Date: 2004-10-31
To: The End
Miles today: 0.0

Taking off too much time. I finally realized that I would have to hike high miles everyday in order to finish before. At least 17-20 a day if I wanted to take zero days in towns. I was in good shape though, and I wasn't ready to give up. I had Kristin drop me off early in the morning in Damascus where my day hiking had stopped. Walking away from her was terribly hard but I was determined to keep going. I was near an area called the Grayson Highlands where my story of the first trip on the AT came from. For this reason I decided I wanted to hike all the way to Thomas Knob Shelter, 27 miles, so that I would be able to say in that area again. It was a beautiful day, spring was finally here and trees and flowers were in bloom. The hike was good. I saw several other thru's. Ate lunch with five or six people and enjoyed the weather. It's getting harder and harder to remember details of the hike now, so this is shorter than I would have liked. Even though I stopped every thirty minutes to eat some GORP and rest I was still starving by the time I was nearing Thomas Knob. I stopped at the latrine just before the shelter and used the bathroom. When I got up my legs had froze solid. All that time off with no exercise and then this long day of hiking had killed my muscles. Everywhere I walked I limped, moving my legs was incredibly painful, and on top of that I was gawlded. There were about ten other hikers there, so I set up my stuff in the available space and ate dinner. I had brought a book with me, Black Hawk Down, which was a good way to relax for a little while. That night I got up to use the bathroom. The sky was completely overcast and it was very dark. All of the sudden the thick, fast moving clouds cracked and a beautiful full moon shone thru, lighting the area around me. For just a single moment, I achieved peace, enlightenment, was as happy as I had ever been and as content as you can find a person. Crawling back in my bag I knew I would be alright hiking from now on.   The next morning I woke up and ate a cold breakfast of supper leftovers. My right hamstring had hardened overnight and could barely be moved. Even so< I shouldered my pack and moved on. Usually sore muscles will stretch out after some use, but not today, every step was very painful. I came to a choice after a few miles. There was a shortcut that i learned about while hiking with the Scouts, if I took the pine mountain trail I could save myself five miles of hiking. I stood at the junction for quite some time. Pine mountain trail was easy and heading downhill, the AT when up a scree covered slope at a fairly hard angle. Finally, I headed up the AT, I still had some fight left in me. The Highlands are defiantly one of the prettiest parts of the whole Trail, but that day it was covered in fog, no views at all. After resting at Wise Shelter, I pushed on. I started thinking about Kristin. All I could do was think about her sitting at home alone because of me. I felt so bad for leaving her when she didn't want me to. I tried to stop thinking and tell myself that time alone would be good for her, but I couldn't. As I neared the Scales (mile 495.7) I was so distraut I could barely see. I made a choice while resting on top of Pine Mountain, a choice that affects all of my actions to this day:                         I decided to quit.I was going to get off the Trail, sell my car, and propose to Kristin.Right as I had decided that another hiker came along and we hiked down to Old Orchard Shelter together. He had a hurt foot and was thinking about stopping and healing in Damascus for a few days. I ate lunch there, trying to convince myself to change my mind. Everything was painful and hard, and this area was one of the last where I could call Kristin to come pick me up. Something surprising happened then. We heard some loud voices and laughter coming down the Trail. Who should appear but Ruth, a girl I had class with the semester before! There was another girl there from App, but I'm sorry, I forgot your name! I stayed there longer for lunch than I usually do lunch, partly to talk to Ruth, and partly because I knew the time didn't matter since I was quitting. As I hobbled the last one and a half miles of my adventure I convinced myself that this was a good thing, that I had no other choice. From VA603, mile 500.5 I hitched a ride to a pay phone, called Kristin, and left my dream behind.