AT Mile 2134.7 November 17, 2009

41.5 miles / 4 days to Springer Mountain!

Andrew called from Hiawassee, GA yesterday, while he and 5 other hikers had come into town for a quick re-supply. He really sounded excited as he discussed final plans to meet his Dad, Chris, at Neel's Gap, south of Blairsville, GA. Dinner tomorrow night, then they will set out for the last 30 miles on Thursday morning. Russell, Scott and I will be waiting for them on Springer Mountain Saturday!

Zombie has been hiking with Tiger, BroTucky, Fugeo (it means fire), Six-String, and P.I. for the past while. Tiger plans to finish Friday, Andrew and Dad/Chris on Saturday, and I forget which day the others will come in, some are meeting folks as late as Sunday.

What a wonderful journey this has been! It has been a long time since I have "unfurled" the AT Map I got from the Park Service back in May. When I started looking at the map, about 8" by 4' in length, to get familiar with the geography of the AT, it seemed surreal. Then I folded it back up, and have kept it open to the section that Andrew was hiking on... Each day I put a little dot with the date beside the dot, that represents each Spot transmission we've gotten over the past 23 weeks. It was just easier to stay focused on the small section of the map... Today I opened it up, to show a friend, and I now see the map's length with a new prospective! Wow! It is really a long, long way!

(I hope you can view the AT map on the right side margin. I copied it from followers "Pat and Mark" blog and an error message is showing when I view the blog. Anyway, Mark's Trail Name is "Country Runner". He has some wonderful pictures and hiker notes. He's also a SoBo '09 hiker that Andrew has hiked parts of the trail with... in fact Mark has a picture of Ledge and Zombie/Andrew you might enjoy as well. :-))

Never would I have expected we (the friends and family back home) would make so many new friends on a hike we've barely walked on! One can only imagine how many friends the hikers have made! I can say, our lives are much richer because we've met as kindred spirits, by providence. Things happen when an eleven year old dreams and sets their heart on that dream!

Once again, let me say how much your interest in Andrew's thru-hike has meant to our entire family... Your thoughts, prayers and comments have been so supportive! Your inquiries, your sharing your stories while listening to our stories have kept the events exciting for us, which has given us peace for our son. Thank you!!!

In all ways, we give thanks,
Mom/Harriet