View Full Version : Done. Finished. Finito.
At 10:30am nov 1st, reached the Mexican border. My 2800 mile (or so) journey is now done.
Two friends from Boulder picked me up. Had a shot of Yukon Jack (canada) and Tequila (Mexico) and proved I am a cheap date. :)
Took a shower, put on comfy cotton and plannning on take one hell of a long nap when I get to Boulder.
Thanks for everyone<s support and good wishes over the past few months. Has been a wonderful experience!
will write more later!
Mags, this makes it a triple crown, doesnt it??? Congrats
Frolicking Dinosaurs
11-02-2006, 20:22
Woohoo!http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b47/lowcarbscoop/cartwheel.gifWoohoo!
the goat
11-02-2006, 20:24
mags- congratulations on completing "the crown" & welcome back!!!
i'm looking forward to hearing a/b it after you've rested.:sun
shades of blue
11-02-2006, 20:27
Kudos to you Mags! Have a good nap, then come back and tell us all about the trip.
Skidsteer
11-02-2006, 20:56
Nice job Mags!
headchange4u
11-02-2006, 21:19
You are my hero.:banana
Alligator
11-02-2006, 22:27
Congratulations. Superb.
Congrats Mags! You Da Man!
SGT Rock
11-03-2006, 01:56
Congratulations Mags! I knew you could do it!
TJ aka Teej
11-03-2006, 22:37
At 10:30am nov 1st, reached the Mexican border. My 2800 mile (or so) journey is now done.
Two friends from Boulder picked me up. Had a shot of Yukon Jack (canada) and Tequila (Mexico) and proved I am a cheap date. :)
Took a shower, put on comfy cotton and plannning on take one hell of a long nap when I get to Boulder.
Thanks for everyone<s support and good wishes over the past few months. Has been a wonderful experience!
will write more later!
Shouldn't this thread be Finis, Finished, Finito? :D
Congrats Mags, LT AT PCT CDT!!
ps
Hey Mags, I hear there's gonna be a new trail in Lebanon soon :D
First, thanks for all the congrats I've received. Been part of this community now for about a decade now. Have received much appreciated advice, encouragement and good wishes over the years. Many, many thanks!
Second, hope no one minds the ramblings. :D Tend to enjoy writing publically (helps me organize my own thoughts), and think the thoughts may useful for not just the CDT but for any long trail.
On to my ramblings...
As mentioned previously, the CDT for me was the most challenging, difficult and frustrating of the three trails. The isolation at times, the route finding, the rough edges.
But, it was indeed the most rewarding. A trail where I saw a grizzly bears in the wild, heard wolves. Being on top of Temple Pass in the Winds one glorious morning. Standing on the ridge on Montana ans Idaho and seeing NOTHING around except the mountains.
The rawness, intensity and wildness is what makes the trail so rewarding. Felt as if I was forging my own path (even with maps andguidebooks). Was misplaced enough where sometimes I did feel like I was forging my own path. :D
Originally, said it was my favorite of the three trails. Now? Well, hard to really choose a favorite Think all three had something that made me like them all for different reasons.
The CDT already mentioned.
Hiking the AT was like my first serious relationship. Full of passion and energy. Every day was something totally new to me. Took lessons from that experience still carry with me. Found the AT to be the most physically difficult (terrain, heavier pack, worse overall weather, inexperience).
The PCT is where I truly felt comfortable for the first time with thru-hiking. Knowing this is what I indeed want to do. The 10 days in the High Sierra is still the overall highpoint in my backpacking "career". The PCT is perhaps the "happy medium" for the three trails/. Wild in places, easy to get solitude or companionship as needed, easy tread, overall great weather. A trail made for end to end hikes. Most importantly, it is where I made friendships still strong over four years later.
As I settle into what my buddy D-low aptly calls "domestication", thinking of why these long journeys are done. Not just for the physical challenge, or the adventure or being immersed in nature. It is for all these facets and more. For the journey itself. All the challenges, joys, experiences.
Crossing the divide this year, and being a bit of a history buff, think of the the divide crossing that happened 200 years ago: The Lewis and Clark Expedition. In his journal, Lewis wrote: "As we passsed on, it seemed those scences of visionary enchantment would never have an end". And I think that is why many "repeat offenders" do these long hikes...to see more scences of enchantment.
Finally (yeah...goes the crowd. :D), was asked a few times if this completion of the CDT makes me a "Triple Crowner" . Yep.
Don't feel esp. "hard core". Feel lucky. Not once, or twice but three times now to see this country on foot for months at a time. The US really is extraordinary in its diversity and beauty.
Wild horses in Wyoming. The craggy peaks of northern New England. Thick forests of the southern Appalachians. The sheer remoteness of Montana. Crater Lake at sunrise. The unique combination of the raw and the sublime of the High Sierra.
All scenes of wonder for ever etched in my memory. All scenes of enchantment. With any luck, will experience more scenes of enchantment in the future...
Enough waxing poetic, for now. ;-)
Shouldn't this thread be Finis, Finished, Finito? :D
Congrats Mags, LT AT PCT CDT!!
ps
Hey Mags, I hear there's gonna be a new trail in Lebanon soon :D
Heh...yeah. "Finis...." would be more appropriate! "Finito" just popped into my head.
A "Lebanon Trail". Ok, I've been in a news vacum, must confess, this guy doesnot get it! (That, and many other things!!!!)
If anyone is curious, have my finish photos from the
CDT: http://snipurl.com/11jl2 (http://snipurl.com/11jl2)
Probably have all my photos put up sometime in
December. My computer is in storage!
Still working on my last journal entry....
If anyone is curious, have my finish photos from the
CDT: http://snipurl.com/11jl2 (http://snipurl.com/11jl2)
Probably have all my photos put up sometime in
December. My computer is in storage!
Still working on my last journal entry....
Congratulations, Mags.