train rides and construction sites

thankfully, for me, the adventure does not end at the last white blaze. and, hopefully, it never will, for me or for anyone. after a car ride with a beautiful widow to portland maine, a bus ride to the apple of my eye new york city and an overnight with two savvy new yorkers turned AT thru-hikers, i found myself on a train headed to charlottesville, va where two of the most beautiful people on this earth agreed to come retrieve me and carry me with them in his little red honda back to a warm home in harrisonburg. the train ride was the first time i had been truly alone in months; unable to walk somewhere and find someone i know, unable to plan where i was going the next day and without a defined goal. i felt freer, somehow, but mostly just sad.

but, after a week in harrisonburg, a city which i have concluded is one of the most beautiful in the world....there is so much good going on there, so much about to happen, so much happening now, so much to be involved in and so much that needs attention....harrisonburgers, do you know that? if you don't, go out and explore. there's a lot going on there, and i'm tempted to stay and get invovled in the birth of something truly beautiful. but we shall see. i tried sleeping somewhere different every night and, thanks to the people who care about me despite myself, that was almost possible. having a house, even though it may not be yours, is a blessing indeed. thank you guys :)

anyway, i am now home, or at least in the place in which all my material crap resides and so do the most important people int he world, my dad and his new wife (!!!) Liz. i can't say it feels good to be here, but it certainly doesn't feel as bad as i thought it would. our house, the big one that i lived in during high school, is being remodeled by Dad and liz and, so, the entire downstairs has been reduced to walls and dust-covered floor. they're tearing out walls and creating new ones, taking a house that was nice enough and turning it into a home. i'm excited for the end result, but the fact that i'm now living in the upstairs of a construction site without heat or hot water is rather strange. though, i can just shut the door, turn on my music and drown out the hairy men pounding with their hammers and pretned that nothing has changed. its kind of like my own little hideaway, and i, actually, rather like it. besides, i have enough boxes of random stuff up here that needs attention to keep me busy for months.

it doesnt feel like its over....but, surprisingly, it doesnt feel as much as i thought it would at all. it doesn't feel so strange to be using electricity, or to poop in a toilet...it all feels like a dream. i think, though, that the strange position of my home is adding an element that makes reality of normal life not seem so overwhelming and terrifying...nothing is the same for me, and i returned to a different life, one that changed along with me. and that was important. what's next, i wonder? my mom is coming here from the new mexican land soon, and i'm headed to her new trailer and new darkroom in the bathroom to develop my film from the adventure. maybe that will make it real. we'll see.

:) i love you

where the blazes end

i officially summited katahdin wednesday, october 11th, 2006 at 11:30 am. it was frigid, completely fogged in, and 50 mph wind gusts, and there were 14 thru-hikers at the top, surrounding the sign and collasping upon it, crying their eyes out and hugging one another, staring blankly at the one place they had been aiming for throughout the last 6 months of their life and trying to comprehend what had just happened and what was going to happen next. i guess it was one of those moments that will never leave you.

heres a photo of me, sarah (prana) and don (IROC) on the top, holding a sign for our two other best friends who had to leave the trail. i'm in the blue. :)

whatttt

hey there hi there ho there

well, here i am, monson, maine. this is the last trail town, well, ever. we have 114 miles to go before Kahtahdin, 100 of which are the famed "100 mile wilderness," which means we go that far without seeing any towns, roads or cars, hopefully. feels like a fitting end to this adventure but seems strange to be ending what has become my life. hard to say where i, and everyone, will go from here, but i suppose that's always the question, ay?

a final quote about this trip:

"I mean, how many adults do you know how get to have sleepovers with all of their best friends in the world every night of the week?"
--Breeze