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The Final Chapter

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My favorite scene on the Appalachian Trail near Petites Gap/Highcock Knob, VA, March 26, 2021 (Day 31). Reaching Springer Mountain, the Southern Terminus, June 13, 2021 (Day 90). Summiting Mt. Katahdin, the Northern Terminus, August 25, 2021 (Day 131). Completing our thru hike at Harpers Ferry on October 9, 2021 (Day 174). In the Beginning … This adventure actually started about two years ago in the fall of 2019 when Jim asked me about how I’d like to hike the Appalachian Trail with him. I gave it a good 2 seconds of consideration before I wasn’t politically correct at all in my answer telling him NO…LOL. I was just getting over an injury with my right Achilles tendon as I ruptured it a couple years prior and long distance hiking was the farthest thing on my mind to do.  Now lets back up about 57 years when Jim and I first met. His dad owned and operated a local campground, Coldbrook Campsites in Port Leyden, New York. Port Leyden was also the home of my father and he knew Jim’s dad an
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Sunday, October 10, 2021

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Turtle Power and I said our good-byes this morning, both returning home to two very patient women. It will be strange us not putting on our hiking shoes tomorrow.  But on the bright side no more granola bars 🤢. I will be posting my Epilogue in a week or so after I have the opportunity to decompress, catch up on the honey-do list  and gain my thoughts… it will be easier to reflect when I’m in Florida… 😉 Till next time... Happy  Hiking     ðŸ¥¾  😋
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Day 174 - Saturday, October 9, 2021

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Here we are… who would have ever thought this day would get here 5-6 months ago? Today is the 4th day of our final 4 hikes or in simpler terms - today is our last and final hike completing our “Platinum” Slack Packing Flip-Flop-Flip Thru Hike. We will have put our boots to the trail on all 2193.1 miles of the white blazes of the Appalachian Trail. I’m not sure if I’m excited or disappointed that it’s almost over.   Going through my final routine of  taping; felt like I was a Gladiator preparing to enter the Coliseum.   I am feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment knowing that only 20% of those w ho begin a thru hike actually complete it. So I’ll just go with that and finish this adventure. Today we are completing the final leg of the journey, hiking from Gapland Road, Gathland State Park (1036.0 NoBo) to Harpers Ferry , Potomac River, Bryon Memorial Footbridge, WV-MD border (1026.3 NoBo) totaling 9.7 miles, the final steps of our 5,000,000 steps. And there’s a 51% chance of rain to
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Day 173 - Friday, October 8, 2021

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I don’t want to give anyone the impression that I’m counting, but today is the 3rd of our final 4 hikes to complete our thru hike. Okay I’m counting, why not 😉?  And it looks like the weather will also be on our side whereas we will have moderate temperatures in the low 70’s and clear skies. I think I’ll get a little daring and do a final “shakedown” and drop my rain gear from my pack 🤭. Our 2nd from the last hike will be from the the I-70 Footbridge, US 40 (1048.2 NoBo) to Gapland Road, Gathland State Park (1036.0 NoBo) equaling 12.2 miles. We are setting 2 hiking milestones today: going below 10 miles left to hike and 1 hike remaining to complete our thru hike. We began hiking at 9:45 am; a little later than normal but we took the opportunity to get some additional sleep. Gathland State Park. View from White Rock Cliff. The trail was generally much easier to negotiate today; more typical soil base with few rocks and roots but you are still on full time alert placing each step in a
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