Hi everyone, it’s Hailey.
I just heard from Ryley. He finished the trail! A big long post from him is coming, but I just wanted to let everyone know he made it okay on gatorade & jolly ranchers.

Today turned out to be pretty damn good all over. All bodily orifices functioning normally. I didn’t make a lot of miles before sunrise, again navigation being an issue. After the sun came up and I could see the posts marking the route, I zoomed off.

At lunch I found shade in the form of a CDT info sign by a highway. There was nothing else around for miles. Again I got lucky in the afternoon with some clouds and a cool breeze… Still hot enough though!

I ran into a guy late afternoon, doing basically a Minuteman patrol, looking for illegal immigrants. He knew Sam Hughes and told me he was reliable – I was already counting on that, but good to hear.

The evening was a bit of a slog, so I listened to a bunch of podcasts to distract me. Now I’m cowboy camped for my last night on the trail, eating my last dinner out of a bag (and my first dinner in 3 nights!). I’m lacking any deep thoughts right now, just deeply tired.

For comparison, I slept through a rain storm in the night last night an usually I wake up at the first drop.

Daily Summary
Date: Oct 25, 2011
Day 124
Daily Distance: 36.3 miles
Trip Distance: 2575.8 miles

Well it’s done! The walk today was pretty forgettable, especially since I was tired and not able to eat well. I mostly drank Gatorade and ate chocolate bars, nothing else appealing in my food bag. By lunch I was in striking distance of the end. I turned up music and powered through to the END!

I was met by Sam Hughes at the border and after a quick photo snap, that was it – we hit the road. I’m now embarking on the trip home, and I’ll write more once I’m there. So far I’m not having any deep thoughts or emotions about finishing, except relief. Hopefully more to say later.

June 25th to October 26th. Pretty good!

Daily Summary
Date: Oct 26, 2011
Day 125
Daily Distance: 30 miles
Trip Distance: 2605.8 miles

I haven’t written much since I finished, but now I’ve gotten a bit of rest and I wanted to reflect a bit more.

I was in a lot of pain the last night. My hips and glutes were very
sore and even on my plush sleeping mat, no position was comfortable.
I took a couple ibuprofens expecting that to take care of it, but
nothing changed. Around midnight 4 Border Patrol jeeps raced by me,
headlights fully illuminating me as they went by. I expected one
would stop and check me out, but nope, not even a brake light.

I finally fell asleep, waking only briefly to choke on the dust of the
jeeps return trip. I woke up to my alarm in the darkness, feeling
like I’d lost a bar fight in a blackout, but still mentally excited to
get moving.

As I walked, I had fantasies of how I’d end at the monument at the
Mexican border. Throw my trekking poles to the side. Strike a Nixon
victory pose. Write a triumphant statement in the official CDT log
book. Reality was different. I barely even took a picture at the
end. Sam Hughes was there and I spent most of my monument time
talking to him and his dogs. Then the ride out was spent staring out
the window, not thinking. Not able to think. Way too tired.

I have more time now, but still not much to add. I finished, the real
world intrudes and calls to me. I have a series of notes and TODOs
I’ve written to myself in the last 4 months, from which I hope to
retain my frame of mind as I reenter society. I hope 🙂