“I’m Ready To Be Done”

Woody

I said those words or something like them dozens of times during my last few weeks in the south as I finished up my thru-hike; the timing of my flip meant that the trail was nearly devoid of thru’s when I got back down below the Mason-Dixon. Starry-eyed section hikers and enthusiastic day-trippers were full of questions as I neared the end and, while I appreciated their interest, I couldn’t match their enthusiasm – not with almost 3,000 km under my belt. This section was my Scouring of the Shire (if you’re into the books), my fifth ending to Return of the King (if movies are more your thing). My last 3:55 of “Hey Jude.” An extended coda that was beautiful and moving and overstayed its welcome just a little bit. Come to think of it, this here blog post feels kind of similar. I’m wholeheartedly grateful to anyone who took time out of their life to read about my hike and look at my little pictures. I hope they inspire you to tackle some kind of foolhardy adventure of your own. Now that it’s all said and done, I think I’m ready to take a break from the internet for a while. Maybe I’ll go for a walk?

The Stats:

Springer Mountain, GA: 0.0km/0.0mi

Mt. Katahdin, ME: 3,517.6km/2,198.5mi

Total: 3,517.6km/2,198.5mi

Days: 124

Mileage per day: 28.4km/17.7mi

Zero mileage days: 17

Mileage per day, net of zeros: 32.9km/20.5mi

Max. daily mileage: 57.3km/35.8mi

Min. daily mileage: 7.7km/4.8mi

The Details:

September 5th – 551.2km/344.5mi Travel Day – 0.0km/0.0mi