Date: 2018-09-03
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

My feet and knees are getting less sore each day.  I¢ve shopped for a few new clothes that fit after my 50 lb weight loss.  I¢m focusing on how to keep the weight off.  I¢m not sleeping great yet-still waking up at 5:00 and cant go back to sleep and then gassed at 9:00 PM. Bottom line is that recovery is slower than I thought.    A recap of the adventure: Over 179 days,  I walked 2190.9 trail miles, plus I¢m guessing about another 150-200 miles in town, to get water or to shelters that aren¢t ¢counted¢.  I climbed and descended over 515,000 feet in elevation.   I went through 3 pairs of Solomon Ultra X hiking boots and a pair of New Balance trail runners. I hiked through a blizzard, thunderstorms, sub-freezing temperatures, and record  heat waves.  I saw black bear, moose, "wild" ponies, rattlesnakes and copperheads. I suffered Giardia, blisters, chaffing and numerous cuts, scrapes and bruises and fell about 25 times. I lost all of my toenails on my right foot.  By the end of the trip, I was ¢dialed in¢ on food weight and resupply, ending up ¢in town¢ with very little food, which is exactly where I wanted to be.  My gear was essentially the same as what I started with except for my winter stuff that I sent home.   What I read in preparation for The Trail indicated that the mental aspect of a long distance hike is paramount.  I agree completely. My body changed as I completed more miles and got my ¢trail legs¢ and my aerobic endurance increased to levels I haven¢t seen since my teens.  I still had to push myself, especially on those long uphill climbs and in places that required me to take risks that I would normally avoid, and get up and do it all over again the next day.  There were days where I wasn't sure I could continue.I took 25 days off as zero days.   My average daily miles hiked was 12.24 for the whole trip and 14.23 for the days I hiked. My longest day was 22 miles and my shortest day was 2.1 miles when I road walked from Norwich to Hanover across the Connecticut River.   Here¢s a further breakdown: Month   Days    Days Hiked    Miles     AverageMarch    29       25        304.7    10.51April    30       28        424.6    14.15May     31       26        401.3    12.95June     30       26        418.6    13.95July     31       24        322.3    10.4August   28       25        319.4    11.41Total   179       154        2190.9    12.24 Daily Mileage DistributionMiles per day    # of Days0                25<10              2410-15             5715-20             65>20               8I am incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to complete The Trail. I am thankful for the support that I got along the way from trail angels who gave me trail magic at exactly the right time. I am thankful for the 1000¢s of volunteers that built and maintain The Trail and clear the thousands of trees that fall every year.  I met 100's of people along the way and they really were the show.  This path is nothing short of amazing.  I am thankful that I met Maverick: we hiked two thirds of The Trail together.  I hope we¢ll be brothers for life after our shared experience. A reminder to see more of the journey on YouTube: Maverick71 (Appalachian Trail, not the car!)I am especially grateful to my wife of 32 years, who took care of our life while I was gone, encouraged me and supported me sent me mail drops and met the whole adventure with enthusiasm that made it possible for me to be gone for so long¢¦..¢Breathing more freely¢¢¦..thank you honey!Thank you everyone for reading my journals and for those that commented, I appreciate you and your encouragement and hope that those that are planning a future hike somehow benefit .  I wrote the journals so that I¢d have a way to remember my trip, but I¢m happy to have shared it.  Detail out.Peace to all.Tom