Popular Post Jane in NC Posted June 20, 2016 Popular Post Posted June 20, 2016 From Spring Mountain, GA, to Mount Katahdin, ME, 2189 miles, in less than four months. Through snow and ice, thunder storms and mosquito swarms, up (and down) the inclines, across boulder fields. The Appalachian Trail requires planning and organization as well as physical and mental conditioning. My husband and I are so proud of our son. Some of you held my hand in the high school years and through the college app process. Let me present "The Boy" who is far more resilient than any of us ever expected. Here is to our Well Trained Kids wherever life takes them! 115 Quote
JustEm Posted June 20, 2016 Posted June 20, 2016 That is awesome. In college, a friend and I were planning on doing this but we both ended up meeting our future spouses during the planning phase and the idea of spending months with another male was no longer appealing to me. Plus his girlfriend was not ok with it. I hope to do it still someday but now I have to wait until my kids are older. 3 Quote
gaillardia Posted June 20, 2016 Posted June 20, 2016 :party: :cool: :hurray: Great job, family! 1 Quote
Kathy in Richmond Posted June 20, 2016 Posted June 20, 2016 Awesome!!!! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: 1 Quote
ktgrok Posted June 20, 2016 Posted June 20, 2016 Awesome! I have a friend who's son is currently about 900 miles in. HIs hiking buddy ended up deciding to go home so he's on his own now. I'm sure he'd love it if a fellow homeschooler would send him a message of encouragement on his Facebook page, if your son does the Facebook thing. https://www.facebook.com/Thru-hiking-the-AT-in-2016-1014636971935234/timeline 2 Quote
Carol in Cal. Posted June 20, 2016 Posted June 20, 2016 That is fantastic! I've stood right where that picture is taken. It's quite a climb, that last one. An appropriate end to an awesome journey. 2 Quote
FaithManor Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 AMAZING!!!! WOOT! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :party: :patriot: 1 Quote
lulubelle Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Fantastic! What a great accomplishment, he is now even more well trained for life!!! 1 Quote
purplejackmama Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Super cool!! My brother did the thru hike in 2014 and it changed his life :) 2 Quote
Ethel Mertz Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Totally Amazing! Congrats to The Boy and His Parents!! Quote
HRAAB Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 That is absolutely amazing!!! Congratulations! 1 Quote
Stacia Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Wow! Congrats on a trip well- and amazingly-done! :party: 1 Quote
Zoo Keeper Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: Very Well Done! Congratulations! 1 Quote
trulycrabby Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) Congratulations! :hurray: Edited June 21, 2016 by trulycrabby 1 Quote
Guest Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 That is *spectacular!* So timely for me, because I am reading "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed and it's making me think about backpacking. Of course, that would mean the AT for me.:) 3 Quote
Alessandra Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) Wow, I am beyond impressed!!! My dd met a through hiker this spring. He had begun in Georgia in late winter - early spring. I know it would be a giant coincidence if it were your son, but I have to ask. She was on NJ at Waywayanda on May 14. if you think it might be him, I can pm you his trail name or post it here. Dd said there are a lot of through hikers, so I am not holding my breath. But it would be great if dd had met your son. Edited June 21, 2016 by Alessandra 2 Quote
Jane in NC Posted June 21, 2016 Author Posted June 21, 2016 Wow, I am beyond impressed!!! My dd met a through hiker this spring. He had begun in Georgia in late winter - early spring. I know it would be a giant coincidence if it were your son, but I have to ask. She was on NJ at Waywayanda on May 14. The through hiker's trail name was Tenderfoot. Dd said there are a lot of through hikers, so I am not holding my breath. But it would be great if dd had met your son. On May 13 my son was at Wildcat near Waywayanda (having checked the map where I plotted his progress). Could they have crossed paths? My son is Scorched Heels. 2 Quote
Mothersweets Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Wow! What an accomplishment! Congratulations!!! 1 Quote
Alessandra Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) On May 13 my son was at Wildcat near Waywayanda (having checked the map where I plotted his progress). Could they have crossed paths? My son is Scorched Heels.My dd was at Wilcat on Saturday night, May 14, when her Girl Scout group met a young man who was hiking from Georgia to Maine. Dd said he slept in the shelter and did not use a tent. But his trail name was Tenderfoot. Oh, I am SO disappointed. My dd's group was heading east through Waywayanda, towards Maine, finishing up at the park office area, so they probably would not have crossed paths. :-( Anyway, her group was three girls in mid teens and four adults, I think. There was also a Boy Scout group that night. ETA Dd says your picture looks like the person she is calling Tenderfoot. She thinks? Not 100% sure. Weird! Edited June 21, 2016 by Alessandra 1 Quote
Kareni Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 How very impressive! Congratulations to your son, Jane. Regards, Kareni 1 Quote
GoodGrief Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Love it! We visited a couple of sections of the trail during college visits in PA and NH. Verrrry tempting!! :-) 1 Quote
Jane in NC Posted June 21, 2016 Author Posted June 21, 2016 My dd was at Wilcat on Saturday night, May 14, when her Girl Scout group met a young man who was hiking from Georgia to Maine. Dd said he slept in the shelter and did not use a tent. But his trail name was Tenderfoot. Oh, I am SO disappointed. My dd's group was heading east through Waywayanda, towards Maine, finishing up at the park office area, so they probably would not have crossed paths. :-( Anyway, her group was three girls in mid teens and four adults, I think. There was also a Boy Scout group that night. ETA Dd says your picture looks like the person she is calling Tenderfoot. She thinks? Not 100% sure. Weird! My son prefers shelter sleeping to using a tent (apparently rodents dancing through the night don't bother him!). If she remembers him saying that he was an archaeologist, they crossed paths. The names of Scorched Heels and Tenderfoot both suggest a foot problem--my son's issue early on which earned him this trail moniker. 1 Quote
PrincessMommy Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 that's great. Congratulations to him! 1 Quote
creekland Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Awesome - great pic! He looks very fit and ready for the next challenge. Pass on my congratulations to him! Oh yeah, meant to ask - does he have a favorite section of the trail? (mainly thinking about views) 2 Quote
Alessandra Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) My son prefers shelter sleeping to using a tent (apparently rodents dancing through the night don't bother him!). If she remembers him saying that he was an archaeologist, they crossed paths. The names of Scorched Heels and Tenderfoot both suggest a foot problem--my son's issue early on which earned him this trail moniker.I will ask her about the archaeologist. Can you ask ds if he remembers a small group of Girl Scoutsand a larger group of Boy Scouts, and other stuff I mentioned in previous post? The Boy Scouts arrived first and took all the good camping spots, lol. I would so like them to have crossed paths, just for the serendipity. ETA One of the GS leaders was Mama Wolf. Dd does not have a trail name yet. Edited June 21, 2016 by Alessandra 2 Quote
Jane in NC Posted June 21, 2016 Author Posted June 21, 2016 Awesome - great pic! He looks very fit and ready for the next challenge. Pass on my congratulations to him! Oh yeah, meant to ask - does he have a favorite section of the trail? (mainly thinking about views) Thanks again to you and your husband for helping the hiker when he was down for the count in PA. I am going to let him process the hike before asking him your last question. I know that he loved the Roan Highlands (NC) and the Grayson Highlands (VA)--you might like the latter because of the wild ponies. Views really vary with time of year. When we met up with The Boy in the Shenandoah in April, the upper elevations had not leafed out so we had great views. There are parts of the AT that are described as "the green tunnel" but again that depends on time of year. We have not had a lot of contact with him while he was in NH and ME so I can't mention any specific places there. As I said, he needs some time to process. Also, he loved the boulder scramble in the Lehigh Gap. He thought it was super fun. But climbing over massive rocks is not everyone's cup of tea! 4 Quote
ErinE Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Congratulations! I'm glad he made it safe and sound. 1 Quote
AppleGreen Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 Oh, what an amazing achievement! I so wanted to do a thru hike after graduating from college, but instead of actualizing a thru hike, I stated planning a wedding. Congrats to your boy! 1 Quote
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