Week 22
Saturday- Sunday I am wild with excitement as I approach the end of this journey. Yesterday I passed the 2,100 mile marker, and today I made it to Georgia. I have walked across 14 States, and at this point have encountered so many amazing experiences that I can’t even begin to count them. As the end approaches, the trail keeps giving me more and more amazing gifts. It is almost as if it is taunting me, like it knows the end is near, and it wants me to stay. Like all things in life though, the end is imminent. All I can do is try and savor the moments as much as possible as they pass by me.
Don’t get me wrong, I am ecstatic that I am about to complete the trail and go back to my home and family, but at the same time, I am saddened to see all my “lasts” come to pass on the trail. My last state line crossing, my last resupply, my last silly trail town, my last camp fire, my last sleep under the stars, they are all going to be so tough to part with. It will also be hard to part with this new Sobo tramily that I have attached myself to this past week. Since Fontana Dam, hikers Scout, Dot, Franky, Aloha, Funky Duck and myself have all been hiking together.
Just like back in the Virginia days with my first group of Nobo buds, we have hiked together, met up in towns for meals, shared hotel rooms, made campfires and shared countless hours of conversation and trail banter. After all this time, still the most magical thing about the trail to me is the people. I will cherish them forever. After leaving Fontana, I parted ways with my Sobo friends to stay at a B&B I had a resupply package sent to earlier in the month. I met Cynthia and Jeff, the hosts, and stayed in a wonderful room of their cozy log wood cabin. They put on a breakfast spread like nothing I had ever seen before, and I got to enjoy it with several hikers I had never met before. By the end of the breakfast, we were parting with hugs and wishing each other good tidings on the rest of our journeys.
I pulled a long day out of the B&B (23 Miles) to make it to the Nantahala Outdoor Center on account of my new friend Dot finishing her thru hike. She did a funky flop where she started her hike at NOC, then hiked to Springer, and then hiked the rest of the trail Sobo from Khatadin. I made it into the NOC just in time for a celebratory dinner at River’s End Restaurant which was right on the water. Afterward we sat by the river and ate carrot cake on account of it being not only Dots final day on trail, but also Scout’s 66th birthday.
We sang happy birthday, opened cards, and played with official AT whistles that Scout had picked up for us earlier that day (aka acorn shells). We ended the night with a warm sleep in a shared bunk room and hiked out early the next morning. The hike out of the NOC was a climb, but it was full of beautiful views and good company.
I love hiking with new people because you get to hear so many new stories. There is something special about how deep, honest, and personal a conversation can be with someone you just met out here too. There are no wasted words or small talk or gossip. You learn something in these conversations. You grow from them. By Friday we made to Franklin, NC where we stayed at the notorious Ron Haven Budget Inn.
We ate a ridiculous amount of food and enjoyed a mildly comfortable indoor sleep. During the middle of the day, as I was scrolling through my emails, I saw I had a donation for the KSU CYAAR Scholarship Fund. I went to the site to check out the donation and send a thank you note when I noticed the total was at $5,000.
I dropped my phone, luckily on the shitty red hotel room carpet. My eyes got watery. I couldn’t believe it! I had done it! With the help of so many friends and loved ones, I had successfully, for the first time in my life, raised funds for a program I believed in. I was on cloud nine, in a sort of daze for the rest of the evening. I couldn’t think straight I was so happy and astounded. After Franklin, we hit some longer days, made it into Georgia, and settled in for the night at Top of Georgia Hostel. We are right outside of Hiawassee and less than 70M from the end. I look forward to walking through my home state, and I am especially excited that my friend Kimber (aka Hollywood) will be joining me to walk the last two days of the trail. It’s happening y’all! Amicalola, here I come!
