Wow! It’s hard to believe that we have been back home for a week now, with the opportunity to see family and friends. THIS HELPS!
As we completed our 2016 thru-hike of The Appalachian Trail, Slipper and I both were overcome with a combination of sadness and gladness and have been consistently encouraging one another during our re-entry and re-assimilation back into the life we left for six months and four days. THIS HELPS!
We are extremely thankful that we live in the North Georgia mountains and have a beautiful farmhouse with a beautiful view (see Feature Photo) to come home to! THIS HELPS!
While thru-hiking The Appalachian Trail, our memory of days and dates began to rapidly fade, while our memory of encounters and experiences took precedent. THIS HELPS!
We continue hiking each day even though the trail we walk each morning has transformed from dirt, rock and root to asphalt! To reach out and clasp my hands around the cork handgrips of the Leki Hiking Poles that I walked with each day is soothing to my spirit and soul. THIS HELPS!
Slipped and I have both decided that we will again put on our backpacks and continue hiking our mountain community each morning (even if just for the exercise)! Believe it or not… THIS HELPS!
We have purposefully zipped and unzipped our Western Mountaineering Down Sleeping Bags just to hear the sound of the zipper! Crazy, I know… but THIS HELPS!
Although we love our Keurig Coffee Maker and our availability to so many coffee blends, we still will sip on an instant Via Coffee (like we did every morning inside our Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 Tent). While you may be smiling (as are we)… THIS HELPS!
We cried when we heard the John Denver song: “Sunshine On My Shoulders” played on the radio… but THIS HELPS!
Writing the Introductions to my books….
Re-reading our purpose for attempting the thru-hike…
Looking through the photos we have each taken of the trail…
Viewing the raw GoPro footage of the trail…
Pondering all the emails and correspondence from the trail…
These activities are therapeutic and THIS HELPS!
Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to adjust and adapt, and always know that THIS HELPS!
