Date: 2010-10-06
To: Update
Miles today: 0.0

I thought that I would post a final update. I have been off-trail now for almost 3 months and things have almost returned to prehike normal, although I think my definition of normal has changed. I don't worry about some of the little things, as much as I would have pre-hike. I miss the simplicity of the hiker day and the company of the other thru-hikers, who I could relate to, since we were all going through the same joys and pains...<The numbness in my feet/toes, which started about half way through my hike, has diminished to where I don't notice it much anymore, and I assume that it will be completely resolved soon. During my hike, I lost approx. 40 lbs and have since regained about 20 to 25 lbs, which is the weight that I want to stay at...I decided to list some of the wildlife that I saw, during my thru-hike.During February and early March, in cold and snowy Georgia, Cakon and I saw hardly any animals, thus, due to boredom, we actually started to count what we saw, resulting in a total Georgia count of 2 squirrels, 3 birds, and one possible mouse (heard but not seen). Most of the animals were smart enough, unlike us, to stay hidden until spring arrived...Others thru-hike animals seen included:*3 moose (all in Maine, although I saw a lot of moose poop in Vermont, but no sightings)*6 bears (2 females and 3 cubs in SNP VA, and 1 small adult bear in NJ. After completing my thru-hike, I saw a bear on the I-66 off-ramp, north of Marshall, VA, my first off-trail sighting)*2 coyotes (in Tenn, being chased my a hound dog)*1 skunk (a baby just prior to Fontana Dam)*A lot of birds (it was nice to see them when they finally came out)*About a million+ small animals, including gray squirrels, red tail squirrels, chipmonks, mice, etc.(mice are known for causing damage to hiker's packs, etc, but I didn't have much of a problem, partly due to the early cold weather)*19 snakes (1 rattlesnake, 2 cooperheads, 1 blacksnake, and misc other snakes. Most hikers saw 2 or 3 times as many snakes. I believe that I saw less, which was fine with me, due to a few reasons: Pennsylvania is known for having alot of black snakes, which come out to sun themselves on the numerous rocks, but when I hiked through the rockiest areas the weather was mostly cool and cloudy, thus most of the snakes stayed hidden, and thus, I didn't see any snakes in Pennsylvania!... Some of the other hikers, such as "Mouse", knew that I didn't like snakes, so a couple of times, when they were on the trail ahead of me, they prompted a snake to move off of the trail... And finally, when I heard something, in the underbrush, that sounded like a snake slithering away, as I passed, I didn't turn around to have a look, because I had already survived it's deadly trap and didn't want to give it a second chance....Good luck to anyone who is thinking about thru-hiking the AT, if you can, don't put it off until later, you never know what might happen between now and then. I wish that I had thought to do a thru-hike right after high school or college. I suggest that you try to get together with a thru-hiker, so they can give you some practical advise reference your gear choices, if I had, it would have saved me from swapping out some gear during my hike...Thanks, again, to everyone who helped me. It was a great lifetime event experience...King