Date: 2006-08-28
To: home 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

======2006====== guess it's sorta strange to begin with a conclusion...but...well...that's the way paw-ee and i do a lot of things...BACKWARDS!..... we wanted to journal a comparison of the two years we hiked the AT...2003 (a thru-hike) and this year,2006 (an ALMOST thru)......so we begin here at the end...at home in rising fawn,georgiawe will be selecting portions of our journals(which i kept daily in notepads carried on each of the hikes)....we hope these entries will be helpful in assisting others who dream of hiking the trail (as we dreamt way back in 2002 when the trail to us was still just that...a DREAM!)it'll be good "therapy",too, for ol' maw-ee here who's still mully-grubbin' over the fact we had to abort our thru- hike this year from the galehead hut in new hampshire (i'm especially bummed this time since i won't be receiving a 2000 miler certificate "autographed" by our beloved bob peoples!...darn!).....i keep thinkin' that now that i'm well and there's still a little time i should just hop a bus and head back up to finish this year's hike.....but perhaps writing for "trail journals" IS a way to "finish"....(and who knows...maybe we can talk bob into an un-official autograph anyway!) before i get into this attempt at journaling our stories, i'd like to just say how grateful paw-ee and i were for the folks at the galehead hut in new hampshire (the crew, and hikers,matt and bugs)who encouraged and helped us with kind words, use of cell phone, directions, etc., and helped us get off the mountain when 103 degrees of temperature brought my '06 thru-hike to an end....thankful,too, for allen and sharon duble who by a MIRACULOUS INTERVENTION picked us up and nursed us back to health at their place on lake winnepesaukee........i felt like such a wimp when i considered how many other of my hiking companions from both hikes had endured all sorts of physical hardships,including lyme's disease, broken bones, giardiasis, injuries and even getting struck by lightening!...... paw-ee himself had been hiking for two weeks with an intestinal reaction to antibiotics a doctor prescribed for an insect bite that had practically debilitated him...but he hung in there with me until i, too, succumbed and we both decided it was time to come home.....it has been a huge help,however, to be reminded by other hiker/journalists over and over again that "it's not the destination,but the journey that counts"!and,boy! did it ever count!....our hike this year was absolutely WONDERFUL!... our friends,bill and diana ristom,"hatman and happy-feet" who hiked the trail in'97 and '01 kept telling us we'd enjoy our 2nd hike so much more and they were right!...though we LOVED our '03 hike (during which it rained most of the time), we were perhaps a little more confident this time and thus more relaxed....the weather in general has been better this year (though we recorded snow 28 out of our first 40 days!)....still, as any hiker knows, a thru-hike is much like "regular life" in that ANYTHING can happen....you never know what's around the bend....that reality alone can be exciting in terms of adventure.....but challenging in terms of faith.........we knew that one thru-hike under our belts didn't automatically guarantee another!but speaking of faith.... (some of you know me and can testify that that particular subject is never too far from my thoughts!)....paw-ee and i give thanks to our Creator who ALWAYS walks with us....on the trail.....at home....wherever we are...in whatever place or time or work or play or realm....He is the One who makes it all possible..........it was actually "tuscon's" entry from this site (september 4,2003..."have you ever...") that made me realize how BLESSED we hikers are to experience the hiking life!......her list made me want to shout "yes,yes,yes!"at the top of my lungs!......in view of these blessings, "thanks" seems such a small offering.....well.....here goes!(did you know i cannot type?!!!).....it'll be a miracle if these entries turn out readable!......but join us anyway.....read/"hike" along with us and maybe we'll get to know you,too.....we hope to add some photos and include some information and thoughts that will help and inspire......we'll begin at the beginning for this year('06) and hopefully include on each page an excerpt from our '03 hike for comparison.....onward! to my brand new "editing adventure"!maw-ee-"i give you permission to enjoy your life!"(arthur to a servant, in the movie,"arthurII")-