It's amazing to me how fast the years roll by. 6 days ago I celebrated the 39th anniversary of climbing Katahdin and finishing my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Words cannot express the tremendous impact that the Trail has had on my entire life. I'm glad I hiked it as a young man. Whenever I go through difficult times in life, I am reminded that I also went through difficult times on the Trail. I was able to persevere on the Trail and that reminds me that I can also persevere in life. There are countless other life lessons that I learned from the Trail. It's not unusual for me to bring up a reference to the Trail when I am talking to others about all kinds of different situations. My children (now grown into adults) always loved to hear my "stories about the Trail".
I know that this blog was started about 8 years ago to try to capture my memories about the Trail. I also know that I have not finished all of the stories. I'm sure that I will get to it at some point. I hope to consolidate all of the stories, edit them, and perhaps self publish a small book. I doubt many would be interested in it, but I want to do that someday as a reminder to my family (and other interested people) of the impact the Trail can have on a life.
I'm planning to climb Springer Mountain in the Spring of 2020 and Mount Katahdin in the late Summer of 2020 to celebrate 40 years of wonderful memories. If you would like to hike with me on one of these day trips please let me know. God bless!
