The Final Climb

The Final Day-186

I am an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker! I walked 2189.2 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. I am amazed and so thankful that I was able to accomplish this. Words cannot describe how wonderful I feel.

I woke up early in the shelter, excited for the day to start. Chameleon and I packed our packs for the final time, not caring how things fit because we knew that shortly we would be leaving most things in Amanda's car for the day. With no food left our packs were already so much lighter.

Amanda was waiting for us in the parking lot. We were very thankful she brought us food for the day and immediately ate a little more. After unloading our packs of nearly everything, we set off on our final hike of the Appalachian Trail.

The first part of the trail was easy. A few rocks and roots on a slight incline next to a rushing stream made for a nice walk.  Once we got above tree line the real climbing began. All the rocks reminded me of the White Mountains. I was using my arms to pull myself up in many spots. The sun was out and it was hot on the exposed rock. I was thankful for a beautiful clear day on our summiting day.

After the steep ascent up the boulders we came to a flat rock plateau and could see the top! The final ascent was so exciting. I had to make myself look down and concentrate on my feet so that I wouldn't trip or sprain an ankle in the last 100 yards. During those final steps
I was reciting the alphabet game Chameleon and I had played the day before of everything we would miss on the Appalachian Trail.

When we first arrived we saw familiar faces and had celebratory shouts of joy. Touching the sign was incredible. I cannot describe it. I had just completed the most physically challenging journey of my life. I was thankful I never had a serious injury or got sick and neither had Chameleon. She was a terrific hiking partner and we had an amazing journey together. We took a number of photos at the top. Amanda was a patient photographer and excited to be there too.

We had officially finished the Appalachian Trail but still had to hike the 5 miles back down to the parking lot. Going back down the trail was more challenging. It was an interesting experience to be on the same trail twice. The trail felt very different going in the other direction.

The sun was setting as we finished our journey. I gave Chameleon a huge hug as we signed the final trail register. We did it!

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After the Appalachian Trail I will miss:

the Adventure

Budding flowers

Chameleon

the Downs and ups

Eating anything I want and not gaining weight

Fresh air

Gatherings of hikers

that Hitchhiking was okay

Ice cream by the pint

Juvenile jokes

the Kindness of trail angels

Log books

Magic

Northbounders

being Outdoors all the time

Peeing in the woods

the Quiet of nature

Rippling rivers

Sleeping in my tent

the Trail

Ukalady

Views

Water fresh from a cold spring

eXploring new places

Yelling chuukadoodledoo

Zipping up my sleeping bag on a cold night