Finding Nemo

Rainy day just outside of Damascus -- my fracture started
to rear its ugly head that day...

A few days after my last post, Wheels and I headed back to the trail for an easy 12 mile day. After a mile or so, I felt no relief from the new boot inserts and I knew I couldn't keep going. We'd already spent almost a week off trail to give my fracture some time to heal but the temporary rest didn't seem to have a lasting effect when I put my hiking boots and pack back on. Devastated, we looked at our options: Option 1: Stop in town again for another few days and hope that the pain subsides enough to continue; Option 2: Allow my foot to heal completely and properly by returning home.

Wheels was sad too -- it was 40 degrees and rainy.

We sat quietly by the trail head as other hikers passed by. The last 2 months had been incredible and the thought of going home because of an injury was heartbreaking. By this point the fracture was not healing the way it should and 4 more months of hiking wasn't going to allow it the chance. We had to get off trail. This was going to be the end of our thru-hike-- we'd have to complete the rest in sections.

We decided to name the car "Nemo" after the Pixar movie since it was missing
a side mirror. Somehow Nemo managed to bring us safely home.

Flights home were upwards of $800 per person, plus we'd have to have our backpack dufflebags shipped to us before we could take them on the plane. That meant more time in Roanoke and more money wasted. Wheels suggested another option-- we could buy a car and drive home. He'd mentioned the idea in passing when we 'd discussed getting home from Katahdin but I never took it seriously. Within minutes, he'd found a 1991 Honda Civic wagon 6-speed that was only 10 miles from where we were. We called the owner and he said he'd sell it that day if we paid cash.

Typical view from inside our tent

Suddenly we had a car. We loaded our backpacks into the trunk and started driving to Asheville, NC. Other hikers had mentioned that Asheville was a fantastic town -- known for its brewpubs and eclectic culture and we'd missed the opportunity to stop there when we were in the Smokies. We didn't have a clue what we were going to do next, but we figured we could sort it out when we got there. After stopping at one of the many brewpubs in town, we admitted to ourselves that we were done hiking the AT for this season. If we ever wanted to complete the trail in its entirety, I had to let my foot heal. Now we were faced with an even bigger question: what do we do with the next 4 months?

My only bear encounter was with a stuffed bear at a Moonshine Distillery in
Gatlinburg, TN

All we had was time and money -- how could we make the most of this freedom? We weren't ready to go inside yet -- after 700 miles and 2 months in the woods, it was nearly impossible to imagine going back to the routine of our "normal" lives. The possibilities seemed endless. We decided that we would take our time getting home. We stopped in Nashville for a night to check out the live music on Broadway and visit some of the famous bars. In Springfield we visited my family and enjoyed catching up and reminiscing about the AT. Then we headed to Kansas City for a few days to wander the Spanish-inspired Plaza and eat delicious food.

While we didn't make it all the way in one go, we did hike
 more consecutive mileage than Bill Bryson, who got off trail
at Newfound Gap around mile 200. 

As we made our way back to Chicago, we brainstormed all of the ways we could continue our adventure without causing too much stress on my foot. With the plethora of bike paths in the area, we planned a few multi-day bike/camping trips and in July we hope to do
a week-long canoe trip in northern Quetico park in Canada.

I already miss the woods. I miss the dirt and how badly I smelled after days with no more than a bandana bath. Although this part of our in-tents journey is over, the adventure is only beginning.

Now that we're back home and connected again, I'll be uploading a ton of photos from the trip. Thank you for following us on this journey and stay tuned for post-trail updates!

Dinner on Big Bald with views looking back at the Smokies