Against All Odds

1,500 thru-hikers, full of passion, hope, and dreams, began a long and arduous journey at Springer Mountain last spring, with the goal of reaching the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Starting in February, throngs of veteran and rookie hikers began the trek that passes over mountains, across rivers, around villages and always north toward Mt. Katahdin. Hikers begin this journey fully aware that the odds of actually succeeding in this endeavor are relatively low, even though, every step they take increases their chances of completing the exasperatingly long footpath. The odds of finishing what they have started become greater and greater as hardships appear and hikers disappear. Hardships: illness, rain, cold, injury, heat, insects, loneliness, fear, floods, boredom, disappearing finances, loss of desire. Always, there are more reasons to quit than there are to continue. Always, hikers are trading comfort for such things as misery, pain....yet there is freedom in this. A freedom of mind and spirit that cannot be mirrored in regular, everyday life. There is satisfaction in each step, no matter how pained, knowing that each step is one less step they will have to take in their quest for Katahdin.

I began this journey with the 1,500 other hikers last spring. I was hiker #901 when I started in Georgia. 900 hikers began before me, and many more were to follow in my footsteps. I experienced the jubilation of climbing hundreds of granite pinnacles reaching toward the sky. I experienced the camaraderie and fellowship of a community of people all in pursuit of the same goal. I experienced pain and misery, both physical and emotional. I walked, I stumbled, I fell, I got back up and I walked and walked. The odds were against me, yet I thought not of them, but of the sign on top of Katahdin that would one day welcome me home. Not a day passed where I did not think of that last mountain, and the desire and dreams that it encompassed, not only for me but for hundreds of others. And then it happened: I woke up one morning, put my boots on, like every morning in the last six months, strapped my pack on my back, started toward the first white blaze I saw on a tree, and realized -- this is it. I am at the base of Katahdin, 5.2 miles from the finish line. 5.2 miles from the sign I've been dreaming about for over a year. 5.2 miles from the culmination of a lifetime of memories. 5.2 miles from home. Is it possible?

September 25, 2006: Summit Day
Hiker #324 - that is me. 323 other thru-hikers paved the way for me to follow this year. Here I am finishing what I started on April 4th, nearly six months ago. It is now a reality, a dream no longer. I am steadily climbing the longest sustained vertical rise on the entire Appalachian Trail. Over 4,000 vertical feet to reach the peak of Katahdin, which rises a stunning 5,267 ft. With my fellow thru-hikers I climb for four hours, trying in vain to let it all soak in. Stopping to look about at the expanse of earth that lies directly below me at my right and left. One foot in front of the other, one hand hold and then another. Slowly, carefully. Do I want to rush this? It will be over soon enough. After the sign at the top...then what? No more white blazes, no more of this life that I have grown accustomed to. Good-bye to my life long friends. Good-bye to this dream that I have been living for half of a year. Half of a year! Could it be possible that I am here? Ascending the last few steps of a journey that has built me up and torn me down? A journey that has rocked the core of who I am. A journey that has helped me look through all of the layers of protective walls that I had built around myself to survive in society, and see who I really am. To confront the ugliness that lies within. To realize the strength that had lain untouched. This journey is about to end.

These are my thoughts as I grew closer to the final peak. The excitement, satisfaction, and elation were nearly masked by the dread of the job nearly complete. I was not expecting those feelings to aggressively come forth. Only a few more steps and here I was wrestling with these thoughts which were fighting to steal my joy.

Fortunately the emotion of taking the final step, seeing and touching the Katahdin sign at the top of Baxter Peak, overcame the battle within. With a feeling of reverence I approached the sign, ran my hand over the letters, and shouted for joy. Against all odds -- I made it! #324, that is me. I too, completed the 2,174 mile journey and gained so much more than I lost.