Phil Poirier has been kind enough to post the email updates I've been sending out to MOAC's website.  I thought I'd write something for the club newsletter for those of you who don't have access to the web.

I began hiking on the AT on March 23rd at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia heading southbound.  I reached the Southern Terminus of the Trail at Springer Mountain in Georgia on June 12th, then caught a bus back to Harper's Ferry and have been heading northbound ever since.  By the time I mail this (7/27) I will have reached Manchester Center in Vermont.

It always feels good to cross a State line on the A.T., finishing one state and beginning another.  But reaching Vermont was special to me because it felt somehow like I had returned to my "home turf".  As I write this I am atop Mt. Stratton - above 3,500 feet for the first time since heading North from Harper's Ferry.  As I neared the summit and the trees changed to pines, a feeling of familiarity took hold.  I have a ways to go yet before I'll reach a peak above treeline, but I'm happy to finally be in the Northeast, heading for Maine and home.  I have 1/4 of the Trail left to do, but it is the part I've been looking forward to most.

Hiking the A.T. for the last four months has been both difficult and enjoyable.  I've found beauty in places I didn't expect it and met strangers whose kindness I couldn't have imagined.  My feet will never forgive me, and I've lost 45 pounds, but I'm probably in the best shape I've ever been.  I think I've been incredibly fortunate with the weather, partly because of the "flip-flop".  I avoided April rains in Georgia and enjoyed views in The Smokies that the Northbounders never saw.  Rains in the North have kept the springs from running dry, and this July has been the coolest on record, so I've been spared from stifling heat.  Now I'm hoping the rains will stop, so the mosquitoes will die out.

I believe I owe a debt of gratitude to MOAC for my being out here doing this.  Because the club existed, and allowed even someone of my ilk to join and participate, it helped keep alive my interest in hiking and the outdoors for the last ten years.  The presentations given by John, Dale, Phil and others have made me more knowledgeable about gear and camping (though you'd never know it based on the weight of my pack).  And the slide shows of exotic adventures have inspired me to dare to take on a big challenge like this hike.  While I'm certainly doing plenty of hiking, it's too bad I'm not there with you enjoying the adventures you're having this summer.

You should be proud to know that for a State with relatively low population, Maine is incredibly well represented on the AT.  It seems like I meet people on the Trail all the time who are from Maine.  From Standish, Bangor, Brewer, Brunswick, China, (2 from Belfast!) and other towns I can't remember now.  Perhaps it's the long winters that make spending 6 months outdoors seem a reasonable proposition.

It's hard to say, but I might reach Katahdin by mid-September.  Then, after some rest, perhaps I'll be able to join in on some MOAC late-season day hikes.  (If only to see how it feels to walk up a hill without all that weight on my back.)