Date: 2017-08-10
From: The Birches Campground

To: Katahdin!
Miles today: 5.2

It's over. It's going to take a while to sink in. 2190.3 official miles hiked. Pa John, Spass, House, and I started our climb at 6 am. Sitting around us were others we had hiked with numerous times over the previous months, to include Matador and his wife Heather, Two-Hearted, Dirty Harry, Lotus, Young Giraffe, MOM, and his daughter Leech, and many others. Although there was some soft talking going on, the crowd was more subdued than most mornings but the feeling of excitement in the air was almost palpable. We separated slightly on the way up, as if we were each involved in our own vigil. It was an undertaking we had to complete alone. The first two and a half miles were easy. Actually, it seemed to me to be some of the easiest on the entire trail. In the past, the trail has never been what I expected. It has always been harder or easier than I¢d imagined, depending on what I¢d read or heard about each particular section. I never got the "Virginia Blues"; Pennsylvania was even rockier than I could have imagined; Vermont wasn't the muddy quagmire I¢d been told to expect, and so on¢¦. Then, I climbed out of the trees and into the boulders. This section seems almost straight up. Keep in mind, I'm afraid of heights.  There were often hundred feet (or more) precipices all around me.  Sometimes, I felt like I was hanging only from my fingertips or toes, and several times I thought the wind would take me over the edge. I thought of turning back even then. At one point, I came across a young lady huddled down in a crack in the rock. It was easy to tell she was too scared to make the next move. Somehow, I coaxed her over the boulder and we moved on, both of us more confident in our ability to finish the climb.It was a great relief when I finally climbed over the final edge and crawled out onto the tablelands. The tablelands were like something out of a sci-fi movie and much larger than I had expected them to be. It was possibly, as much as another mile to the Katahdan sign signifying the end of the trail. Touching the sign at the end of the trail was an emotional event. Resting in a crevice in the rocks, out of the wind, thinking about the last few months and my trip back home almost had me weeping.The trip down was easier than the way up. We took the Abol Trail and although it was steep, it wasn't nearly as bad as the way up. It took about two hours to reach the parking lot. My wife was waiting for me there.In your life, you can lose almost everything. Your home, cars, money, even friends, and family can all disappear. But, no one can take away your experiences. I will miss the raucous laughter of the crows in the first hour of the morning, the drumming of the grouse, the caterwauling of the barred owl defending its territory in the middle of the night, the yodeling of the loons on the ponds of Maine, the taste of dew-fresh blueberries, and spring water so cold it makes your teeth hurt, even the skittering noise of the mice as they search for food in the shelter at night. But, I'll always have the memories. They cannot be taken from me.But now it's time to go home. Thank you to everyone I met on the trail. You are what makes the trail great. And, thank you to everyone who followed my hike. I could not have done this without you. Your daily emails encouraged me to go on. But most of all, thank you to my wife and family. For putting up with my crazy ideas and having faith in me. I love you all.Live your lives to your fullest potential. Follow your dreams. Goodbye from the Appalachian Trail.