

WE DID IT

Today was the day. All of the work we had done for the past two years was about to come to an end.

I rose early and began my last walk down to Dan's house. We hopped in his truck, picked up Adam, and headed up to Jay. We dropped Dan's truck off at Journey's End, and had his mom drive us from here back to Jay Pass.

We set off as soon as we got to Jay Pass. Jay Peak is steep, but the adrenaline and excitement of finally finishing the trail kept me going. It didn't seem like very long before we made it to the top. It was extremely windy on the top of Jay Peak, and while we were looking for refuge on the ski building that sits on top of the mountain, a construction worker invited us down a set of stairs and underground to the area they were working on so that we could take a break out of the wind. We sat here for a half hour eating food before heading on.

We steeply descended, destroying our knees every step of the way until reaching Laura Woodward Shelter. Here I realized that we were hiking really slow and that if we wanted to make it to Journey's End Camp that night we would have to pick up the pace. With this in mind, I charged up Doll Peak, leaving Dan and Adam in the dust for much of the climb. Doll Peak, while shorter than Jay, was much tougher than Jay in my opinion. It was much more steep and rugged, and we were all out of breath by the time we reached the top.

From here it was a long descent down to Shooting Star Shelter, which we did for the most part in silence. Once we arrived, we kicked off our shoes and ate more food and rested up for the remaining part of the day. After resting at Shooting Star Shelter, we pushed on, and eventually made it to Route 105, the last road crossing of the Long Trail. By now we all felt great from the rest and realization that we were almost done, and we spent some time here messing with the passing motorists. Adam mooned a motorcyclist (who immediately flipped us off), and we both danced around with my trekking poles for the passing cars. Eventually we decided it was time to get down to business, and we set off to hike the final 2.6 miles Dan and I had left of the Long Trail.

The trail started off steep but it didn't matter to us. Once we summited Carleton Mountain, the last mountain of the trail, we coasted down the trail, reminiscing about all the memories and experiences the trail had brought us. Before we knew it, we saw the sign for the Northern Terminus in the distance, and we emerged at the Canadian Border. We did it! We hiked the length of Vermont! We finally had finished the Long Trail!

Our celebration was brief, and after taking some pictures at the border we set out to Journey's End Camp. As I write this right now, I still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that we are finally done. Perhaps I won't wrap my head around it until I see our names in the Long Trail News next summer...

Thank you to anyone who read this far into my journal. It really means the world to me. The Long Trail is an amazing thing. I am so very grateful to everyone that makes it the unique experience that it is. It will always be my second home.