It Is Finished!

 

Wow... we did it! I have been home for about 24 hours now, amazed at the luxury of modern civilization.  I am reflecting on how grateful I am for the experience of hiking the AT and for all the support I received along the way.  Thanks, trail angel Anne, and Kevin, and Phil and family, and friends of all of us who supported me with your thoughts, prayers and advice.  Thanks to all the people who provided trail magic along the way, to keep me going when I was tiring.

It will take a while for me to process what I have been through, but I wanted to get this note out with thoughts I have for the kids at the Frazee Dream Center, and remind those of you who have followed along on my hike that you are invited to make a donation to the Frazee Dream Center if you share my desire to help provide positive mentorship to needy children in our city.  You can find directions for donations at the upper right of my blog at: http://mexbuki2014.blogspot.com.

For the kids at Frazee: I have realized for a while now, as I have been hiking, that a long distance hike is a metaphor for life itself.  That means that a hike can represent life itself in many ways. These are the thoughts that occurred to me about hikes and life.

• It is good to start with a destination in mind.  Know where you want to get to.  Don't be afraid to dream big.
• Once you know where you want to get to, start taking the steps that will lead you to that destination.  Keep walking - don't go backwards.  There will be pleasurable days where the steps seem easy (sunny days with gentle paths).  There will be hard days where you won't feel like walking (muddy days where the trail is full of rocks and roots, and hard climbs and descents). 
• You are stronger than you think you are.  Trust that spirit within you that leads to love, joy, peace, patience and self-control.
• Accept gratefully the help that people who want you to reach your goals, like your mentors, provide you.  (They are trail angels.)  Avoid people who are "dream killers" - who tell you that you cannot reach your goal.
• Enjoy the journey.  Celebrate when you reach a milestone - like a beautiful view at the top of a mountain.

I will be getting a few more posts out in the next week or two as I continue to process my hike.  For now, I'll just say it was great having Kevin join me for the conclusion of the hike and I am appreciative of Moose, Teton and Superman, who were the other three thru-hikers that were crazy enough to do the Katahdin climb with us on a gnarly weather day.  I have added a few more pictures below.



Just another beautiful Maine view

Kevin successfully joined me in the 100-mile wilderness

Kevin experienced some sunny days - here taking a swim









And of course he experienced some rain



Ironically, right after we got back off Katahdin the sun came out