Backpacking the AT - Day Eleven

 Day 11: Lamberts Meadow Campsite to US Route 220

The night was a cold one.  I kept myself cocooned in my sleeping bag as long as I could.  I wasn't ready to give up my bit of warmth, but I also was a bit sad that this would be my last morning on trail.  We were all slow-moving at camp that day.  Every task was interrupted by cold fingers that needed to be warmed.  I had loved this little spot next to the creek, and it was going to be hard to leave it, but it was too cold to hang around much longer.

Eventually, we were all packed and ready to go.  We had a nine mile hike ahead of us, and if we made good time, we planned to drive all the way back to Michigan afterwards.  It was time for the final morning group photo, and then we'd be on our way.

The morning sunshine seeping down through the trees once again made everything a little magical.  In true AT fashion, the trail was relentless with its rocks, rocks, and more rocks.  

We would be gradually coming down out of the mountains today, but there were still a few uphill climbs to go.  I was thankful for the clear morning, which gave us our last views of the trip, and we stopped at every opportunity to soak them in.

We were making decent time, but I swear, nine miles never seemed so long.  At one point, I declared that I needed a break.  I threw off my pack and propped myself up on it right there on the trail.

The little pitstop worked wonders, and soon I was feeling strong enough to move mountains...or at least climb up and down them.

Have I mentioned the views from up there in the mountains are spectacular?  Probably so.  But this morning they hit a bit different, knowing that soon we'd be down in the valley we were currently looking over, and then we'd be on our way home.

In short order, the trail changed, and it was clear we were on our final downhill.  The rocks were gone, and we followed a wide dirt path, crossed a set of railroad tracks, and then traveled along a little wooden footpath.

Just before 2pm, we passed our final white blaze and came to our trailhead exit.  

There was an array of emotions as we reached that point.  In the eleven days we had been on trail, we had learned so much and experienced so much.  There were highs and lows, happy tears and sad ones, moments where we had questioned our abilities, and times where we found strength we didn't know we had.  I remember around day 4 calling home and stating that I wasn't sure, even four days in, if I was going to end up liking this backpacking thing or not.  By the end, though, I didn't want to leave.  It's true what they say: The trail changes you, gets under your skin, calls you back-and I will be back.  11 days, 112 miles, 26,000 feet of climbing, 1,000,000 memories.