Monday, June 2, 2014

[Spyro] End of Part 1: Getting off the Trail

I'm writing this post from my home in Connecticut. This will be my last post for this trip, aside from some additional pictures that I haven't yet uploaded.

The decision to end my thru-hike was a difficult one. All in all, I walked 1100 miles - just over half of the total length of the Trail. And at some point, I still intend to go back to the point where I left off (in Pennsylvania) and finish the second half, in Part 2 of my hike. But for some time now, I've been realizing that I need a break from hiking all day, every day, and that I need more balance in my life. I need something else to do. Somebody on the Trail once told me that he didn't know how far he was going, but rather that he would continue hiking while he was happy. So, having found that I was no longer happy, I left the Trail.

What I like least about the decision is that when I come back another year, I will not see anyone I made friends with on this trip - Gazelle, Mio, Tandem, Buzz, and all the others will have finished their thru-hikes already. But I think this is the right choice for me.

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Before I wrap up the trip, I wanted to mention some of the things we did and saw in the last few days!

At the end of my "Virginia" post, I mentioned that we were in the middle of a very social week! My dad had hiked with us for a few days, and he and my mom had come to Trail Days with us. Then, after my he left, we had several more visits. Pussel-gut's family came to have dinner with us one night, since they happened to be in the area. Madison, my Sibb and a mutual friend at Olin, hiked several miles with us and enjoyed blackberry sundaes with us. And Brian, someone I knew from Philmont, had breakfast with us one morning. Very exciting!

When we finally crossed into WV, we hit Harper's Ferry, the psychological midpoint of the AT. As I mentioned in my last post, that was where we started the Four State Challenge! My hike that next day went through 4 states, took a little over 17 hours, and totalled 43.3 miles. It was an amazingly tough day, both mentally and physically, but I'm proud that I did it and the fact that Dominoes delivered to the ending point made it a little bit better :).

We took a zero day in Waynesboro, PA that next day to recover from the challenge. Our day mostly consisted of eating and sleeping (at a buffet and a bed & breakfast). It was a well-deserved rest!

After that, we only had 2 more days until we got to the halfway point on the AT, at roughly 1090 trail miles. The sign was a little bit anticlimactic, but it felt good to think back to all of the terrain that we traversed.

Pine Grove Furnace Park is just after the halfway point. The general store there is home to the "half-gallon challenge": consuming an entire half-gallon of ice cream. Mmm! Much more fun than the Four State Challenge. I finished every bit of my Moose Tracks ice cream.

That was where my adventure ended. Pussel-gut's dad picked us up there, and I took a bus home from Philly the next morning. Pussel-gut will be continuing on the trail with the SPOT, and I'm looking forward to seeing a ping from Katahdin!

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Thanks for following along with my blog posts. It's been a wild ride, and I'm looking forward to the point when I'm recharged and ready to tackle part 2!

Happy Trails,

Spyro

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Photo Captions
Beautiful view from the Black Rock Cliffs in Maryland
Finish line of the Four State Challenge: MD/PA and the Mason-Dixon line
Appalachian Trail 2014 Halfway Point
Appalachian Trail permanent halfway marker (inaccurate, since the trail changes every year)
Half a gallon of ice cream. Yum!
My last white blaze of the trip.
Going home via Grand Central Terminal

3 comments:

  1. I am very proud of you for pursing this dream and as equally proud of you for knowing yourself and making the right choices. As I was hoping to see you finish this trip, that time will come, that I’m sure of. I have enjoyed following your trip thru this blog and hope to see you, as continue your trip, when come thru NY.

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  2. Spyro (I can call you Derek now that you are off the trail)... It's a heck of a journey that you have already had! Very few can say they hiked 1,100 miles in 2.5 months. You did, and you stepped off of your own free will when the time was right. What an excellent adventure!

    Pussel-Gut... Call me if you want a hiking buddy for a weekend in NY, CT or MA. I am always ready to hike for a few days in any type of weather! MtnRunner

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  3. Congratulations on a trip well done! If it helps to put the "half hike" in perspective, there's a well-known hike in the UK from its most northern tip (John o' Groats, in Scotland) to its most southern (Land's End, in SW England). I think that ENTIRE hike is close to, perhaps a little LESS, than the one you just completed. And people who complete that UK hike feel a great sense of accomplishment.

    Congratulations again!

    David Bailey

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