Journey's End

September 13, 2009... 6 months 7 days after departing from Amicalola Falls in Northern Georgia, we (a group of 7 thru-hikers and Papa D) left the Birches camping area in Baxter State Park and began the final 5.2 mile stretch of the Appalachian Footpath to Katahdin's Baxter Peak. The weather was beautiful, the sun rose gently over the valley mixed with some puffy cloud cover coming in from the NE... it was a class 2 day... rain expected in the afternoon... perfect!

Along with Brown Chicken Brown Cow, Capt Ahab, Suzy Creamcheese, K-bar, Cloud and Papa D we reached the summit at 5260 feet sometime around 10am amidst slight fog, the view to the South was glorious, incredible views of the lakes and rivers we had been enjoying close up encounters with over the past few days. With Creamcheese sporting an elephant thong and the brown team in their respective outfits, our arrival was obscene... and thanks to K-bar... not so homoerotic! We passed around Allens Coffee Flavored Brandy (the Champagne of Maine) and lit cigars... we laughed, yelled, hooted and hollered, sang patriotic anthems, and lit up the top of the mountain where other day hikers looked on in utter shock and grotesque elation... it was the end of our journey, and the beginning of the rest of our lives. I did not see any tears nor did I shed any of my own, this was not our style... our approach was glazed with happy and hopeful spirits, sarcastic optimism and the everlasting fart joke! I can't think of a better group of people to have ended the journey with, we all were missing Capt America (Sawman) and his enthusiastic approach to... well just about everything.

On the way down the mountain it began to rain, a fitting nightcap on the evening of our last official hiking day, I embraced this liquid sunshine as I had for the past 6 months... "are you fucking kidding me... AGAIN??" But all is well that ends well, and it ended with a big meal at the Trails End diner and Papa D (Casey D) and I heading up to his new home in Fort Kent, ME to spend some time with Vic and the Dax man (who is the coolest little dude I know).

I was born in Georgia on March 6, 2009 when Lex and I began the walk, and I metaphorically died on Sunday afternoon when I tapped the sign on the summit of Baxter Peak. I thought about this trip as a microcosm of life throughout the entire walk, and it began to make the most sense at the end, as odd as that may seem. In retrospect I had done everything I wanted to do, seized every opportunity, took the long road and taken the shortcut... slept on the grass, jumped off the cliff... small miles and big miles... full moon naked hiking...drank the beer and drank the water... danced the night away... cold nights and warm nights... good walks and bad walks... I had no regrets and I am happy with the time it took to get to the end... and once at the end... I was ready for it to be over. I wasn't eager for the end, but the end comes no matter how you play the game... no sense in trying to fight or ignore that reality... but it was a good game... jolly good!

But in the "circle of life" philosophy the end is only an illusion... so now as the scene fades to black and the horse trots off into the sunset I'm sure those of you reading this are wondering... "Now what SpAcE?" well... I'm not going to pack up my life every morning and strap it on my back and walk for 8 hours... I'm going to eat some foods that are healthy and nutritious... going to the beach and playing "stick" with Lex... gonna sleep with a pillow... but will miss the fresh mountain breeze and the song of the morning birds as the dew drips from the leaves... I'm gonna give back to anyone who looks like they need a hand... I'm gonna paddle the channel... I'm gonna get up early and stay up late... savor ice and cold drinks... safety, safety safety... read something other than the process of composting poop while taking a poop... hang out with girls and not talk about poop... I'm gonna live one decision at a time for as long as I can remember to do that...

it's gonna be great!

(And if I still have time... maybe I'll go to work )

Thanks to everyone who supported this adventure... I think it's great that I got to play in the woods for 6 months and everyone thought this was a good idea and that I should keep going!!! Thanks to Mom and Dad for the boxes of supplies and the many needed respites along the way... Lexi is also very happy you welcomed her into the Casa Kababik for the summer, thanks to you she still likes me! And thanks to the Constitution of the United States of America... I may appear to be among the elite few (white, middle-class, college graduate, lost in society), a small sub-group of Americans who have been enabled (or disabled) with a unique opportunity to walk freely in the woods and contemplate the existence of our being... yet the trail is for everyone... for the meek and the bold, the weak and the strong, the lost and the found, the beaten, the retired, the young, the rich and the poor... it is an opportunity... "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"... take it or leave it.

Over and Out -

SpAcE