Friday was my last full day of hiking.
I woke up around 6 AM as usual, ate breakfast, and quickly hiked out of camp before the large group that was also camped at the shelter. That day I hiked a quick 7.4 miles from Tray Mountain Shelter to Deep Gap Shelter.
After setting up camp and taking a short nap, I was joined by another hiker named Steve. This Steve happened to be the most interesting and awesome person I met during the entire hike. This guy had been told by doctors that he was going to die after his kidneys started shutting down. He fought against the odds to outlive his doctors' life expectancy estimates and get on a donor list. After receiving a new kidney he decided to genuinely enjoy life. Having truly been given a gift of "life extension", Steve decided that the best way to enjoy it was to live in the woods for an extended period of time. Awesome!
Steve carried fresh vegetables instead of candy bars. He loved what he called "moon walking" (night hiking), and strongly recommended that I try it. He had been hiking for 3 weeks, exploring all the side trails, and living quietly in nature. When I told him it was my last night on the trail he genuinely seemed sad for me having to return to the commotion of urban life. Steve reminded me of Morrie from Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie. I hope he is doing well and still enjoying the outdoors.
The last night was bittersweet. I could not wait to see Michelle again, but I knew that returning home meant returning to rigid schedules, monotonous days that blend into monotonous weeks and months, routines, and hours wasted in front of screens of various sizes. This year, however, there was a light at the end of the tunnel: in approximately 8 months I would be restarting my hike, but this time without deadlines. I was (and still am) ready.
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