Hey guys, I am DONE. I summited Katahdin (the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail) on September 11th for a five-month thru-hike. I started on Easter Sunday (April 12th), passed the mid-way point on July 4th and finished as the sun rose on September 11th. I hiked 2,178 miles of trail (plus probably a couple hundred miles of additional travel) carrying a pack that averaged in the 30-40 pound range over every dad-blam mountain they could find to take me over between Georgia and Maine.

Good news? I have some nicely-defined leg muscles with extremely high endurance. Bad news? My upper body went to heck (down to 10 pull-ups from 20), my hips are sore, my knees are shot and my feet are bruised. Good news? I will fully recover and have developed an enormous amount of mental strength, self-sufficiency & self-confidence. Bad news? It'll probably take a few months of re-training to re-acquire whatever "proficiency" I had at parkour. Good news? I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!

Took a couple pictures on Katahdin. I thank parkour in part for giving me the base physical & mental strength required to pull this thing off! Thanks guys!

Comments (4)

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written by Aaron C on September 19, 2009

I Don't know you but just as well i couldn't get but a glass is half full kind of feel from you. Reading your post just made me smile.

cheers!
-PKD

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written by wraven on September 21, 2009

You sir have done something many humans only dream of. And will continue to do so. One doesn't have to be a superhero to inspire.

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written by Ecstasy on September 21, 2009

An amazing feat. I respect you.

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written by Justin R on September 25, 2009

Congratulations again Marshall. What an inspiring journey you've had. Thanks for the updates and for setting an example. Rock on!

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