Date: 2005-08-15
From: DONE! KATAHDIN!

To: HOME, thoughts from Scarecrow
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I've been home three weeks. I have more photos, but all the ones I wanted to post are posted. This will be the final journal entry for my 2005 hike. My previous entry was all about my final days on the trail.I'm officially an AT thru hiker. I feel great. The most common question I've been asked is "Do you miss the trail?" Here's the answer: Yes and No. Honestly, I really don't like hiking. I've never been a fan of cardio exercising, but I LOVE the outdoors. The AT is a fun, prestigious, and rewarding way to see a lot of diverse outdoors, and I DO enjoy being in shape. I don't care what trail you're on, what the weather is like, or how old you are.... hiking is HARD WORK! and you don't get paid to do it! I find the woods to be very relaxing. I don't know upcoming weather, and I am completely unaware of the news. My friends aren't there to complain about the he-said she-said and nobody can call me and nag about things. No cell phones, no email, no TV, no internet. In most places, I could start a fire every night with no worries. I also didn't treat ANY of my water. I drank from beaver ponds and cow pastures and never got sick. I miss the freedom and ease of mind that a hiking trip brings. It takes a while to accept the reality that the woods IS my home for the time being. I didn't have to go outside to look at the stars. I was already there. Every time I sit in a chair, I remember how blessed we are. There's NO comfortable place to sit down in the woods. There's always a root or a rock wherever I want to sit. On the AT, you have to roll with the punches. It's mentally very difficult, and takes a unique person to make ANY length of distance. When it begins to rain, I can't go inside. When I have a craving for a ham and turkey bLT, I can't just skip out to a store for a few minutes. A sandwich might be a 4 day walk. I've also had to get re-adjusted to crowds. If I didn't want to see or talk to anyone for DAYS in the woods, I didn't have to. Complete privacy is only a 30 foot walk off the trail. If I wasn't in the mood to talk to someone I passed, I would just grunt or act crazy, and wouldn't have to strike up a conversation. People are also very noisy. Everyone is always talking about something all the time, and I'm one of them. BUT, I notice it all-the-more after five months of hiking. It's nice to have such a wide variety of foods available within fridge-reach or a short drive from the house. I'm wearing a greasy old pair of jeans and and a flannel right now, which is my absolute favorite combo. I'm also showering regularly and wearing deodorant! Behind the wheel of my truck, I'm awed by the distance I can cover without having to move. And at such speed! It's quite a difference from my sub-3mph world of hiking. I can imagine what it feels like to live when there's no cars and bad roads, like it was 150 years ago. 2005 has been a great year to thru-hike, one for the books. It was cold and a little snowy at first, then was cool and dry for a long time. It was warm and dry all through Pennsylvania and when I was in NY, around the first of June, the heat really cranked on. However, I've never had a stretch of rainy days to my memory. It often rained at night or while in town. Look at my photos of the Whites. It was like that for weeks and weeks, all the way up to Katahdin. During April and May, it rained like madness in the northern states. I was down south. By the time I arrived, the rain had moved south and left the springs and creeks healthy and the skies blue for the northern third of the trail. I've had a great year and a great experience. Not everyone can do it, but I DO recommend it to anyone.The adventures will continue. The gears are turning. But for now, this is Aaron "Scarecrow" Banyai signing off.