Date: 2019-10-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Well, it¢s been a long time since we checked in with everyone. After finishing my thru hike, I figured we would take some time to reflect on our journey and figure out what we were going to do next before putting a final post out there. Plus, for someone who does not usually spend a lot of time writing, I had something akin to writer¢s block, but worse. Capturing our journey for posterity¢s sake and for others to take what they needed from it, turned out to be a worthwhile endeavor. However, it may have worn me out mentally as much as the hike did physically. Being completely transparent, it also felt a bit pretentious to think that anyone really cared about what was next for Which Way and Next Step. So, days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and before we knew it a year had passed since our Grand Adventure was finished.A few casual followers, others who were pre-hike strangers but we now call friends, or those whose generosity is forever etched in our minds have prompted us to do a follow-on post. It reminded me of what I knew in my heart along, the vast majority of you who followed our journey really do care. You care about the AT and the hikers who attempt to complete it. You also care about the stories of challenges and real adversity that the AT throws at hikers and the reward and sense of pure joy that is experienced by those who persevere. You also care about the trail magic and blessings that overflow from the best of humanity and the Great I Am and how they intertwine with any AT journey. Many of you are the best of humanity that gave Which Way and me words of encouragement, lifts to town, shelter and so much more as we worked our way from Georgia to Maine. So, writers block or not, here we go.After the trail and a quick excursion down the beautiful coast of Maine, we caught a flight out of Boston to Kentucky, where we upgraded from a backpack and tent to the spare bedroom at Which Way¢s parents. I spent the first couple of weeks simply recovering from the hike. For some reason, I thought I would immediately start to recover from the beating my feet and joints endured through the White Mountains and the rugged terrain in the wild of Maine. Instead, things got worse. It started with my feet. It only took a day or two wearing casual footwear before plantar fasciitis (falling arches) set in. The pain in my joints and stiffness in my back soon followed. I think wearing hiking shoes every day limited the foot pain to general soreness, that comes with hiking over rocks every day, and shooting pains during the night. When the shoes came off and the adrenaline of hiking every day subsided, all the physical fatigue to my joints and bones gave way to pain. The good news is that within 4-6 weeks my body healed. One thing I didn¢t lose post-hike was my appetite. I came off the trail about 30 pounds lighter than when I started and Which Way and her mom took it as a mission to put some meat back on my bones. Mission accomplished, as I gained all the weight back (and then some) within two months of being off the trail. As you might imagine, Which Way and I don¢t sit around much. So, it wasn¢t long before we were on the move. We spent most of Fall 2018 traveling and visiting family in Georgia, Arkansas, Texas and Colorado. We spent a week or more in each state, coming back to Kentucky to recharge between visits. It was wonderful being able to spend extended time with family and friends. During one of our trips to Atlanta we made a side trip to meet Al and Susie, Trail Angels. Some of you may remember that they picked us up on the trail just outside of Franklin, NC and took us back to their place in Sky Valley, GA, where they pampered us for two days.  They also rescued us from the snowy Smokies and whisked us away to Gatlinburg to thaw out, fill our bellies with good food, and share in good times together. We stay in touch with Al and Susie and are planning to join up with them in the Spring to provide some trail magic.We also did a considerable amount of walking and hiking in the Fall. In November we spent a weekend in Damascus with some new friends we met in Kentucky. They had closely followed our journey and were contemplating a long hike of their own. The husband, Alan, had just completed an amazing feat of his own. He is one of the few people on the planet who has run a marathon in every continent, including Antarctica.  As of today, he is only two states shy of running a marathon in each of the 50 states. He will complete that goal by Thanksgiving. The most amazing thing, is that he did not run his first marathon until he was in his sixties, just a few years ago. What an inspiration. While in Damascus we lodged at the Lazy Fox Inn with Miss Ginny. The Lazy Fox Inn was our favorite place that we lodged together on our AT hike and we were eager to have others experience Miss Ginny¢s hospitality, great cooking and sweet spirit. I am so thankful that we returned there, as she sadly passed away in February. She was 93. Many an AT Hiker, Virginian Creeper Trail Biker and others who were blessed to be in the presence of Miss Ginny¢s love for life and gift of serving others will carry fond memories of her in their hearts for years to come. Thank you, Miss Ginny!As much as we love Which Way¢s parents and enjoyed staying with them for a prolonged period of time, we realized that we needed to find a place of our own to settle. All of our stuff was still in storage in Northern Virginia and the clock was running out on the time that the U.S. Army allows retirees to find their post-career home. For me, that also meant finding a job. Although I still wasn¢t exactly sure exactly what I wanted to do for a second career, I knew it to be work that mattered. In early November I started getting my resume¢ together. A friend of ours in Tennessee knew we were in a time of transition and she shared a job announcement with me at Ramsey Solutions in Franklin, TN. I knew who Dave Ramsey was, but I did not realize that he led an 800+ team member company with multiple business units. After some more research, three books (authored by Dave), and hours of Dave Ramsey Show podcasts, I knew this job was a great fit. Ramsey Solutions mission statement says it all¢¢we provide common sense, biblically-based education and empowerment that give HOPE to everyone in every walk of life.¢ The job at Ramsey Solutions was the only one I applied for; 14 interviews and nearly three months later I was hired on as the Ramsey Solutions, Financial Peace Division Direct of Financial Operations. What a blessing to be contributing to such a great cause. We just moved into our brand new building (paid for with cash) and have broken ground on an a connecting building as we anticipate we will grow the team to 2,000 members in the coming years.So, by the end of February we were in the Nashville area, where we had upgraded from a spare bedroom at the parents¢ house to an efficiency apartment. Seeing a trend here? After a long search we then, purchased a home in Spring Hill, TN. Life is good! A year of transition and change continued as our youngest found her soulmate and they got married. Aspen, CO was the setting of a lovely wedding for a beautiful couple. And how awesome to see our oldest perform the marriage ceremony.Oh, did I mention that Which Way still have the fever? That is, the AT fever. That¢s right, she wants to finish the trail. Here¢s the plan -  we will do section hikes each year, keeping her dream alive. I am so proud of her for sticking with it and am delighted to join her as we finish the journey together. Our first section hike will be from Bears Den Hostel in Bluemont, VA, where injury forced her off the trail and we will hike 80 miles to Caledonia State Park, PA. We start our hike next weekend (October 11th). We will be joined be by an old paratrooper friend of mine, Dale (Top Shelf). You may recall that Dale and his wife met us in Damascus during our hike. He has since caught the AT fever too. Last Fall he hiked from Damascus south to Mountain Harbor Hostel (75 miles). This Spring he started another section hike starting at Springer Mountain and hiking all the trail in Georgia. Lord willing, I think Top Shelf¢s plan is to continue knocking out the southern half of the trail in the Spring of each year and joining us in the Fall for a section hike in the northern half. We will not be doing a daily post on our hike. However, we do plan to a single entry after each section hike summarizing our mini-adventure. I can¢t wait to see how the second half feels again, but this time with my favorite hiker by my side.Living the dream and keeping the dream alive!