AT Miles Hiked: 2000.3 - 2189.8
   Port Clinton, PA
 
  Approaching Lehigh Gap 
  May: Ended at Blue Mountain Road/Little Gap, PA (1264.5)
      
       Filbert B&B  
 October: The End! 
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AT Miles Hiked: 1899 - 2000.3 September 30, 2018 - October 7, 2018 | Pictures from the New York section of the Appalachian Trail  Pochuck Boardwalk, NJ
 
 Prospect Rock   
 
 Somewhere in the vicinity of Fingerboard Shelter  Drying out after a thunderstorm  William Brien Memorial Shelter 
  View from Bear Mountain 
 The Hudson River  Shenandoah Mountain   RPH Shelter  Water pump at Morgan Stewart Shelter
 Boardwalk  Train station leading to NYC   Closing in on the NY/CT border!  2000 miles hiked!  Green: Completed in 2017 | Pink: Completed in 2018 AT Miles Hiked: 1861.6 - 1899 May 31, 2018 - June 2, 2018 | Father-daughter trip | Pictures from the Connecticut section of the Appalachian Trail
  Hang Glider View  Pine Swamp Brook Shelter 
 
 Hoyt Road on the CT/NY border. Connecticut: Complete!  Green: Completed in 2017 | Pink: Completed in 2018 1861 Miles (2017) | CT and NY (2018) | NJ and PA (2019)In 2017, I completed 1861.6 miles of the Appalachian Trail. I set out to see how far I could go, to test my limits, and conquer my fears. I decided to continue section hiking the rest of the trail in 2018, and have completed 2000.3 miles to date. These blogs record my journey. Highlights
Georgia Day 0: Hiker Hostel Day 1: Amicalola Falls and Springer Mountain Shelter Days 2-4: Horse Gap to Neels Gap Days 5-10: Low Gap Shelter to Betty Creek Camp North Carolina/Tennessee Days 5-10: Low Gap Shelter to Betty Creek Camp Days 11-12: Winding Stair Gap and Franklin, NC Days 13-17: Winding Stair Gap to Fontana Dam Days 18-23: Through the Smoky Mountains Days 24-28: Standing Bear Hostel to Jerry's Cabin Shelter Days 29-33: Weaverville, NC to Greasy Creek Campsite Days 34-35: Roan High Knob and the Roan Highlands Days 36-37: Zeros in Banner Elk, NC Days 38-42: Moreland Gap Shelter to Damascus, VA Virginia Days 38-42: Moreland Gap Shelter to Damascus, VA Days 43-47: Lost Mountain Shelter to Chatfield Shelter Days 48-54: Quarter Way Inn to Angel's Rest Hiker Haven Days 55-59: Pearisburg to Four Pines Hostel Day 60: A Trail Family Reunion at McAfee Knob Days 61-69: Daleville to Spy Rock Days 70-72: Maupin Fields Shelter to Waynesboro, VA Days 73-79: Through the Shenandoahs to Mountain Home Cabbin Days 80-83: Front Royal to Harpers Ferry, WV West Virginia Days 80-83: Front Royal to Harpers Ferry, WV Days 84-90: Harpers Ferry, WV to Pine Grove Furnace, PA Maryland Days 84-90: Harpers Ferry, WV to Pine Grove Furnace, PA Pennsylvania Days 84-90: Harpers Ferry, WV to Pine Grove Furnace, PA Days 91-95: Alec Kennedy Shelter to Clark's Mountain Road Interlude Note: I hiked northbound from Georgia to Pennsylvania, then flip-flopped several times in Maine and New Hampshire to finish those two states before continuing south. New Hampshire and Maine Day 96: Mt. Katahdin, ME Days 97-105: The 100 Mile Wilderness, ME Days 106-110: Zeroing Days 111-114: The Presidential Range, NH Days 115-116: Zeroing, with a Sunrise Drive up Mt. Washington, NH Days 117-119: The Wildcat-Carter-Moriah Range, NH Days 120-121: The Mahoosucs Part I, NH/ME Day 122: The Mahoosucs Part II - Mahoosuc Notch, ME Days 123-125: Slackpacking from The Cabin, ME Days 126-127: South Arm Road to Rangeley, ME Day 128: The Saddlebacks, ME Day 129: Camped at the Carrabassett River, ME Day 130: The Crockers, ME Day 131: The Bigelows, ME Days 132-133: To Caratunk, ME Days 134-136: To Monson, ME Days 137-141: Zeroing Days 142-144: Franconia Ridge, NH Days 145-147: The Last of the White Mountains, NH Days 148-151: To Hanover, NH Vermont Days 152-159: Vermont Part I Days 160-165: Vermont Part II - to Massachusetts Massachusetts Days 160-165: Vermont Part II - to Massachusetts Days 166-175: Massachusetts Days 176-180: Connecticut - from Massachusetts Connecticut Days 176-180: Connecticut - from Massachusetts Connecticut: Housatonic River Road to Hoyt Road Finishing up: New York Connecticut: Housatonic River Road to Hoyt Road New York: County Road 517 (NJ) to Hoyt Road New Jersey New York: County Road 517 (NJ) to Hoyt Road New Jersey and Northern Pennsylvania The End: NJ and Northern PA 1861 miles on the Appalachian Trail I return to the trail two days later, after the storm ravages western Connecticut. Blowdowns litter the paths, and large puddles still pay tribute to the past two days’ rain. As I hike up Mount Everett toward the Massachusetts-Connecticut border and Bear Mountain, I run into Shaker, a section hiker. “I dove into music - really put my all into it...Ten years down the road, I realize that I can’t retire on it, or support a family. But those ten years were some of the best in my life.”  View from the trail  View from the trail  View from the trail Every so often, he pauses for a smoke before continuing on. We reach the border at the same time. Shaker lights a couple incense cones, rolls a cigarette, and recites a poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer: “It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive. ... It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.” We summit Bear Mountain in the dark, clambering over boulders almost reminiscent of Maine. The full moon lights our way. It's freezing outside.  Fall colors  Blowdowns  Mt. Everett  View from Mt. Race  View from Mt. Race  View from Mt. Race  Shaker looking out from Mt. Race
 One river crossing...  Shaker standing atop Bear Mountain After weighing the risks and benefits of continuing, I decide to end my hike. I came to the trail to test my mental and physical limits, and I have found them. I have pushed myself farther than I thought I could go, confronted my limits time and again, and found friends who became family. A jumble of memories echoes through my mind. "If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together," Tom had said, many months ago. "Man is the sum of his adventures." Silas. The mountain ranges of Maine and New Hampshire, each seared into my mind. Difficult, yet breathtakingly beautiful. My trail families. The fun times down south. The hard times up north. Facing my fears alongside Nighthawk and Tenacious. Adventure has challenged me. Adventure has changed me. If nothing else, it brought me face to face with people from all walks of life and forced me to work through situations that took me to the brink of my capabilities. Nowhere have I felt more acutely aware of human striving than on the Appalachian Trail. I completed 1,861.6 miles of the Appalachian Trail. If I decide to section hike the rest of it over future years, I will have 328.2 miles left. For now, this adventure has come to an end. It is time to start the next chapter of my life: time to start a career. I couldn't be more ready for it.  Dawn  View from the trail  Interesting rock  View from the trail  View from the trail  View near Housatonic River Road |
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