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I'm going home.

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I'm going home. I know that some of you will be really disappointed, really sad, and think I gave up too soon. Trust me, nobody has those feelings more than me. I spent countless hours researching gear, training daily miles with extra weight, scheduling bills, arranging shuttles, hotels, trains. I slept outside, tested every piece of gear, hiked in rain, cold, heat, and sun. I ate every cold soak meal you can imagine to test which ones were palatable. All for nothing. To give you guys the full context of my decision, we have to go back a bit. Years ago, I did a hike in the Catskills. Ended up getting very sick after a few days. It was unbelievably cold and snowy and of course, I attributed my sickness to that. A few months ago, I hiked a section of the Florida Trail with friends. I felt great, but the day we came home, I fell really ill. Didn't think anything of it. On this thru attempt, the same story. My legs feel great. My body is in the best shape it ever has been. I was crushing miles early in the day, and arriving in camp before anyone else. Something was seriously wrong, though. I just can't stay healthy after a few days of hiking. After talking to several different people and discussing my symptoms, it seems like maybe an endocrine issue. Not sure if it's hypoglycemia, maybe I'm prediabetic, not sure. What I do know is that something goes seriously wrong and is chronically making hiking trips impossible for me. My guess is that my everyday diet is treating an underlying condition, and when I switch it up dramatically, combined with extreme exercise, my body breaks down. I don't feel that the trip was a complete failure, though. At the end of the day, I sort of completed my goal in a weird way. I wanted to close this chapter of my life. For 10 years I've been dreaming about going back and doing this hike. Now I know that it's not for me. It's not something that my body can handle. Until I get this illness under control, I'm not coming back. It's too dangerous for me to be out here in the middle of nowhere with an untreated illness, throwing up in the woods, miles away from civilization. So yeah, I failed. I won't run away from that. I failed and that's ok. That's life. I appreciate all the support you guys have sent me, and I'm sorry if I let you down. I'm not sure what my next adventure will be, but I'm sure there will be a next adventure. Love you all. Thanks. Florida Boy.