Miles: 8.6
I was tearing up when I saw the last blaze of this leg of our adventure today. I'm going to miss the Trail life - waking up in time to give yourself enough daylight to hike to that night's destination, being so hungry that a bowl of ramen tastes delicious, rejoicing at the sight of a sign - especially those for shelters, stressing about nothing, getting back to the simplicities that make life wonderful, losing myself in the rhythm of hiking and chilling at the end of a long day, surrounded by people who understand what hiking does to you. My feet are a 1/2 size larger than when I started. (I've heard they don't go back to their normal size.) The thick calluses are going to take the work of a dedicated pedicurist to disappear. I wake up every morning stiff, even my hands from holding my hiking sticks. What makes everything worth it, though, are the people we meet on the Trail, the basic lifestyle, and the absolute pleasure from things taken for granted in the real world... like the watermelon Keith Shaw gave us as we walked out of the 100-Mile Wilderness, a foot massage at the end of the day, fresh coffee in the morning, a hot shower after hiking in cold rain. Trail friends become close even after walking together for only 2 or 3 days. What Sunshine, Medicine Man, Kevin and I have gone through has made us as close as a 2-year friendship. And we've only known them for a month and hiked with them for 2 1/2 weeks.
The Trail is more than a social experience while hiking through the woods. For a SOBO, it takes a dedicated and stubborn person to break themselves into Trail shape in the mountains of Maine, the most difficult terrain of the AT.
While it's sad to leave, it's nice to think that the challenge is always out here, waiting for us. We get to experience the Trail over and over, instead of in one big chunk. I have a feeling that moving to Chicago will be rough - all city, no mountains. Maybe I'll pick up urban hiking.
It's off to other adventures for me, knowing that I'll return to this one... someday.