"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

                                                                  - John Muir

 

     A couple of weeks ago we had to make one of the most difficult choices either of us has had to make, and that was to leave the trail.  It was not an easy decision, because even when we were freezing, hurting, hungry, tired, or drenched; we still loved every minute of being on the trail.  We were witness to and recipients of countless acts of selflessness and generosity that one would think didn't happen in this day and age.  We met people that we'll never forget, even if we never even found out their names, or only knew them for fifteen minutes.  Existing in nature for over four months is an experience that is as indescribable as it is beautiful.  This is certainly not the end of our explorations and travels of the trail, merely a hiatus.  Even though we didn't "finish", we learned that the moment is all that mattered in the 1,400 miles we traversed.  We would never call our journey incomplete because we continue to learn from it every second of the day.

- Mike & Ellie (aka Zappa & Dollywood)

 

 

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.”

                                                                  - Jack Kerouac