Date: 2005-07-10
From: Side trail to Monson, Maine

To: Stuart, FL
Miles today: 0.0

Tonight I will arrive back in Florida. I¢m sad that I was not able to stick with what I set out to do. I¢ve had some time to evaluate what I did right and what I will change before I go back out on the trail and thought I would share my thoughts with my many journal readers and fellow hikers. Here we go¢¦Physical conditioning: I don¢t know what I could have done to fully prepare for climbing Katahdin. Clearly, Katahdin is for the young and those who have had 2,100 miles to get ready for it. I¢m sure more upper body work at the gym, leg presses, and probably a climbing wall would have helped. I was working more than full-time right up to the time of departure and so I did what I had the time to do. By the time I left the trail at Monson, I was amazing myself with my improved ability to climb up & over a myriad of obstacles.Tent: I actually ended up quite satisfied with my NomadLite Tarptent. You have to be very particular to get it pitched just right, but its light weight and compactness is a real plus. I wish it was freestanding, though, & I may consider taking my little Eureka Zephyr when I go back out. Pack: My ULA-P2 pack was great! It¢s definitely the most comfortable pack I¢ve ever had (I think this is my 3rd), but it will not carry very much¢which is probably a good thing. It will be a challenge when I need to carry more than 3 days¢ food or warmer, bulkier clothes. Clothes: I think I made really good clothes choices. I was always comfortable¢had enough & not too much. During the last leg, I used a couple of short running shirts that had a tendency to ride up under my pack. I got a heck of a rash on my back, so will go back to my longer LLBean Coolmax t-shirts. I never used my rainpants, but think they are worth having along in case they¢re needed for warmth. My fleece shirt came in handy on a couple of cooler nights. My Moving Comfort shorts were great. They had deep pockets which is where I ended up keeping my camera. I wore them the whole time & they didn¢t smell so good at the end!Sleeping Bag: The Marmot Hydrogen down bag did great. It¢s a 30 degree bag & was more than warm enough. On the last night, I wore my fleece shirt and socks and was warm as toast. I wish it had a longer zipper. The short zipper saves weight, but reduces the flexibility. Stove: During the first part of the trip, I used my MSR Pocket Rocket that uses a isobutane fuel canister. It¢s easy, fast & I love it. I changed to my alcohol stove at the end because I was afraid I might have trouble replacing the canister along the trail. I decided that the alcohol stove was just a pain. It took forever to boil water, so whatever weight you saved was probably negligible when compared to the amount of liquid denatured alcohol that I carried. The alcohol was inconvenient to carry, too, so I will happily go back to my Pocket Rocket. I also found that I can be fine without a hot supper or breakfast, so if I should run out of fuel, it will not be the end of the world. Toiletries: I carried little lotions, talcum powder, rubbing alcohol, etc. I used, enjoyed, & was glad I had all of it. When you¢re going out to rough it, you just have to have a few comforts. The powder really came in handy for the variety of rashes I managed to get from heat & whatever else!Food: I used commercial backpacking food for dinners & some breakfasts. I had bought these in quantity when REI had a sale. I enjoyed the convenience and flavor of these, & wish I had brought more breakfasts! I found I hated to cook oatmeal & often would just eat a granola bar in the morning in order to avoid having to have to wash oatmeal out of my pot. Water: This was a challenge. I used tablets to purify, which was fine, but I needed a bigger Platypus bladder. I found that on the long, very hot ascents, I could not get enough water & refilling was often not convenient or possible.Boots: A lot of hikers are wearing very lightweight footwear. I tried a pair of trail runners one day & kept rolling my ankle, so ended up wearing a very heavy pair of boots. I¢m not sure they are the right boots for my feet & I¢m glad that I¢ll have the chance to revaluate this. They are very heavy boots, particularly when wet, and I¢m wondering what part they may have played in my not picking up my feet! Besides, although I had turned the corner on the blister problem, the fact is that my feet & ankles were in great pain by the time Bob met me on the road to Monson. It seems to me that if the boots were right for my feet, my feet should have been feeling better after 15 days of hiking. Overall, I felt like I was well-prepared when it came to equipment & clothing. I saw other hikers with much heavier packs & so much stuff. I will still be trying to figure out what I can leave behind because I could definitely tell the difference when I was fully loaded with water.As we¢ve driven South, Bob & I have discussed my options for getting back on the trail. We both agree that you don¢t plan something for 22 years and abandon it this quickly. Of course, injuries were always a possibility, but not a part of the plan. I think that I made the right decision to leave the trail at this time We actually stopped where the trail crosses the road in Troutville, VA on the way home. I contemplated getting on there & resuming my hike southward, but knew that I needed to give my injuries a little more time or I would likely find myself off the trail again. It¢s also a little hot to be hiking in the South, even with easier terrain. My other two options seem to be to fly back up to Bangor & resume where I left off, continuing to attempt a thru-hike, or fly to Washington, D. C. & start south from Harper¢s Ferry, WV, making this a section hike. I¢m leaning towards the Harper¢s Ferry option. If I resume the hike from Maine, I will be very pressed for time. I¢m also likely to get myself into a similar situation as the terrain in southern Maine is even more difficult than what I have already experienced. I guess I¢ve lost a little confidence. But, I¢m not ready to quit.To everyone who has been traveling along through my journal, I hope you are not too disappointed that I¢ve come off the trail after 117.8 miles. It has been heartwarming to see the amount of interest that my journal has generated as indicated by the number of hits to the website each day. Wow! This just tells me that I¢m not the only one fascinated by a long journey on the Appalachian Trail! And to all who have sent such wonderfully encouraging messages or made donations to the Youth Ranches in honor of this adventure, I can¢t thank you enough! I¢ve had to question my decision to use this hike as a fundraiser, which has certainly added to the pressure and fear of failure. The last thing I want to do is disappoint those who are counting on the fundraising potential of this hike. But, if I had not chosen to use the hike to raise funds for the Youth Ranches, there would have been no benefit at all, so I¢m glad that I could do what I¢ve done. And, I¢m not done! Stay posted!