National Trails Day (always the first Saturday in June) is as good a day as any to mention here to my loyal blog readers (are there any of you left?) that I am not getting out to finish the hike this summer.
There are a number of reasons, including that my iron levels are getting wacky again, that I would have had to go too far into “debt” on my bank of my accrued time off from work, and that I came to realize that what I really had wanted to do all along was accomplish a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (hiking every mile of it from end to end in one season).
I was real happy with what I accomplished last summer. It was a very successful “proof of concept” hike. That is, my gear choices, my food choices, my daily mileage, the ‘famous’ places I got to, the Trail personalities I was able to meet, all of it fit together as I always thought it could and would. It all worked. And if it hadn’t been for the anemia, I know I would have been able to walk to Mount Katahdin, Maine.
And I have to mention again that one of the most central reasons everything went well is that my wife, Ann, is the best support crew anyone could have asked for. Thanks, Ann!
So I’m back to working on a “section hike” (hiking every mile of the Trail over however many years it takes). I’ve actually been doing this since 2002, so it hasn’t even been 15 years yet. And I’ve totaled up roughly 1600 miles (last summer’s 1500 – which overlaid hundreds of miles I’d already walked once – plus 100 miles in Vermont that I hiked back in 2002), so I’ve only got some 500 left to go on the section hike.
Then I can start all over again.
Meanwhile there is other stuff to do, other places to walk, other things to read, and so on. Thanks for spending time here last summer, and for the many kind comments especially about the photography.
And finally if, for some reason, you can’t wait … you can read the pages of my trail journal that I have transcribed and put online. I don’t know why it’s taking me so long to type it into the machine, but you’ll be able to find the bits I have transcribed so far (and lots of other hikers’ journals and photos) at:
Pathology: the Study of a Path 
My sister, Leeann Mills, and I thoroughly enjoyed your blog last year. It was so beautiful and so informative. The photography was awesome. At the same time, I was reading “Grey Mountain” which took place in a part of Appalachia that was decimated by strip mining coal and there was no beauty whatsoever. Then came your photographs, which gave us hope and joy.
As much as I use my iPad, I used my home computer to save all the photos into a file.
I am glad your health is better! Or getting better.
Hope to see you around the Library some Monday mornings but not tomorrow. I am off but usually am there Monday from 10:00 – 2:00.
Thanks again for allowing your blog followers to live vicariously through your travels. Also, thank your wife for meeting you along the way with supplies and clothes. What a tale to share. Thank you.
Respectfully,
Jean
Sent from my iPad
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A sensible decision, Kurt. Sounds like the thru-hike will need to wait for another summer. But I’m glad you will be able to get on the trail anyway. I also enjoyed the pictures very much.
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