Day 26 - 13.5 - Appalachian Trail Railroad Station - NY - Home

Sir Winton Churchill best captured my feelings today when he said,  "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

 

Today, June 7th, is the last day of my hike for this Spring.  Sadly, I am officially off the trail.

 

The problem I had with the pain and numbness in my right thigh (Meralgian Paresthetica) has returned.  I had high hopes that the custom padded belt that Su Burdette helped me fashion would stave off the onset of the problem but that was not in the cards (Su - I can't thank you enough for your help).  The belt did its job for a period of time, but as I once again lost a fair amount of weight, and my pack began to press lower on my hips, the belt became less effective.  The decision to stop my hike was a difficult one, particularly since I was only 12 miles short of reaching Connecticut, but one that I have been wrestling with over several days.  I love being on the trail, meeting wonderful people and seeing America in its natural glory, but I must put my long term physical well being first. The episode from last year kept me in pain and discomfort for many months and I am not willing to pay that price or potenially an even higher price just to complete the trail this year.

I don't think this is the end of my AT hike, but rather a re-grouping point where I need to evaluate alternative approaches to achieving my goal.  There are still many options open to me so I have not thrown in the towel quite yet!

Well, enough of that.  Let's talk about the hike this last day and my trip home.

Mr. Sunshine and I knew it was going to be a scorcher today so we got up by 5:15am and were on the trail by 6:00.  With the low humidity and temps in the morning we were able to make fast mileage.  We reached Morgan Stewart Shelter by 7:20 and got a fresh supply of water from a hand pump well.  Very iron-like taste.  That is why we carry powered drink flavors, they help to mask the taste.

We reached Nuclear Lake about the time things started to get steamy.  I could not find my Deet (insect repellent) to save my life. It turned out that in my rush during the morning, I had wrapped it up in my tent.  Needless to say, I was a favorite target for the bugs today. 

 

The miles flew by and by 11:30, I reached the Telephone Pioneers Shelter.  Having made my decision to head home, I gave all my food supplies to Mr. Sunshine.  He decided to call it a day and let his feet rest.  I headed on down the mountain to the reknowned Appalachian Trail Raiload Train Station, one of many stops on a commuter rail line to New York City.  I guess I'm not the first to opt to come off the trail at this point. 

 

Telephone Pioneers Shelter

The walk to the train station was interesting but hot.  A lot of it involved walking through tall grass (amazingly no ticks - guess that Permetrin was working) and then through a long marsh where they are working on replacing the crude board crossing with a nice deck.  As I came out of the marsh, the Appalachian Trail Railroad Station appeared!

THE ROAD HOME - Much to my dismay, after reaching the station, I realized that trains only stop to pick up and discharge passengers on the weekends.  Seems there is always a catch that can mess up your plans, even on the AT.  I tried to get a ride to the next town but did not have any luck.  Thank goodness for my new Droid X phone that I bought just before setting out on the trail - I was able to ask it to locate a local taxi and in seconds, I had a ride.  I got to the next station down the line with only 5 minutes to spare. 

 

It took two hours to get to New York City and then the real fun began.  The commuter train pulled into Grand Central but I needed to get to Penn Station to catch the Amtrak train that would carry me to Maryland.  As luck would have it, I arrived in Grand Central right at the outset of rush hour so it was bedlam and no easy task to maneuver to Penn Station when I had no idea where I was going! 

 

Grand Central has tunnels coming from all directions and there were huge masses of people rushing about.  I asked a couple of people how to walk to Penn Station and they looked at me like I was crazy.  Everyone told me to hop the shuttle (subway) and then make a transfer.  Thinking, "OK, here goes nothing," I headed toward the shuttle.  Fortunately, I met a local at the fare card machine who offered to help me get to the Amtrak ticket office at Penn Station.  Even when we got to Penn Station, there seemed to be tunnels in all directions and barely any signs.  The place was a mad house.  My trail angel (who would have thought, an angel in NYC) stayed with me all the way to the ticket office!  I don't think I would have made it without his help.  Hikers will tell you, when you want something, you probably won't get it but when you need something, the trail will provide.  My trail luck was still with me. 

 

As we pulled out of NYC I was finally able to relax and catch up on my e-mail.  Sandy was there to pick me up at the Shady Grove subway station and we were home by 10:30pm.  Not bad.  Traveling from the AT just 12 miles from the Connecticut border to home in just nine hours.

Hot meal, long shower and a soft bed - a good end to a tough day.  Tomorrow starts my recovery and evaluation of how to conquer or at least compensate for this problem.

Thanks to all for the love and support you have given me - it is deeply appreciated.