[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[at-l] Re: Trail Trooper Climbs Katahdin!
Hello Ilene,
Thanks for the update on Katahdin, and please pass my congratulations on
to Trail Trooper for having finished his hike. I can imagine that
finishing is filled with mixed emotions. Does he have a Journal
on-line?
Would you please ask him if he passed Megan, Jen "Sister Smiles," and
Scott on the Trail? My daughter Megan and Company left Katahdin last
Monday, and I'm quite anxious to hear some type of acknowledgement that
someone has seen them.
Thanks,
Brigitte
Ilene M Trainor wrote:
>
> Got a phone call tonite from a very elated and weary Trail Trooper to let
> us know he climbed Katahdin today--completing his thru hike. His Mom,
> Dad, and brother met him yesterday, and today his brother joined him in
> the ascent. He has very mixed emotions about completing---the joy of
> fulfilling his goal--the sadness of ending his hike--and wondering what
> he will do tomorrow if not hiking.
> The weather was bad today--cold, windy, rainy, and he was thinking it
> would not be a great finish-esp. with the fog and visibility so bad- but
> as soon as he saw the Katahdin sign, he got VERY emotional and the tears
> came hard and fast. He was surprised by the deeply emotional experience
> it turned out to be. Right now he feels he's experiencing culture shock
> and it will take him a while to get used to groups of people again.
> (His particular hike was more a wilderness experience than most) He met
> quite a few hikers in the wilderness, and there were several others
> climbing Katahdin today.
> He doesn't feel ready yet to leave the trail--would like to follow it
> back home. Extended an invitation to him and his family to stop here on
> the way home, and he expressed a desire to go back over sections of the
> trail, esp. Baldpate & the Mahoosucs WITHOUT snow. If they do come by,
> I'll ask him to post an entry on the list. He asked about folks he met
> on the way, so if anyone wants to send him a message, I'll gladly
> forward. By the Way, he did his hike to raise money for a boys camp in
> PA and reports of his hike are being published in his local newspaper.
> He hiked for pledges per mile--therefore his hurry to finish in the time
> available to him. That pace would not have been his first choice. My
> personal impression is that he fell in love with the trail--both the
> wilderness experience and the goodness of the people he met (he never did
> long distance hiking before)
> and would urge others to go slowly and drink fully of the beauty and the
> awesomeness that is out there. He is quite a guy. We are happy to have
> met him and to have had a small taste of his grand adventure. I fully
> expect to hear of him planning another journey........
> Ilene & Paul Trainor
> Pine Ellis B&B Andover, Maine
> P.S. He still has the barbed wire.
--
Brigitte
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/1754
* From the Appalachian Trail Mailing List | For info http://www.hack.net/lists *
==============================================================================