September 9, 2000

Dallas, TX · 0 Miles Hiked Today · 2167 of 2167 Miles Hiked Total

Over the course of the past few days, starting at the moment I touched the sign atop Katahdin, I've been giving thought to how to summarize the past six months. My final decision is that it can't be done and accurately portray all that this time has meant to me and will continue to mean to me over the course of my entire life. I do, however, have certain thoughts about it I would be negligent not to capture before the crush of everyday life sets in.

The last six months, 2000+ miles, new friends and acquaintances, freedom, pain, joy, beauty - how do I measure what I have done? - will never be equaled again in my life. I may see prettier things, have flashes of profound happiness, meet great people and the like, but not all at once in a short period of magically touched time my recent past has been. I have been blessed with many insights, awakenings, reminders, and truths which will alter the way I conduct my life going forward, many of which I have expressed in these pages over the course of my journey. But one, though somewhat cliché strikes to the heart of it all: life is too short to be spending it on anything other than in the midst of those things which are meaningful and make you happy.