Date: 2014-08-21
To: AT Final Reflections and Thoughts
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It is going to be hard thinking back to everything that happened over the last five months and four days, the last 2185.3 miles, the last 14 states from Georgia to Maine. The thinking won't be as hard as hiking the trail thankfully!One word can be used to describe the trail - tough. There are few instances where I could recall the trail being super easy to hike and each day brought its own challenges. The southern part of the AT tested our legs and spirits out with lots of elevation changes in the early going but on much nicer dirt trail. We hit the Smokies pretty early on in the trip and through southwest Virginia hit peaks above 4000 or 5000 feet - including the highest point on the AT, Clingman's Dome. The middle part of the AT dropped us down into lower elevations but started introducing more rocks into the trail and added another level of difficulty - hotter weather and cumulative fatigue continuing to build. Some stretches in the Mid-Atlantic states were less interesting with fewer views and uneventful days. Soon we entered the northern part of the AT - back into higher elevations and more trail in rocks, mud, and roots. Here the terrain picked up in difficulty and we had some pretty tough going through New Hampshire and Maine - can't name the finish an easy thing! And ending the trail on Katahdin wrapped up the whole trail experience - it had a little bit of everything all wrapped into one hike!Overall I would say we lucked out weather-wise this trip. We had some snow early on and several blocks of three day rains and a couple of days over 90 but overall it was a very mild spring and summer. The weather allowed us some really nice hiking and also the opportunity to see many of the spectacular views along the trail - with the exception of some spots we hit all of the major viewpoints. And we really lucked out on good views from the Big Three - Katahdin, Clingmans Dome, and Washington! The good weather definitely made the trip a positive experience!Besides the views, the one thing that will stand out in my mind from this trip is all the people we met along the way - trail angels, thru-hikers, weekend warriors, and hostel owners. I was constantly amazed at how the trail brings hikers together - even hundreds of miles away we ran into people that we met in Georgia and hadn't seen in months! And on the whole most of the people we met on the trail were awesome friendly cool people - very few bad apples can cut it on the trail and you lose them early on as you keep moving forward. There was very few instances where we felt uncomfortable with people and most of the time we would get along swimmingly with all the hikers. Everyone out here is in the journey together and are always willing to help people out and encourage others along the way - real world take notes here!Also impressed with the many trail angels that we encountered along the trail - from people giving out food to people offering up rides to the people who even maintain the trails! I was always impressed with the people that did trail magic - some were former hikers who know the rigors of the trail but many were people who had just heard about the trail and still came out, at their OWN expense, to feed and support hikers on their journey NOBO or SOBO! We had the same experience with people giving rides to hikers - it was surprisingly easy most of the time to hitchhike along the trail into town and people would even stop by and offer a ride even if we weren't hitching! The beauty here is that people along the trail realize that long distance hikers on the whole are trustworthy and friendly and always appreciative for trail magic - a low risk hitchhiker to pick up! We rarely heard about any hikers causing trail angels trouble or even trail angels causing trouble with hikers - with so many people interacting I find this fact amazing! The trail definitely promotes a sense of family amongst the thru-hikers and a sense of community with the trail angels and towns along the way. It is going to be difficult to remember everyone we met but it is good knowing the world is still full of a lot of good people - it just turns out many of them are out in the woods hiking!Throughout the hike we were treated to spectacular views that not many people get to see - from the sun rising on Tray Mountain to many of the high peaks along the trail and even the wildlife along the way. Not many people get to see bears and moose out in the wild and up close - it is an amazing experience being so near! We missed some views along the way and walked past some viewpoints that we didn't have time to hit but overall I think we hit the really outstanding views! And the views differed so much from beginning to end. The southern AT was characterized by high peaks and views since the leaves hadn't started growing back in earnest - there were few completely open summits and a lot more forested trail. The mid-Atlantic brought about lower elevation scenery and more aspects of civilization in terms of roads and delis and we even walked through a zoo! The northern AT showed us views from rocky open peaks and past many ponds, lakes, and streams. The varying scenery kept the trip interesting and added a new fold to every day of hiking - you never know what you are going to get!Hiking with my dad Big Dawg added to the experience - I can say with certainty there were not many other father-son pairs out planning to hike the whole AT together! It is not something many people get to do and I am glad we had the opportunity to hike together! It brought us back to our days back in Boy Scouting where we did a lot of hiking and camping - we didn't do these activities as much when I went off to college and he was still working. The trail provided us a great opportunity to rekindle our love of the outdoors and overall the trip brought us closer I think. We had some tough days and some low points and we got on each other's nerves every once in a while but we would come together and get through it - you can't make 14 states and so many miles without working together! We had some tough days but Big Dawg rallied every day to make the distances and keep with our ambitious plan. A 15 mile a day plan was ok for me but maybe a bit faster for Big Dawg - it also didn't help that we couldn't take as many rest days because of the timeline we had. But he still gave it his all and made it pretty darn far on the tough Appalachian Trail - even climbing Mount Katahdin when his feet were still hurting him pretty good! I know the only reason he left the trail was because he physically couldn't go on without hurting his foot permanently - otherwise he would be right there with me! He was a good hiking buddy and I am proud of what he accomplished!Even when Big Dawg had to leave the trail hiking alone wasn't a big deal. It was a different experience for sure but even if you hike alone you are never truly alone - the odds are high you will run into another hiker so you can be as alone or connected as you want to be. Hiking alone did give me time to think and I did enjoy the solitude and experiencing nature on my own - it added a different aspect to my AT experience! I will be the first to say the trail has changed me but nothing extremely drastic - it is still just the same old me with a greater appreciation of people, the small things in life, and of nature. I was reminded that there are good people out there and that everyone has something to contribute - even things you don't expect. Take the time to meet the people around you and learn from them - I know I learned a lot along the way! The small things in life stand out in greater relief now - the importance of things we normally take for granted is magnified out in the woods! In normal everyday life, the act of receiving a soda or even access to running water is met with minimal excitement - nothing to jump for joy about. However, in a world where we depend on clean water and are limited by how much weight we can carry on our back, a nice cold soda or the opportunity to get rid of trash is something that hikers look forward to and are always so thankful for! I have taken on a greater appreciation for small acts of kindness and the things we have easy access to - showers have never felt so good! Hopefully I keep in mind some other lessons I learned from the trail - take time to appreciate life and your surroundings, don't let things out of your control bring you down too much, and sometimes if you can't carry it you might not really need it! You definitely figure out what you need and don't need when you are asked to carry everything you own for five months!To sum it up, I need to give thanks to those who supported me along this adventure. I definitely could not have done this without my family. Big Dawg was the companion and planner and supported the trip while he was on and off the trail - a pretty good graduation gift! Trail Mamma kept us well-fed along the trail and sent us the food and gear we needed at each stop - she was our supply master! My twister Hello Kitty hiked with us - when hiking more distance than some people starting at Springer Mtn this year! - and supported us along the way by helping Trail Mamma and visiting us - they both came and bumped our spirits when they came! The thru-hikers we met along the way inspired us to keep going and provided good times and added to our thru-hike experience - it would have been very different without them! The trail angels and hostel owners provided us with rides, rest, and meals along the way and helped keep us going. Thanks everyone!And thanks to everyone who has been following or reading this journal - it has been quite an adventure and even though I can't fully put into words our experiences I hope you all had a good time reading the entries and our progress! This is my last entry here but who knows what the future holds!Until next time, happy trails and good adventures!Indiana Jones (AT '14) and Big Dawg (AT '14)