Date: 2016-09-22
From: Katahdin Peak. Northern Terminus of the AT

To: Vermont: For homecoming at my college and then NY 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up at 5am again!! I guess sleeping in will not happen for awhile. We headed to breakfast and checked out. Hazel, Stephen, Jeff and I headed to the Appalachian Trail Cafe to have a late breakfast/ lunch. We also went to sign the class of 2016 ceiling tile which the cafe hangs up in their dining room. After we ate we headed out and I had to say goodbye to Hazel. This was one of the hardest things Ive had to do on the trail. Our little trail family was special to me and on most of my hike I never got too attached to a group. Yes I hiked with many but we all jumped around and would see each other from time to time. Luigi, Ompi and the Royal couple I hiked with but we split with the hopes we would see each other soon. Dragon Head and Hazel were the two I hiked the most with and that was about 5 states. When dragon head got ahead we thought we would catch up so it was more of a see you later. This was a goodbye to Hazel for now and it really sucked. We had shared so much, laughed, cried and bonded. Thank god for technology and things like FaceTime. We all got into our separate cars and drove in opposite directions. It was very sad. Jeff and I were heading to Vermont to go to Homecoming and Alumni Council Meeting which we were members of at our college. Hazel and Stephen were headed to New Brunswick to head home. It's not going to sink in that this is over till I get back home to the Catskills. I am grateful for where I live because I can be in the woods in a matter of minutes if I miss the trail too much. I will still be connected to the trail by maintaining pieces of it in New Jersey and New York through the New York New Jersey Trail Conference. I also look forward to volunteering my time at a few hostels possibly next season to support the class of 2017. I also hope I will be able to represent the trail conference at next years trail fest. I never fully understood the Appalachian Trail until I got on it. The trail is so much bigger than I ever imagined. The community is amazing and I have learned so much from them and it. The people out there became my family and some of them I only shared a meal, shelter or a few moments with, memories were created all along the trail in those moments. Specific locations on the trail were captured in time with those around me. The following people will forever hold a special place in my heart. Trooper, Blue Butterfly, Olive's Human, Bug Juice, Grandma, Cinderella, Holy Diver, Ghost, Gaia, Cake, Ompi, Lightning, Timber+ Dexter, Littlefoot, OSHA, Otter, Little Joe, Karma, Luigi, Freefall, Tranquillity, Margarita, The Librarian, Luigi, The Royal Couple (slosh+scavenger), Bowjangels, Waterfall, Mudslide, Gasket, Charlie and company, Hiker John, Sleeping Bear, Smeagel, Snitzel, Crocamole, Lt. Dan, The Dude, C#, Paisley, Dragon Head, Hazel, Wallet, Eagle, Jackrabbit, Breakneck, Avalon, Gretel, Daddy long legs, David, Lazerus, Lumberjack and Ninja Geisha, Red, Crash, Old Timer, Rambler, Feather, Mayfly, Cheeks, Wolverine, Flash, Sneaky Pete, Sage, Quasibird, Spam and Sniper. You all helped create my own hike and I thank you all for that. I will never forget you. For all of you who have read my daily journal and offered words of encouragement I thank you. Knowing that all of you were out there waiting for my next journal entry was a good motivator for me to keep going. Especially on those days where it took every thing I had to move forward. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Part of my hike which I did not mention much before on here was to raise money for the Catskill Center. This is an organization (non profit) in the Catskill Park which I am a member of that works to preserve the natural beauty and resources of the Catskill Park. I deeply love the Catskill mountains of New York and they were instrumental in prepping me for this thru hike. I wanted to give back to what had helped me so much in training for this. Many have privately messaged me asking how they can give back for taking them on this incredible journey with me. One way is to support my Go-fund campaign to raise money that will directly go back to help preserve the park I love so much. Here is the link. https://www.gofundme.com/moehikestheAT Any amount you could contribute would be greatly appreciated. Please do not feel pressure to do so but I wanted to give those who wanted to an opportunity. For those of you planning on hiking in 2017 and beyond I am an open book. Feel free to email me and pick my brain. If I can offer any assistance I will be more than happy to. If I can help others experience what I did on the AT I will be more than glad to offer assistance. The AT is truly an amazing special thing and it has forever changed my life.