The Finale, Thursday Nov 13

So, with little fanfare, I walked into Uncle Johnny's Hostel at the Chestoa Bridge around 5:20 PM. I've walked 340 miles in 27 days (plus 3 rest days) and it's been fantastic. My dear friend and mentor, Zen Pig, drove out to pick me up and greeted me with dry clothes, some OJ, and an iced coffee. On the drive back to Asheville we reflected on the transformational experience of hiking the AT. And then? Of course celebrated with a dinner at Salsa. If you gotta be civilized, that's not so bad.

Nolichucky River Gorge, final descent to Erwin Nov 13

This is the last trail video, standing on the ridge above the Nolichucky River, my destination. With the rains stopped and mostly downhill hiking, I felt great. Managed to do the 68 miles from Hot Springs in 4 days and really the only day that was rough was the 18-miler over Hogback and Big Bald. It's hard to believe my journey's almost over--I feel like I could just hike on.