Mark and I made it back home and were forced to adjust to life among the civilized. It was a difficult adjustment! I didn't flush toilet for a while, I still looked in my drinking water for particulate matter and I continued to eat like I was still hiking 15 miles a day. Needless to say, I missed the Appalachian Trail. Indeed, the best six months of my life.

I would return to the Trail many times. I went back to Virginia with my brother to finish the section I missed. In 1989, I hiked 800 miles of the southern section with a girlfriend. Over the years, I would make many short trips along that path and will probably do so for the rest of my walkable life.