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Quick on the draw: the end of the AT hike.
No more miles to hike
After reaching the summit of Mount Katahdin on 1 August, and after hiking well over 2200 miles (2197.4 official miles, +9 on the approach trail, +5 to get back off the summit, + countless miles to collect water, for views etc), around 5 million steps, and the equivalent of 16 ascents from sea level to the top of Mount Everest, it is all over as there are no more miles left to hike.
I will keep this post brief and will return with post-trail reflections on one of the most extraordinary episodes of my life at another time. Below you will find the last few drawings and photos (including full beard horror!) for the final days through the Hundred Mile Wilderness, and up to the top of Mount Katahdin. Meanwhile, I have to prepare for the return to England and normal life, whatever that is.
In remembrance of John Beecher 14/12/86 – 12/12/12
From the outset, my Appalachian Trail hike was in part a kind of pilgrimage in remembrance of our beautiful son John. I carried him in my heart all the way, as well as his hat on my head. In the woods and mountains, I was finally able to do the grieving that I could not before. When I experienced any pain on the trail, I often thought how insignificant it was compared to that John endured from his cancer and its treatment. John was going to do so many things but his life was cut short. Go out and live life.
And a few photos:
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Comments 20
Dear Michael, I have followed you throughout your long walk, delighted by the watercolor drawings and insightful commentary. It was until today that I understood what you were also carrying profound grief and loss. Grief and loss have quietly emerged from the blogs of some of your fellow hikers, their understated revelations have left me in tears.
I sense that the ultimate gift of the hike & trail is its requirement to live in the present. Your life may depend on that awareness at times, but it is always urgent, inescapable, filled with beauty and surprises. Living fully in the moment becomes an antidote to grief which is never obliterated, but which gives it a different shape.
I am wishing you the very best in the next chapter of your life and want to thank you for the beauty and meaning you have brought to mine.
Anna, thank you so much for all your comments over the weeks and for your insight in your latest thoughts. It was a privilege to be able to hike the AT and to have the space for reflection, as well as the daily encounters with nature and beauty. Hiking the AT is incredibly hard, but the strong sense of community on trail as well as online, helps enormously. Thanks again and best wishes to you too.
Congratulations on completion. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks very much Harry.
Michael, well-done and well-lived.
Thanks Mike and thanks for the trail magic. I hope you liked the picture.
What a beautiful journey you took to carry your love for your son. The watercolors and photos are so special- great job walking the AT miles and for spending months in nature.
Thanks Jenny. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to hike the AT, and lucky not to have any serious injuries or illnesses. It was a very special time and London will take some getting used to again.
Michael – such a beautiful account of your amazing achievement. We miss you at work, but are thrilled for you that you achieved all this in the (what feels like) short time since you left.
Thanks Susannah. It feels at the same time, like it was only yesterday that I was at work, while also being half a lifetime away. The London crowds and urban spaces are so very different from the solitude of the woods and mountains. I am still adjusting!
Well done Quick! What an achievement!
Thanks Cool. I see that you are up and moving again. Well done and good luck.
Michael, what an achievement! I’m so in awe of your endurance, and your abilities with a paintbrush.
Thanks Jane. I am glad that I was able to keep drawing right up to the end. I was pretty tired by then and it has been pointed out to me (and it is true!), that my handwriting was deteriorating towards the end.
Well done Mike, lots of love from Paul and Sue. See you soon!
Hi Paul. I have an event I will be in touch about soon.
Dear Quick on the Draw,
I met you on 7/28 and loved hiking with you for a few miles until we parted at the Carl Newhall Lean-to. I loved hearing about your admirable journey and find your spirited drawings so inspiring. Thank you for sharing your stories and kind words and helping me settle on a trail name of Shooting Star. Wishing you continued happy trails wherever in the world the path takes you.
All the best,
Csilla
Hi Shooting Star!
It was an absolute pleasure to hike with you for a while. You are the kind of teacher that every student deserves to have.
I hope you and Bob (if I have remembered the name correctly), managed to hike your own hikes.
Huge congratulations.
Such an achievement and I am so pleased for you that you managed it and that it has been a positive experience for you.
Well done from all of us
Thanks Chris and it is so nice to hear from you. I am now in the adjustment phase that comes after doing something like the AT, and wondering what “normal life” looks like.