Monday, April 8, 2013

The end

Gosh I'll admit i am a little disappointed in myself for not keeping up with my blog. There is so much now that I wish was written down and shared with friends and family. But so it went, after a certain point I just kept making excuses for not posting, but one day i will share my stories with you all. It has now been over a year since I began my hike and all that I have learned is still with me. I can start a fire with next to nothing, which comes in handy more often than I thought it would in Florida. I can open a beer can with a lighter, a wine bottle with a tree and a shoe and I could talk for hours on end about the right backpacking gear.

I've become more comfortable in nature as well as more comfortable in my abilities. Its sort of like the book "The Giver" any time I feel bored, lonely, depressed, or just anything other than grateful and satisfied. I am reminded of a moment on the trail were everything was shit, I remember the day in Pennsylvania when i was not prepared for the total and complete downpour that was unleashed on me. I knew i was going to set up camp as soon as possible and figured it would not be a huge deal to keep my ipod and camera were they were and not get them in plastic bags. Of course i got soaked beyond comprehension as did my ipod and camera. I was so tired and so wet and uncomfortable that i just set up my tent in the rain and went to sleep. It was so uncomfortable and I knew that not only did i have to send these useless electronics home but i was going to wake up soaked and sad.














I finished the Appalachian trail on October 9th, 2012 and much like the entirety of my hike it was beautiful, and something i will never forget. My friend Chatty Kathy proposed to his fiance Sacajawea when they touched the sign. There was also a man who's dad had just died, his father hiked the whole trail and so he decided to hike up Katahdin barefoot. All 20 or so thruhikers joined hands around his fathers ashes and let out 3 synchronized "Ohms".  It was certainly a time to celebrate and everyone did so liberally, the champagne flowed.

As i said I will post stories periodically as i remember them, mostly so i can have them in print somewhere and not just in my deteriorating journal. I will also be posting some of my poetry and other writings.