What a hike!

I’ve completed the Appalachian Trail

This is what it feels like to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (taken at the atypical ending point of New Jersey High Point):

It’s not quite the traditional pic next to the sign on top of Mt Katahdin (accomplished back in August), but I did happen to cross an AT sign right as I finished:

Just to remind you, here was the path of my journey:

• On April 22nd, I started in Springer, GA, heading northbound 400 miles through the Roan Highlands to Highway 19-E in North Carolina / Tennessee and hiking with many great people, including Bob, Atlas & Carebear, Streaker, Wes & Alex, Nick & Cassandra, Blake, Chipmonk, Zipper, Caveman & Twinkletoes, and Driftwood

• Following a break for a family vacation in Cape Cod, I rejoined the trail northbound in Dalton, Massachusetts, hiking solo through Vermont and some of New Hampshire, then with Jumper in the Prezies, then with Oatie, Garfield, Geisha Girl and Blue for a long time in NH & Maine

• After reaching Mt. Katahdin, which is the northern terminus of the trail, I “flip-flopped” back to Massachusetts, heading southbound. Since this was a long stretch, I will break it into sub sections

• Since I was hiking this area in the off-season, I was alone for awhile and skipped two sections, one in NY/NJ and another in PA, so as to look for other southbound hikers

• Rhody and I took on Maryland together

• Flight Risk & Merlin got me through the Shennies and a touch of the Blue Ridge very quickly

• Bougie and I hiked together for the rest of VA (which, by the way, contains 1/4th of the AT), encountering No Joke, Reset, Mice, Electro, and Dr J along the way

• After making it back to the Roan Highlands in North Carolina / Tennessee and after a break for Thanksgiving and seeing friends in NYC, Bougie brought me back to slack-pack the section in NY & NJ that I had skipped earlier, allowing me to qualify for thru-hiker status by reaching the 2,000-mile mark at the New Jersey High Point on December 7th.

My hike took something like 215-220 days on trail to complete, including zero days at hostels or in trail towns every five-ish days.

I could not have accomplished this epic trek without the help of others. Thanks be to God for his help and for the people he brought my way. I am so grateful for my hiking partners and the spiritual journey that they helped shape — more on that in important posts to follow. I am also grateful for the support from afar from my family and friends, including readers of this blog; y’all kept me going, too, more than you know. I am sure many people, including the monks, were praying for me, and I thank you for those much needed prayers, too.

I was slightly dismissive earlier of whether this trek could be called epic; I now see it as much more difficult and transformative than I had ever expected.

It was indeed difficult. I would not have made it through the demanding and technical northern peaks on my own. Simply put, I probably would have quit if it were not for the prolonged and sacrificial support of Oatie and Garfield, invaluable buddies along the way. Also, thanks be to God and to some careful hiking, I did not get injured, really sick, or bit by a snake, bear or tick. It was equally important to have found support for the southbound trek, where Bougie was a God-send.

Finally, I would not have returned to grind out these last miles on cold December days without Bougie’s assistance as a shuttle driver for them:

Some of the southbounders are still grinding out miles during short, cold days and long, frigid nights, so say a prayer for them.

The trail has also changed me, in a positive and transformative way. I would say that each step along the way prepared me for my next step, sometimes in very powerful ways I could have never expected. I will not elaborate on these points today, other than to say this: I needed this trail to get me to the point that I could play the following song and mean it from the bottom of my heart:

I now realize the trail is not the end of a journey but just one part of a much longer one. I have some important stories about the trail to tell you still. Indeed, the most important stories from the trail have yet to be told, and I look forward to sharing them with you. Also, despite having previously held that there were already too many books about the spiritual journey of the Appalachian Trail, I now feel called, in part through Abbot Gregory, to try to add to the collection. I will be taking time in NYC to do so.