were correct! StillBill