What I Have Taken From The Appalachian Trail

There is a saying "Leave No Trace." Part of that is, "take nothing but memories, leave nothing but footsteps." Or something like that. Well I think I took more than just memories. The trail gave me many things I believe. Number one, I am more confident than ever before. Number two, I was constantly reminded to always put everything before God first. Whether it is a blessing and you need to thank him; or a tough situation you are facing. An example with the tough situations were my foot problems up north. At first I worried about it and how I would deal with it. No sirrrryyyy that's not the way to approach problems. I remembered while on the trail that I shouldn't worry about problems just give it to God and ask for his guidance/help. When I fell and busted my knees up towards the end of my hike I was crying out as I was writhing on the ground in pain asking God to let me be able to finish my hike and not be incapacitated. I knew he would provide a way for me to finish if it was his will and guess what? I finished thanks to God who gave me the strength to get up off the ground, continue to put one foot in front of the other, and hike until I reached my destination. Another thing I took from the trail is being more comfortable in the woods at night. Let's face it the woods at night can be scary and you hear things that are spooky sounding. After having slept and especially hiked in the night so much I am very comfortable with the dark. It helps though that I have been shark fishing on the beach at night for 7 years and hog hunting at night for 3 years also. I am sure there are other things I have taken and maybe I will come back if I can think of any others and update this page. But at the point I am writing this my hunger is kicking in and I want to eat. I cannot think any more except about food so at that I am going to sign out for the last time. It has been a pleasure sharing my 2014 Southbound Appalachian Trail thru hike experience with you and thank you for sticking with it. If you continue to comment I will read them and I would enjoy hearing back from those that have read this blog. Goodnight