It's over.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post anything, I'd be surprised if anyone has the patience to keep checking a non-updated blog, but here I am regardless. To be honest, I kept putting off writing a post because I have been at a loss for words. Since I returned, I have talked to a bunch of people who ask me how the Trail was, and I find myself unable to answer them. It was such a, well, BIG experience! Six and a half months, highs, lows, in-betweens, boring days, exhilarating days, 25 milers and zeros.

Another reason I have had trouble coming to some kind of grand conclusion is the awkward way my hike ended, in a way. I was extremely fortunate to have my dad and Mr. Bush, a family friend and father of one of my closest friends from home, join me for the spectacular ascent of Katahdin. It was a surreal experience, and one of the most magnificent mountains of the entire trek. Afterwards, we met up with Jake (!!!) at the base of the mountain, and went to the Bush's summer house near Bangor and drove home from there. Once home, I took a day just recovering physically, and then jumped right back in to working on the house restoration. I felt bad asking for more time to recover/adjust, seeing as I was coming back from a 6.5 month vacation, and underestimated how unprepared I was.

Luckily, and thanks to my unbelievable friends, I got to see off my trail experience more properly. After a re-energizing visit to Jared at Fairfield, I was visited by Grizzle on his way back to Georgia. Grizz stayed in town for a few days, helping at the house and hanging out for baseball games. After that, Jake, Candybar and Tater all arrived for one last night in the basement and one last "High school hangout". We road-tripped into Boston, where we watched Game 1 of the World Series from a bar RIGHT outside of Fenway, and stayed with the always amazing Tobin. This morning, we drove back to Gbury, parting ways with Jake as he returned to Philly, and drove into New Haven to visit Tater's friends at Yale and watch Game 2.

...And then we parted ways, as I drove back home and Tater and Candybar stayed in New Haven, from whence they will travel back to their respective homes.

Saying goodbye to those guys gave the trip a sense of closure, and made the drive home in the wee hours of the night surprisingly emotional. After spending months bonding with hikers in the ridiculously close contact we keep, getting to know them like family, it is finally to a point where I don't know when I will see them again.

I realized that saying goodbye to Tate, CB, Grizz, Jake and everyone else was at LEAST as hard as saying goodbye to the woods that had become home over the summer. A thru hike, at least for me, does not happen in a vacuum. It is not just you and the Trail. Instead, the AT is a venue for an adventure. It is the backdrop, the unwavering constant in a lifestyle that is otherwise unpredictable and sometimes absurd. You never know how far you'll go, how you'll get there, who you'll be with, what will happen, but you do know that you will keep hiking North, keep following the white blazes until they stop. When they do stop, dramatically and suddenly atop Katahdin, I came to a flash realization that hiking to this summit was not the point. If I had wanted to get to Baxter Peak so badly, I would have driven to Millinocket and day hiked up!

No, the uber-simplistic and linear goal of hiking from Georgia to Maine is a concrete anchor to which thru hikers can tie their own goals or desires. We don't hit the trail just to walk in the woods, we do it to learn something about ourselves, or our world, or to find a lost spark, or any number of unique reasons.

So when you ask me how the trail was, don't think I'm being a jerk or blowing you off if I have a hard time answering. I'm not trying to make it into something it isn't: It's not the most extreme adventure, or the most difficult, or anything like that. I am more impressed by people who successfully live abroad, or better tackle the challenges of everyday life, than by the achievement of thru-hiking. But even if it isn't the greatest accomplishment, it is something tremendously special. It is a chance to live a drastically more simple life, to enjoy the simple silence of the world's surviving wild places, a six month service in the vast green cathedral we call home.

To all my brothers and sisters from the trail: thank you so much. You were the alpha and omega of my trail experience, and I'll cherish the pictures and memories of you more than you know. To the friends and family without whom I couldn't have made the first step, especially to Mom for providing ridiculous amounts of home support, and Dad for taking time from his unbelievably hectic schedule to come out to the woods, a million thanks.

The final summit - 11:30 AM this morning

On his way to the summit!

Received this photo by phone this morning - Rob's almost there! Looks like a pretty good (but chilly) day.

Katahdin in Sight

I just waved goodbye to Dave (Dad K) who is setting off to Maine with Bob Bush (dad of Bigby's good friend and fellow Eagle Scout Dan Bush.) They will drive up to the Bush family's camp in Maine, about an hour from Baxter State Park. Then tomorrow, they will make the short (hour or so) hop over to a campground in the Park, and wait for Rob to join them for his last night on the Trail. I've sent beef stew and goodies to prepare them for their four-mile ascent, scheduled for Saturday, just two days before the Park closes for the winter! The weather prediction, which had been kind of dismal, has just brightened up for Saturday - to "partly cloudy" - a big improvement over the showers that had been predicted all week.

I'd sent off my last big resupply about two weeks ago - to prepare Rob for the "Hundred Mile Wilderness". He received 16 pounds of food - enough for 8 or 9 days - see below!

Connie, Postmaster-Relief at the East Glastonbury P.O., has overseen many of the supply boxes I've sent over the past six months. Thanks, Connie!

Rob sent this photo with the message "Katahdin in sight" from about 200 miles out. He hasn't seen it much since - due to cloudy weather whenever he was up high.Haven't been able to hear too much from Rob during his transit of the 100 miles of wilderness!

Enjoy your last hours on the Trail, Rob! Can't wait to have you home - (expecting them on Sunday) and hear about all your adventures. Wish I were there too! Love, Mom (Mom K)

PS: A couple hours after I posted this I got a phone call from Rob - heading out of Millinocket, ME. He'd made it to Abol Bridge, a few miles out of Baxter State Park. Tomorrow he'll have a 10 mile hike to the Katahdin Stream campground. Then, Katahdin. So, he now has 15 miles left on his >2000 mile journey.

Leaving Monson, ME this morning to enter the 100 mile wilderness.

See you on the other side!

Bigby

Well, today turned into a surprise zero! I woke up intending to hike out, but a second day of stormy weather and some surprise tiredness (not to mention an impromptu poker game at the hostel) motivated me to hang out. Tomorrow, it's time to climb the Bigelows, some of the last major mountains before Katahdin. It's a 70 mile stretch to Monson, ME, the very last trail town. Out of Monson it's straight into the 100 mile wilderness, arguably the most uncivilized portion of the trail. the Wilderness will drop me off at Abol Bridge, right at the base of Big K. Then it's up the mountain and... that's it.

I've been having a very hard time contemplating the fact that what remains of this adventure can be summed up in such a concise paragraph. The defining characteristic of the Trail experience for me has been its length... 2000 miles and 6 months is nothing if not a prolonged experience. I cannot believe that in just 2 weeks, if all goes well, I will be standing on Katahdin... no more white blazes to follow.

I have been hiking largely solo for the past several weeks, seeing my friends mostly when I get off the trail (like a GREAT 2 day adventure to the "Common Ground Fair" in Unity, Maine with Tater and Candybar and Blackfoot and Tater's SUPER AWESOME GENEROUS family! Thanks a million Mr. and Mrs. Tater!) The solo hiking has been a distinct contrast from the "buddy hiking" that took up a large chunk of my trip. I have gone whole days without seeing another person, and even without uttering a word aloud. I look forward to the solace of the Wilderness, 100 miles away from civilization, as a last chance to reflect and listen very closely to what the Trail is trying to tell me.

The week in the woods will also be an opportunity to consider what the best way to express the trail to the rest of the world. I've struggled with questions about the trail, it's so unlike anything else that it defies regular comparisons. I'm glad I still have 180 miles to think about it!

Can't wait to see you all
Rob

Hey everyone!
I am writing this time from, as you may have deduced, THE GREAT STATE OF MAINE! I am ecstatic to be here, after spending the last 5+ months yearning to cross into this still largely wild and untarnished green state. On the trail, I am at Andover. However, that does not tell the whole tale: My buddies Jake and Grizzle rented a car after Jake blew his knees out, and have been touring up and down the east coast visiting old friends. This morning they picked me up, tossed me in their Kia and carried me up to Stratton, Maine to visit some MORE old buddies.

The trail in the last few hundred miles has been spectacular and rugged. The Whites provided some of the most difficult and extreme terrain of the trail so far, and the pace has not slacked since then: Southern Maine has been just as difficult if not more so! Some sections have been especially punishing, like the incredible Mahoosuc Notch and Arm, a combination rock scramble and climb of 5 miles that took an entire day.

Time is short, dinner calls, but I promise to put up more details as soon as I can! Can't wait to see you all, and thanks again to Mom for putting up such great posts!

Rob