An Attempt to Sum it All Up

The trip is over and the only thing I can think is that it will take me a long time before I can completely process this journey.  The peaceful days of hiking, the stillness of the woods, and the fresh smells of the wilderness will always be calling me back into the mountains.  I feel that I have learned a lot of lessons that will stick with me and give me the endurance to get through challenges I face in the future.  After days and days of hiking with Dr. Bundy, 3 Stoves, and Renaissance, I’m sure that the friendships formed will last a lifetime.  I have learned much of God’s faithfulness and was blessed to have grown so much over this trip.  I have learned to be more disciplined and to stay in the Word daily (Psalm 119:105).  The amazing views and the beautiful sections of woods I saw pointed to how glorious our God is to create such beauty.  It will take me time to digest all that happened on the journey and I am afraid many of you will have to let me know you are tired of hearing my stories about the trail in the future.  If any of you has the opportunity to hike this trail, I would strongly encourage you to do so as it was the most unique, spontaneous, and challenging adventures that I have ever had.  I look forward to the days, months, and years that lie ahead to reflect on this odyssey.  The end of this trek has left me craving for more and I believe will always lead me to ask, “What adventure is next?”

Final Update

Ben posted the information below on his facebook page. Given that some of you readers don't have facebook, I decided to post it here. Enjoy his final post before the end of his epic journey!

"I made it through the Whites and southern Maine which were definitely some challenging sections of trail, but also some of the most beautiful. I am headed into the 100 mile wilderness tomorrow and will be camping at the foot of Katahdin on Saturday! It's bitter sweet to see the end of this adventure but i miss family and friends and my body is pretty exhausted so I can't wait to come home. The SOBOS (Southbounders) we have been passing are covered in bug bites so i know some challenges lie ahead with the mosquitos and the black flies. Lord willing I will have the endurance to make it the rest of the way. The final 114.5 miles of my journey starts tomorrow which will include some pretty remote wilderness so i am very excited. My family will be coming up to pick me up and to hike the last 5 miles up Katahdin with me in just one week! Thanks everybody again for your continued prayers and support, I pray and think about you often and can't wait to see you when I'm home."

Mom's update

Ben has not had computer time so I hope I can give you some sort of update.

Ben and Nicholas have finished New Hampshire’s White Mountains gladly. Ben said it “kicked their butts”. This was very difficult hiking with huge elevation change. In addition, much of the trail is above tree line and the weather can change quickly. They did get caught in a storm but were thankfully below tree line and were able to take cover under some evergreens dodging the hail and lightening. It passed over in about 30 minutes then it became cold and windy. The temperature dropped 30 degrees. They had been hiking in shorts and t-shirts.

Thank goodness they were past Mount Washington before the weather became too wicked. Mount Washington is the site of the highest recorded wind speed, ever-231 mph! Snow falls on this mountain during every month of the year. Through the crackle of a cell phone, I understood Ben to tell me that some hikers apparently were stranded there.

Along the trail in New Hampshire are found “huts”. Huts offer hostel quality accommodations, but at hotel prices! But the first couple of hikers can “work for stay”. Ben and Nicholas were fortunate to make the cut off, and traded some free labor for a place to stay and food.

They crossed over the Maine state line on June 3. At this point they only had 280.9 miles to go! The end is in sight. Especially now that they made it over Mahoosuc Notch . This part of the trail is famous for ice found in deep crevices throughout the year. It’s a scramble under, around, over and between the boulders. It is known as the most difficult mile on the trail. When I talked to Ben he confirmed this. According to Paul “Ole Man” Renaud the owner of the Appalachian Trail Lodge and Cafe where we will be staying in Maine when we pick up Ben, this part can take from 1-3 hours, dependent on conditions. Ben and Nicholas covered it in about an hour. Ben said “it’s like caving on top of the ground”. He sounded more exhausted than I’ve heard him so far. He’s heard that it’s “downhill” from there but he still has the 100 mile wilderness to tackle.

They are scheduled to resupply in Rangeley, Maine on Tuesday, June 7. Rangeley is about 220 miles from the summit of Mount Katahdin. They are tired and I hope they can focus so there are no injuries. The end is close and the target date is still in sight.

Prayers are still much appreciated and needed.

3 weeks to go!

My mom spoke with Ben today and had this to say, "Ben and Nicholas are staying at Mountain Meadow Lodge which enables them to get their clothes washed, a shower and a tent platform. They were hoping for a hot meal but you can only get so much for $8.00. It has been raining on them so much and their shoes are constantly wet and very uncomfortable. The hiking is pretty boring so they are looking forward to the White Mountains. They should be in Hanover, NH, home of Dartmouth College, by Thursday.

They only have 484 miles to go! They will try to summit in mid June. That's the plan right now. Of course, that can change."

Going from Wilderness to City Life

     We are moving along and have made it into our 11th state of 14 states that we will enter on the trip.  A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks so I will try to sum up the events in a nutshell. 
     First I should mention that I have been hiking with a guy named Renaissance for the past 3ish weeks.  He is actually from Marietta, Georgia and graduated from my high school just 5 years before I did.  He has been a really awesome addition to our group hiking and we've had a lot of great times since we all started hiking together.    
    When we reached New Jersey a little over a week ago, 3 Stoves' aunt and uncle took us in for a night, gave us a bed to sleep in and great food to eat.  As if this wasn't generous enough, they let us borrow their car to take into NY city for the day.  Once again I am amazed by how giving people can be to thru hikers.  Though I was excited to head to the Big Apple, the traffic to get there was quite terrifying.  I'm used to Atlanta traffic back home so I know that part of my anxiety was due to the lack of exposure to city life.  After reaching the city and finding a parking spot we decided to do what we do best; we hiked to the south of Manhattan.  We stopped by ground zero and I was amazed to see the construction occuring to make both a memorial to the twin towers and in making a new world trade center building.  Nearby was a small museum recounting the events of 9/11.  It gave me goosebumps to imagine the craziness of that day and I was moved by the stories I read of acts of bravery people carried out to save others.  The visit to ground zero definitely gave me a greater appreciation for our country.  From there, we walked down to Battery Park and saw the Statue of Liberty, watched a street performance, took the subway to times square and walked around there, went up the Empire State Building, and finally found a really cool brick oven pizza place before heading back to New Jersey for the night.  It was a very eventful day off the trail and we were all more tired after being in the busy environment of NY City than we are after hiking a 25 mile day on the trail.
     When we got back on the trail, 3 Stoves had arranged plans that he wanted us to try to make it to.  He is raising money for research for diabetes found in kids so he was going to meet some diabetic kids and family members to walk a 1 mile section of the trail.  In order to make it to this walk with the kids, we had to hike 25 miles a day for the next week to get to Massachusetts where the walk would start.  And so we pushed heavy miles for a week straight and were so excited to make it to the arranged walk except not even one of the diabetic kids showed up.  Of course we gave 3 Stoves a hard time for this but we were happy to get to hike with his family members and friends for a few miles in Massachusetts.
     3 Stoves goes to MIT in Boston so once again we headed to the city to see what there is to see.  Again I was quite anxious on the car ride there but it was much less stressful than our trip to NY City.  Boston was very cool and I loved how historic the buildings were.  We enjoyed walking around the city and got to go to an REI for the first time since the start of the trail.  After touring the city we said goodbye to Renaissance as he had to catch a flight home for a wedding he was attending.  It was sad to see him go after hiking almost a month on the trail with him but he's from Georgia so we will get to hang out after the trip luckily.  We headed back to western Mass. where 3 Stoves' house is.  Once again we had quite a eventful zero day and it is supposed to be raining tomorrow so we decided that we should take another zero day tomorrow lol.
     With a little over a quarter of the trail left I am begininng to realise that this trip isn't too far from its end.  A thing I've learned from the trips to the cities over the past week and a half: adjusting to the busyness of normal life after the trail will take some getting used to.

Ben arrived in New Jersey

Ben arrived in New Jersey sometime yesterday. On Friday, he and the crew are making a trip into New York City via train.

A Mom's Perspective

You've heard a brother's and a father's perspective, naturally, here is a mother's perspective:

A Mom's Perspective

I knew when Ben started talking about taking time off from school to hike the Appalachian Trail that he was serious. He had planned out how much money it would take, how long it would take him, and the equipment he would need for this hike. Jim and I talked about it and agreed that the time was right for him to go. It quickly became fascinating to me and closely watched and listened to Ben as he planned. As the time grew closer the weather was unusually warm for the end of February and I had this feeling he would be leaving soon. And he did. February 26 Jim and I drove him to Amicalola Falls where I took lots of pictures of his beginning hike. While Ben was registering as an official thru-hiker I walked outside to the beginning of the trail to take more pictures and as I looked at the sign that read Spring Mtn. to Katahdin, Maine 2,188 miles tears came to my eyes as I realized it would be a long time before I would see him and that he would probably be greatly affected by this journey. As I hugged him goodbye I wanted to cry but held it back. I was truly happy and excited for him. I was very happy that Matthew would be hiking the first few days with him and that he would not be alone.

All I could think of every day was Ben on the trail. Where was he, what was he seeing, what was he eating, how did he feel and who was he meeting. He didn’t have great cell phone service so I was thrilled when we did get a call from him. I was telling Ben that God would be so glad when he finished this hike because he was sick of the constant prayers he was getting from me and lots of others. lol. That was all I knew to do - pray. I looked at maps and the trail guide book which became new reading material for me every day. Jim was also consumed with these thoughts as well. Every night we tried to figure out where he might be. A friend of mine, whose husband had hiked the A.T., told me it would be this way but that it would get easier as time went along. She was right. It did get easier but the prayers continued and reading the material too. I’ve started reading books by people who have hiked the A.T. and can’t get enough about it.

I was so happy when he met up with some guys just before the Smoky Mountains. They hike about the same pace and get along very well. The Smokies were quite difficult and the weather was bad so I’m very thankful he had companions. They are still hiking together and have reached Pennsylvania now. His hiking buddies were going off trail to meet up with family for Easter and Jim was meeting Ben to hike with him for four days and celebrate Easter together. I’m so thankful he was able to do this. Jim left the trail and Ben hooked up with the guys the next day so they’re back on schedule. Of course, when Jim got home I quizzed him about how Ben. Is he thin? Did he look tired? Was he happy and still enjoying his adventure? Of course, I could tell by the tone is Ben’s voice that we was having the time of his life. I know Ben and he doesn’t want me to worry so he probably isn’t telling me everything like that he has seen rattlesnakes but that’s o.k. because that’s the kind of loving and caring son he is. He sent me a mother’s day card back by Jim. I can’t wait to open it next Sunday. I am so blessed to have my wonderful sons and husband. I love them very much.