House again at the at

There was a lot about my last days on the way he felt at home again. Instead of being in a distant mountain, I was in my homemade territory, with a ponies that reminded me of my education on a horse farm. And I had a surprise right at the end of my walk that was the best home. I have finished every step of the AT; While processing the experience and enjoying the comforts of the home, I will write a little more in a future blog about thoughts after the trail.

To the box score

• Friendly People – 73/73
• Interesting wild creatures: Ponies, everywhere!
• Errors – 0
• Injury report: on the active list

My last four days in the AT took me to the end of Tennessee, then through the border of Virginia, through Damascus, around Mount Rogers and back to the exact place that I started in the Grayson Highlands State Park 164 days before. I saw very few people until I arrived at the end, but many of the people I saw were also pressing to conclude their walk. In a fun coincidence, I met a hiker who had seen intermittently from Pennsylvania to Maine. Chipper turned south from Harper’s Ferry after Maine, while walking north from Georgia. It was fun to see him again in the Virginia Creeper Trail out of Damascus.

Most bloggers write about the ponies in Virginia. My first day on the path also covered them, although I didn’t see any ponies until I returned at the end. It was worth the wait! It seemed that everyone was gathered to help me celebrate reaching 2198 miles, although they barely looked for their grazing while wandering for their patio. When I was very young, the name of my first pony was a ray due to a white mark on his shoulder. The pony at the front of this photo reminded me a little of him.

I am happy and grateful to have achieved this incredible adventure without any irreparable error or important injuries. I learned a lot about the things I did wrong and I hope that my descriptions of these mistakes have been useful for others who are also learning or fun for people who learned those lessons before me. And after months of walking every day, I will have to make some decisions on how I set the miles, but I try to maintain a similar level of physical condition as part of my daily life. My path’s legs were hard; I would regret seeing them.

Sweet Home, Virginia

Like many others, I checked obsessively atweather.org To understand what I would face for the weather every day. This site is especially useful because it provides specific refuge information, including the differences that often exist in elevation. The prognosis was sometimes gloomy, sometimes great, but often a mixture of both. I don’t think he enjoyed a week as perfect as the last on the way. To capture the memory, I took the screenshot of my phone that week. Thank you, Tennessee, for sending me with sun and cold temperatures!

Absolutely perfect.

In the northernmost miles in Tennessee, some of Helene Storm’s damages had been cleared by working teams during the last year. From time to time, one of the Sawyers cut an AT symbol at the end of a trunk in front of the path. I loved this variation, which helped me make sure that I was heading in home.

In case I had doubts about my direction, I obtained this good track.

Crossing the border to Virginia was quite good, it meant that it had completely finished 13 states and that I had a few days to finish the rest of my trip. The first miles of each state provide some type of welcome from hikers: some states, such as New York and Maine, choose to enrute it through a glove, as if saying: «It becomes real here.» Georgia requires that most hikers go 8 miles, just to get to the beginning in Springer. North Carolina begins with an escalation standing from the Indian mountain and the spiny stairs gap. Other states choose a soft welcome, such as the spectacular ravine of the wise on the CT/Ma border. I loved the way Virginia welcomed me home, with 3.5 Cruisy, downstairs from the Tennessee border to the center of Damascus. I enjoyed walking through Damascus on a regular day, without other hikers, because it allowed me to see that the city was relaxed, not busy organizing an event or handling a lot of traffic. It was a beautiful day, with people outside enjoying the temperate climate and the sun.

This was one of my favorite signs!

It was quite clear how I needed to go in this section.

In the last 164 days, I was lucky to make Blue Bear travel with me, in addition to joining me for several weeks in New England, and friends walk with me for a few days at the same time, in total, I had guests on the road in 11 of 14 states. All the time, my husband, Beancounter, was at home taking care of the house, pets and businesses so that this goal of the desire list could end. Just when I couldn’t imagine feeling more supported by friends and family, I rounded a corner in the Grayson Highlands state park to find my husband and my daughter (along with several curious visitors of the park) waiting for me with flowers to walk the last mile with me. Tactically speaking, I had been trying to discover how to get a photo in my final that was worthy of the milestone. I was also very hungry. And nostalgia. All these problems were solved when the best part of the home came to meet me.

My daughter and my husband were surprised and walked the last mile through the Grayson Highland State Park, it is definitely not something that can happen for people ending in Katahdin. Yes, that is me crying.

Beancounter gave me the best hug I have had.

There are no finishing medals for the AT, so I want to thank «Hiker Bling» for the magic of the path that gave me back to Maryland. It makes these necklaces and gives them to hikers. I waited to put mine at the end, once I felt I had won it.

Curiosities of the path

I was shooting one of my last days along the way and I saw this place, no more than a few meters from the road. Someone had gathered a lot of wood, classified it by size, broke it into pieces of perfect length, made ordered batteries, then left everything for someone else to use it. Would they come back? Do you love gathering firewood? Are they simply incredibly friendly? How long did that take?

Remember to look for beauty

At the end of a long day, looking for a camp is sometimes an exercise to choose between what is left for other hikers who obtained the best places before you. In Grayson Highlands and in the surrounding area of ​​Mount Rogers, places like this were absolutely perfect, beyond the basic concepts of being flat and near the water, places like this beauty sometimes also include a visiting pony.

State Limerick

With Tennessee and North Carolina so intertwined and both identities linked in my mind with the spectacular path through the smoks and the recovery that continues from the devastation of hurricanes, I have thought a lot about what makes Tennessee different and great for a hiker. During the days that can sometimes be rough, especially at the end of summer, when plants are doing everything possible to take care of the path and the weather can be unbearable or the thunderstorms destroy what was a beautiful day. For Limerick this week, I chose something very specific to highlight for Tennessee: its spectacularly designed swamp boards. Many states put these high walks to help keep the feet of dry hikers, but no one takes this job as seriously as the people of the voluntary state! It is a detail that can make or break a stormy day.

Tennessee

• The rainy days are the worst type of slogs
• Other states set aside the old rotting records
• With slip traction
• Fallen in the hips
• Tennessee is at the top of the swamps!

Take note, any other state with miles and low points; This is how it should be done.

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