Since I left the trail, I followed ADD and BAMA via ADD's Youtube videos (Hiking with ADD), BAMA's Instagram postings and ADD's In-reach tracking which he shared with me. ADD and BAMA joined up with Jimmy Trails, Wheels and Chris (Cousin) when they left Hot Springs and became the "freaky five".
I'm very jealous and loved tracking their adventure.
In hindsight I wished I had taken some time, recovered and gone back and joined them along the way. A part of me regrets that I didn't do that but I became engrossed in other adventures with Deirdra, grandkids and others which turned out to be very rewarding. This included hiking out West in Utah and Arizona, biking the C&O Canal for a week, time in the White Mountains with grandkids and a great weekend on Nantucket. I have no complaints. The vortex is strong.
In late June I was in Washington for a family get together and was able to meet up with some of the freaky five at the Wolfsville Road crossing about 30 miles north of Harpers Ferry. There is a small parking area about 50 yards off the trail. They caught me up on some of the hiker news. Wheels had gone ahead of the group to get to Boiling Springs, PA to see his niece I believe. Sadly I learned that Chris had gotten to Harpers Ferry but left the trail to return home to Sweden because of a possible case of limes disease. No Heart had also gotten off the trail due to injury. Others had fanned out along the trail according to their hiking speed or left it for various reasons. Felt really bad for Chris as this was the second time he had to leave the trail due to illness or family illness. Hope everything works out well.
It was good to see them and provide some trail magic. Food, beer and the like. Unbeknown to me was that the park ranger residence was down the road from the parking area and having alcoholic beverages at that location was a no-no. He drove past and stopped but when we explained that I was just doing a little trail magic for some thru hikers and promised to clean everything up he was ok with it. Thanks Mr. Ranger!
In earlyAugust, Mrs. ADD flew up and joined ADD in Massachusetts. They came east for a couple of days and stayed with us to see the Boston area. It was great to have them.
BAMA and ADD finished their thru hike on September 27. I think Wheels and Jummy Trails finished on September 24. Congrats on this amazing accomplishment.
I have been trying to keep in shape for my continuation hike in April, 2020. Mostly working out in the gym and day hiking on a pretty routine basis. I did take some time off from the gym over the Christmas Holidays but now back at it. Winter weather will make hiking more difficult shortly so more time will be confined to the gym. I am switching out some gear to shed some weight and hopefully get the full pack weight down to 30 pounds or less. I was at 33-34 pounds when I started last time, The main items I am changing out are my tent from a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 to a Zpacks duplex tent and my sleeping bag which was a NEMO to an as yet to be finalized mummy bag. In all I am saving between three to four pounds. This exchange is solely to save weight as I loved both the tent and the sleeping bag I started with last time.
Starting to get nervous and excited for the April start even though it is more than 3 months away. Have the new tent and have set it up. It seems pretty easy to set up. Purchased an In-Reach so I have another level of protection and safety and Deirdra will be able to better track my whereabouts. Still looking at lighter sleeping bag options. Probably change up a few smaller items but nothing significant.
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