| October 11, 2005 |
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Sandy and Simon have
completed the AT |
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This is the last day on the trail. I will
have completed The AT from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Katahdin
Mountain, Maine 2,200 miles. This is where Simon summited before he went home
for a month. This is where we're going back into today so we
can both summit on top of Mt. Greylock together again.
It is only a six and a half mile day. |
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Going to take my time going up through
here. I don't have get up here until 3:30pm - 4:00pm and Ryan
the local Pittsfield TV reporter is going to be up there to do a
short interview. |
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The weather is going close to 60 degrees,
overcast and they are predicting a few possible showers. |
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I just passed over an asphalt county road
by the water treatment plant. I'm now hiking on some
boardwalk. I'm sure glad that I've got a board fence to go
over this stream. It's extremely swollen. Even though
it's running swiftly in is within it's banks now. |
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The Wilber Clearing Shelter is 2.4 miles
and Greylock Summit is 5.6. The water from this little stream
and off of this hillside has been up over the bridges within the
last couple of days and out of it's banks. I can see where
it's been. Going through a fairly white pine forest, the trail
is very muddy with lot of mud holes from the recent rains. A
lot of roots too that I have to try to hike through. Not a
difficult hike so far though. |
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I just came through the water shed for
North Adams. They don't allow any camping at all to protect
their water system. Starting up hill. The woods is
mostly a hard woods, a lot of ferns underneath it. Looks like
a lot of beeches, a lot of maples in this area and striped maples.
A lot of beautiful Christmas ferns in this area that haven't died
back yet. Actually there is still a lot of green leaves in
this area. The frost hasn't hit in here that hard yet. A
lot of yellow and rust colored leaves now. |
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There's evidentially shagbark hickory right
along the trail. I see lot hickory nuts all over the place
where the squirrels have been breaking them apart and eating the nut
on the inside. Some acorn trees in the area also. |
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Since I have a little bit of time to look
around today, I'm trying to spot some bear claws or scallop
mushrooms around the area as I up through. This is a good area
for them because they had so much rain lately and it's very damp.
They'll be coming up. |
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I am now climbing Mt. Prospect Trail.
I can see the blue blaze that leads to the left. I have a
short ways to go before I get to Wilbur Lean-to. Mt. Prospect
is 2,450 feet. The trail is very steep coming up through here.
Some switch backs. It is also through a very mature hemlock
forest. There's a lot of roots that go across the trail.
I'm getting into some larger boulders now. |
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I'm defiantly on top. The trial is
following the ridge line across, a little on the rocky side. A
little foggy up here. I can't see off down into the valley.
I'll probably have 15 feet or so that I can see through the woods.
Spruces, oaks and maples in this area. Still some large
boulders, but nothing in the trail. |
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The beech trees are still green for the
most part. Birches have turned a little bit in golden color.
A lot of moss on the ground. There are these little clover
flowers that I see along the trail, but I don't know what the name
of them are. |
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This is the end of the trail. I will
be anxious to get home and see my grandchildren. Be with my
husband and sleep in my own bed and be in my own house. Yet at
the same time there will be part of me, this free spirit in me that
likes to be out into the woods and out into the basically God's
church is the way I look at it. I feel close to the nature
that has surrounded me. This beautiful work in which we live.
The has been very challenging, exciting, terrifying in some cases.
I've been anxious. I've met wonderful people. Wonderful
trail angels. It seemed like at any time I got into a
difficult situation I was able to call on guidance from the heavens
and ask for directions and it was provided. What I'm trying to
say is that I've grown more spiritually. |
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I just went down to the Wilber Clearing
Shelter and signed the guest book. Greylock Summit is 3.1
miles away. I'm hiking up stream in the middle of the trail.
This is kind of interesting, this is the first real water I've
gotten into today. It's extremely deep to be in the trail.
A lot of foot bridges through here. A lot of logs for you to
get up on. |
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Hiking from the shelter has been like
hiking in a park woods. It's been real level, no big rocks,
the trail has been wide and manicured. Huge big golden leaves
on the ground and I'm in the middle of a pine forest with hardwoods
mixed in. However the closer I get to the summit, I'll
probably get into some huge big stones again, that I'll have to
climb. |
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It's starting to ascend now. Getting
into some large boulders now in the trail, but still nothing that is
hand over hand. Real easy hiking! I must be climbing Mt.
Fitch, 3,110 feet. I guess I'm at the summit of Mt. Williams
2,951 feet. I'm on top of beautiful rounded rocks, here again
supposedly with a view. I have nothing but clouds in the
foreground. I can see a few of the winter trees that have
already lost their leaves. Some maples still hanging, in gold.
Spruce in this area, so I know I'm up fairly high. The wind is
really chilly, so I'm not going to stay up here very long. |
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Hiking along the ridge top
again. I just passed the sign that goes to Bellows Pike Trail
lean-to which is not part of the AT. I really going up a very
steep ascent up to the summit. Ahead of me I see big rock
steps that have been put in. It's going to lead me up to the
heavens into the clouds. It's going to be cloud covered the
whole time I'm up there. The wind is beginning to pick up
again too. The elevation for Greylock Summit is 3,491 feet.
This is the end of the line. 2,200 miles. I'm coming into
Baskin Lodge area now. I don't see my husband, nor do I see
Bob or Laura yet. It is really foggy. I don't see anyone
so I'm going into the lodge and sign the guest book in there.
Before I do that I'm going to have to put a jacket on because the
air temperature is so much cooler here. |
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Went into the lodge and signed the guest
and when I cam out to look for Bob and Laura and there came Bob.
I had just missed them when bob was hiking down the north part of
the AT when I came up on the asphalt road. We went to the parking
where I met my husband and Laura. Then I hiked back down the
AT on the section that I didn't complete. Then came back out
then to the monument area. Laura took the last pictures on the
trail there with her video camera and Bob gave me his hiking stick
that he had made for me. It has 14 tassels on it, one for each
state. Also a 2,200 miler shield that he put on there.
It is an antique stick that his daughter had in their basement.
It's quite priceless all the way around. |
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We went from Greylock back to Laura and
Bob's home. When I got there I said "Laura do you mind if I go
upstairs and take my shower and get some of this stink off me?"
No she said didn't care as long as it doesn't take to long. So
I got my clothes together and went up stairs and when I cam back
down stairs I was surprised to see Ann Marie the president of the
Newborns in Need of the Newark Chapter. And Carol. They
had flown in to be with me for the final ending celebration. I
thought it was really nice of those people to fly all that distance
and spend their money on motel rooms and rented a car to be with me
at the end. I might add that evidentially my husband was in on
the fact that they were flying in for the end of the hike
celebration. That is the first that I've know my husband to
keep a secret for more than 2 minutes. I was certainly
surprised. It was good to see everyone. |
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After super was over we opened cards from
Central Ohio Hiking Club, as well as cards from the Newborns in
Needs chapters. I certainly have felt very privileged to be
able to hike for NIN and to represent them because they are such a
worthy group of people that are working for an excellent cause.
I tried to spread the awareness to as many people as possible along
the trail in the different states as well as people I met on the AT. |
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It certainly has been a wonderful
experience! I probably won't do a through hike again.
Maybe in the future there will sections of the AT that I would like
to go back to and revisit and taking my husband and my grandchildren
back to see. |
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I hope that everyone hiking the AT with me
vicariously through reading the journal that they have enjoyed their
trip experience. I tried to relate basically what I was seeing
as I went along the trail to give you some idea as to what the AT
was like. |
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I want to thank you for your thoughts, your
prayers, your concerns for my safety and my well being. I
would like to extend a thank you to Rod and Maugie in Gorham who
were wonderful trail angles and let me stay with their family for
almost a week while I recuperated from an abscess on my leg. I
would also like to thank Gene Myers and Brian Conner, the volunteer
fire department in NJ who also assisted me when I was there for a
week being treated also for the abscess on my back. |
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I met a lot of other trail angels along the way
that provided me with food, cold drinks, water whenever we were
going through the drought area. People would just come up to
you and ask if they could assist you in any way. It makes you
think about begin kind and there are some excellent people out there
that are really caring people. |
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I would like also to say thank you to my hiking
friend Kathy, because if it were not for her we would have not been
able to have the information put on the Internet. Also, my
hiking friend Kelly because he was with me every step of the way
vicariously in my thoughts. I also talked to him a lot on the
recorder and think about what he would do in certain situations.
He was also the one that cropped the memory stick pictures and sent
them to Kathy to be placed on the Internet. So I tip my hat to
both of those people. |
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I would also like to say a thank you to Bob
and Laura Garrity for letting me stay at their house, providing for
my needs, not only once, but twice. The first time was
whenever I came into Dalton and waited on my husband to arrive and
the second time was the final end of the journey. They're
wonderful hosts and I'm looking forward to serving them when Laura
and Bob come to the annual NIN convention in April. |
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I would also like to say thank you to my
husband and to my 2 daughters and my grandchildren for giving me the
opportunity to be able to be away for nearly six and a half months
from home. They took over my duties as well. My family
worked hard to assist me with awareness of the Newborns in Needs as
well as the development of ideas for fund raisers. |
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I would like to say it has been my pleasure
to serve the volunteers if NIN program across the US. They
work very diligently to provide for God's tiniest babies that can't
help themselves. With every stitch that is sewn, with every
stitch that crocheted or knitted, these volunteers provide gifts to
the babies of their hearts |
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Each tiny preemie, each tiny new born who is struggling
to survive is wrapped in swaddling clothes, still full of love, hugs
and kisses, thoughts and prayers for their well being as well as for
their family. |
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This is the end of the AT journey, my wonderful
experience on the trail. Stay tuned next summer for more
adventures with Swing'n Jane and Simon The wonder Dog on the trail. |
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Swing'n Jane and
Simon The Wonder Dog |
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