I’ve only done one hike, the 192mi Wainwright Walk across England, that’s more than 100 miles. Every other “long” hike has been around 80mi. So this last 4.5% of the AT is more ambitious than almost every hike I’ve ever undertaken. Crazy!

If all goes according to plan, one week from now I’ll be down off Katahdin, celebrating, and figuring out how to return to civilization. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Not just logistically, but philosophically. And by the way, how long before I stop automatically introducing myself as Luscious?

I have about seven more days to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. Or at least how to start living the rest of it. The best I’ve come up with so far involves cross-stitching, revisiting my forsaken guitar and piano, and maybe offering to make some improvements to FarOut, the app nearly every AT hiker uses to navigate and share info about water sources, campsites, etc. I have ideas!

This last stretch through the 100 Mile Wilderness is almost definitely the most remote and isolated along the AT, with the Smoky Mountains being a close second. Not a lot of Verizon towers out in these parts! Or paved roads. So next time you hear from me this adventure will be over, one way or another. And since an Appalachian Trail thru-hike requires only that at least 2000 miles be hiked in 12 months, success is already locked in. (I resume at the 2098.1 mark tomorrow morning.) But I’d love to conclude this blog with a Katahdin summit photo. Stay tuned!

If everything goes sideways in the meantime, I offer you this consolation summit cairn made of pancakes I ate for breakfast this morning.