Date: 2004-12-04
From: Limbo-Land

To: The "normal" world
Miles today: 0.0

A dedication.It may be true that no one can walk our miles, but that doesn't mean others aren't with us every step of the way. Wives and husbands and friends all take a keen interest in our hikes. And then some go above and beyond to help reduce the burden and make the journey a bit easier. In my case, Shirley and Glenn, aka ¢the folks,¢ set the standard for support.It should be stated here that no matter how old you become, your parents will always act like parents. They can't help themselves. Worrying is one of the things parents do best. But worrying is also caring, and that bodes well for the son turned Thru-hiker. It's fair to say that my folks, especially my mother, lived my hike. Although both made sure that mail drops were properly loaded and shipped out on time, a box never failed to be where it needed to be. It was my mother who also transcribed my internet trail journal. That alone was a very time consuming task. A person who embraces growth, ever willing to learn, she had to master the art of the computer. Many her age shy from such unknowns, but not her, she jumps in. Words like ¢browse¢ and ¢jpeg¢ stopped being concepts to fear. In doing so, I got to hear a growing pride in her voice on those weekly phone calls. She was climbing her own mountains right along side the ones I was climbing.        As I moved north, they received my handwritten journal pages, my drawings and the digital pictures of them on a memory stick weekly. With their arrival, she'd sit down with Dad and read the adventure out loud so they could both live the journey. Then she'd go to work and start the countless hours of typing and loading. As for my Dad, short of the morning paper and his checkbook, he's not much for reading. That is, until I started writing this adventure. He would hover around waiting for pages to be added to the binder. He was discovering the joy of the journey in his own way. Seeing him sitting and reading my book as it came together certainly had my mother and I exchanging looks of wonder.         But there are more than mail drops and journal transcribing to thank them for. Since this was actually my third hiking season involved with the Appalachian Trail, all those shuttles and long drives to and from the trail heads can't go unmentioned. Even though it gave my father an excuse to get out his maps and visit AAA for countless directions, it still involves them shuffling their own lives to help. A gesture that always came willingly. I remember one particular November morning during that first year where Dad and I left at 5 am for a trail head when the temperature was 23°. Burr. Or that return drive back to Georgia to pick me up when I realized that a Thru-hike that first season wasn't going to happen. During this seasons past four and half months, it was impossible for them to not check the Weather Channel each day to see what I was facing. They wrote my checks to pay my bills, mastering the forging of my signature. They garaged my car and fed my pet and oversaw the arrival of all my worldly possessions when the movers loaded everything into my storage units. They even haggled with suppliers in Florida over the carry-over bills associated with the sell of my house.More important than the logistical support though was the emotional support. After two seasons of intended Thru-hikes gone awry, you'd think when I informed them that this season I'd be heading back to Georgia to start the whole darn thing over, forfeiting all the miles I'd already hiked, a few cutting remarks or disapproving intonations in their speech would ensue. Nope. None. What I got instead was encouragement and the acknowledgement that the concept of a Thru-hike was inside me and important. In a way, it was inside them as well. This season, all three of us Thru-hiked from Georgia to Maine. This season, we all did 2,174.1 miles, only I did mine on foot and they did theirs in their heart. Thank you Mom and Dad. You are the best hiking partners anyone could ever hope for. May every future Thru-hiker find the support and strength you have given me.