Hiking mileage recaps:
Day 24. August 11th, 2015. 3.8 miles. Showed first signs of problems with my right leg.
Day 25. August 12th, 2015. 18 miles. Leg swelling started and tightness in right Achilles and soleus.
Day 26. August 13th, 2015. 17.6 miles. Hurt my leg with two miles let in my day. Limped the final mile, taking me 45 minutes to walk in comparison to my normal 20 minute pace when not injured.
Day 27. August 14th, 2015. 11.8 miles and final day on trail. Slowly walked and stretched to get to US 20 and into a motel.
Here are some pictures that will show you the last couple of days on the trail.
A quick point of clarification, long distance hiking is very hard on your body. On average, you walked anywhere between 8 to 12 hours a day depending on how many breaks you take and how many miles you are walking. Your feet and ankles swell. You will twist your ankles multiple times. You will fall (I fell seven times in 27 days with one complete wipeout). Your knees, ankles, hips, back, and generally every part of your body will ache when you wake up. After two weeks, you develop what is generally called the "Hiker Hobble". This is when you wake up and limp around while you break down your camp. Your body is trying to repair itself and I have found that about two weeks in, my body can't keep up anymore. Once you start moving, the hobble goes away, but it returns quickly. This type of physical pain is all part of hiking. It can be annoying, sometimes even painful, but it comes with the territory and is worth the pain to challenge myself and see amazing views along the trail. My right leg was beginning to go from a little swollen to painful and it wasn't changing. The old adage I mentioned before was that, "If the pain is moving, you're not hurt. If it stays in one place, it's time to be worried." The pain wasn't moving.
I talked to Noseblind, Chuckles, Mountain Goat, Happy Baby, and Pegleg the last night I was on the trail. I knew my right leg was messed up and that I had to get off the trail and get back to Philly and the VA to get it looked at in case it was Compartment Syndrome. The next morning I decided I would walk 11.8 miles to US 20 and to the best motel choice along the trail. I walked slowly, breaking a lot, enjoyed some trail magic, and got to share some laughs with the friends I enjoyed along the trail.
Noseblind and I made it to US 20 and we got into town. I found Noseblind to be a great companion, both in our similarities and differences, but mostly in his demeanor and sarcastic nature. We ate pizza, watched football, and played pool at a local dive bar. It was the perfect way to get off the trail.
The following day Noseblind and I got a shuttle to Dalton, MA where we got another room, I secured a rental car for the following day, and we found a nice little bar/restaurant with a pool table. We made bets when we are billionaires (the previous night, I won $400,000, but have to build him a lake house in Georgia, so I came out worse off in my opinion), and we eventually joined by Pathfinder. Dalton was nice little town.
The following day, I got the rental car, picked up Noseblind and Pathfinder, said good bye to Mongoose who I had met at Bearded Woods, and headed to Mount Greylock. It was a nice place to send off Noseblind. I believe he is almost through Vermont now, and I wish him good luck and I hope that our paths cross again! Pathfinder and I headed up to Bennington, VT so Pathfinder could join up with her trail family. She had to get off the trail for some time and her trail family pulled ahead. She wants to finish with them and make sure to get home in time for a family gathering. Pathfinder opened up to me about some of her personal and family struggles and I hope that she finds peace along the trail!
I started to head back to Philly, but stopped along the way in Troy, NY to see the Alpha Chapter of my fraternity. It was amazing to find that little college and meet a couple of the Active brothers there. I got back into my car and ended up going over the George Washington Bridge in NYC and eventually made it back to Philly.
Here are a run down of the numbers for my hike this year:
Miles hiked - 332.6
Total Days - 27
Zeroes - 3
Average Miles per Day with Zeroes - 12.3
Average Miles per w/o Zeroes - 13.9
Money Raised for Charity as of 8/24 - $671 ($500 was my goal)
Longest Day - 20.2
Shortest Day - 3.8
Bears - 2 (In the zoo along the trail. I didn't see any in the woods)
Rattlesnakes - 0
Copperheads - 0
Garter Snakes - Too many to count
Rat Snakes (aka Black Snakes) - 4
Northern Water Snakes - 1 (Scared the crap out of me and was super aggressive)
Red Fox - 1
Vultures - So many
Squirrels - Everywhere
Chipmunks - Brave and everywhere
Times I Fell - 7
Twisted Right Ankle - 10 times that I remember
Twisted Left Ankle - 5 times that I remember
Blisters - Two large blisters on my right foot with several small blisters along my toes on both feet
The most important number:
Total Miles of the AT hiked - 1,030 miles
I wanted to wait to write this, as I wanted to get back into real life and decompress the hike in my mind. Overall, the experience was great, but not as good as my other hikes. I got tired of "The Green Tunnel" and the repetitive views of the same thing and mostly just walking in the forest. It comes with the territory, but I am close to being half-way done the trail, but there is so much left to do and I really feel like another trail would be a better experience. I have to finish the trail, obviously, but the flavor and spice of the AT is wearing thin on me a little. Camino, Anna Purna, the PCT, and the Colorado Trail are all calling my name a lot louder than the AT is right now. If I get another opportunity next summer to hike, it will be hard to decide whether to do another large section of the AT or experience something new.
The people this year were much different than in 2013. I found a decent bubble, but it was just different.
Another comment is that this year I wasn't hiking with anyone I knew. That presented it's own challenges and difference in experiences. I enjoyed it, but it was a lot of me time. Too much really.
Overall, I enjoyed the trip, it was challenging in many different ways than my previous hike, and I got to raise awareness and donations for an amazing charity! The AT is still there, like it was when I left it in 2013 and in 2014, but it is changing for me. This year, "A Walk In The Woods" will be released in theaters, so next year the trail will be swamped and crazy I am sure. The trail will be different in 2016 and every year after that. I found that being a "Chunk" hiker (a new term I heard on the trail) is much harder than I expected. I have hiked 1,030 miles of the trail and I'm not even halfway done. It is amazing and a great feeling, but also daunting in the task. But, like John Muir brilliantly said, "The mountains are calling and I must go."
Thank you so much for following my blog, making it through this post, and allowing me to write in a state of mind that varies much like life on the trail and real life! Here are a couple of pictures of where I left off! Until next time! Happy Trails!
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