Home, alive, and well

Hey all! Sorry for the delay - tooo good to be back and done. And I've slacked off on the blog for a bit - forgive me? ;)

So yeah, last couple of weeks were interesting... not as bad as it could have been, but still pretty tough.. Beginning with the Smokies, I was EXTREMELY lucky with the weather - pretty much sunny and clear for most of those 4 days making for some amazing hiking and views. Only bummer was my body not immediately being able to take what my mind remembered being accustomed to before all of my slacking off... I tried to dive right back into my 20-23 mile days that were the norm previously and I found that it wasn't all that easy. I was able to do it, but I paid in some ache, pains, and general fatigue while also picking up a cold to fight along the way. Definitely enjoyed the hiking, but the physical challenges as well as my just wanting to be done made it a test. The next couple of days featured rain and steadily cooler temps as I approached the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Decided to make it an easy 7 mile day and spend the night there at the hostel instead of trying to pick up my maildrop and pressing on. The next morning I awoke to a crazy-hard downpour!! Walking through that to breakfast and then hearing reports of more with high winds and cold weather on the way had me wondering if I should head out... but the rain let up after breakfast so I headed on out to face whatever the mountains were going to throw at me! ;) Had only planned on an easier day given a late start and how physically toasted I had felt coming into NOC, but the easy day had paid off, I felt good and I was game for hiking a little more in exchange for one less night on the trail. So a day that I'd planned on only doing around 14 or so turned into something like 23 with me hiking in the moonlight for about an hour or so.. ended up catching another thru-hiker, "Young Gun", the next day too as a result. And I was happy to have the company. We spent the next three-four days hiking together which was nice and made things a bit easier on both of us. We were both hurtin' a bit and the company was not only encouraging but made the time pass a bit quicker - good be able to celebrate the GA state line with someone! The last two mornings before getting into Neel's Gap featured 23 degree temps not including some pretty good wind chills. But can't complain in the least because nearly every day was sunny and clear despite the chill! Still fighting the cold and aching all over because of it (and ok maybe because of the hiking too ;), I decided to take a rest day there at the hostel in Neel's Gap. Hiked out alone and experienced my coldest night on the trail to date. My watch read *9* degrees that last morning on the trail.... yes. Nine. Again, that's without the wind chill, but luckily while it was super windy the night before, that morning it was relatively calm. Still... aside from a very quick privy visit, packing up to get going was a challenge. I don't think I'm exagerating when I say I think I had to stop whatever I was doing every minute or so to tuck my hands between my legs to get them back to a some level of feeling and functioning so that I could continue getting ready to hike out. It was an experience... as it has been all the way to Springer. This year Cold Feet - actually it's Jennifer, but it continues to be weird calling her by her real name ;P - met me at the end and joined me for the last mile up to Springer. Haha, and more interesting times as her friend's truck broke down on the way home! ;) Too funny... just a reminder I guess that the challenges don't end with the trail!

Well, I'm fading fast.... Been working with the family with the biz as we head into the holidays and I'm beat. Will try to post again and at least get some pics up, but here are a quick few from Springer:

Me and "Bottles", me and Jen ("Cold Feet"), the last blaze of my thru-hike, Jen and the view from Springer, and a thru-hikin' Fool!