I have finished the round trip of the MST. I summited Clingman's Dome on October 18th at 2:45 pm in 3 inches of snow and 30 degree temperatures. I am happy to be going home and even more so to have completed such a major accomplishment. Now that the hike is over, it is time to work on getting the 2010 versions of the Manual ready for print. The information in the 2009 version is great and quite accurate with a couple of errors. The information I collected this year was to help fix some of the camping issues. I have had 25 churches out of 120, so far, agree to allow hikers to camp on the property and to use the water spigots to fill up our bottles.

Thank you to everybody who supported this trip and had kind words that helped motivate me to continue on. It would have been a tougher journey without you. I have so much more to post here but not enough time today. When I get home I will have the time to do more.

Thanks again,
Scot "Taba" Ward
There And Back Again

Congrats being the first YoYo on the MST. You have climbed up to the 6000s and down to 0...twice. Then you climbed from 0 back up to the 6000s.

I hope you didn't have to walk back out from Clingmans to Newfound.

Now go home, relax, and take a vacation.

Clingman's Dome Road was closed because of the snowfall and ice plus, a large tree fell over the road so it was a challenge for anyone who was stuck up there to get out. I summited by myself and walked down the paved path with visibility of about 20-30 feet. There was 1/2 to 3/4 inch ice on the sidewalk. When I got to the parking area I found a couple from Georgia who gave me a ride to Newfound Gap Road. I walked down to Newfound Gap from there to wait for my brother, Eddie, to drive up to get me. I started getting really cold to where it was an uncontroled shriver and decided to walk down the road to try and warm up. The traffic was bumper to bumper travelling at 2-5 mph because of everybody stopping to take pictures and slide on the ice. I walked another 1/2 mile or so and saw my brothers car. He immediately pulled over, jumped out, grabbed my backpack of my back and threw it in the car while I jumped in the backseat and pulled blankets over me.

Once we got to Gatlinburg I was doing good. We stopped at the Happy Hiker Outfitter. They were closed but we got a great picture in front of the store so they can start a picture wall for MST thru-hikers like they do for the AT hikers. Then we went to the Smoky Mountain Brewery for a celebration beer and cheeseburger.

I was sponsored by 3 companies for this journey. The companies supplied great quality equipment and were there for at anytime that I needed them. I want to thank them. They are:

Leki, who supplied the Makalu Trail hiking poles. I used them for numerous tasks along the hike. I not only used them for balance on trail and through creek crossings but also did minor trail maintenance. The are great poles for kicking twigs and branches off the trail and to create alternate paths to reroute water sources to keep the trail dry.

Teva, they supplied the Terra Fi 2 sandals I used for 1,600 miles. I wore out a pair left over from last years hike and in Boone on the Eastbound leg I picked up a new pair at Mast General. I wore that pair everyday from there to Jockey's Ridge and back to Boone a total of 1,300 miles. At that point those sandals became trophies. Teva sent another pair of Terra Fi's and a prototype type that I agreed to wear test for them. I used the test pair for 150 miles and finished the final days in them. Even through the snow and cold my feet were fine. I wouldn't say they were toasty warm but I was not uncomfrotable. The rest rest of the mileage was hiked in boots for bad weather reasons.

And Trail Hound aka Wandering Buddha, They supplied the Buddha Beanie that kept my head warm on those frigid nights. It was a little big but that helped it stay on at night. I didn't lose to much sleep trying to mind my beanie. Is it in the sleeping bag or out, no it's still on my head!

Thank you to everybody,
Scot " Taba" Ward

Congrats Taba!!! :sun

Congrats. Job well done. Enjoy some time off.

way to go taba

Sounds like an epic end to an exciting journey! Congratulations to you on your own Triple Crown." Now you can officially be promoted to a brand new trailname - Tababa -(there and back again (and back again).

Outlaw

Congratulations Taba I am looking foward to your updated trail guide.