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Attention 2006 Hikers: We're currently collecting summit pictures from attempted and completed thru-hikers from Springer and/or Katahdin (Before and/or After). If you would like to have your photos included in the album please email them to: derrick.ellis@gmail.com
Until it finds a more permanent place on this site, you can access the 2006ers Album here.
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Welcome to Ellishiking.com! Hopefully this
site will let us keep family and friends aware
of the progress we've made toward our Appalachian Trail Thru-hike (2006). Our hike
is northbound, from Georgia to Maine in early 2006--starting on April 1st. Why are we doing this? |
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| The Latest Information! |
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Sunday, January 14, 2007 |
Location: |
Home Miles: 0 |
News: |
It is hard to believe that it has almost been 3 months since the hike ended. So many family members and friends have asked when the next "update" would come, that we figured that one more entry giving an idea about our post-hike lives was in order.
Tonight I uploaded a few more summit photos (from FDOM and Natty Boh) and while I was at it, I checked the site statistics. To my incredible surprise, last month (December) had the largest number of unique visitors (over 2,200!) we've had since this whole thing started. That included over 1300 people who had never visited before. Wow. It is hard to believe that the site worked out so well for us, both to record the trip and also to share our experience with friends, family and complete strangers.
We're hoping to keep the site going for a while, as long as we don't stop hiking!
So anyway...
After the hike, we had planned on being completely broke; but planning for it and experiencing it are two entirely different things! Luckily our parents (Carrie's and mine) were very generous (yet again) in helping us out until we got back on our feet. We ended up going back to my parents' place and living there while applying for jobs.
Toward the end of November (about a month after being home) I got a job offer in Hartford as a webmaster. Within the next two weeks, Carrie got re-hired by her old company, we moved into an apartment, I had to get a car (since mine didn't like sitting around for 6+ months) and we both started to get used to a brand new daily routine! It has been incredibly busy.
Now we're hard at work making our apartment feel like home, and paying off our debt. I still haven't had my surgery yet... even though we now have real insurance plans! I'm being wimpy!
We have kept in touch with many of the friends we made on the hike, and have plans to see some of them soon. Mayor Turtle is actually now working and living less than an hour away from us! Talk about a coincidence. So we've had him over to our apartment for a couple of weekends and really enjoyed the visits.
Monologue is back to counting Turtles (she's a Marine Biologist) and is seriously considering a PCT Thru hike in a couple of years! I told her I'd build her website ;) We're hoping she finds some time to fly up to CT for a visit in between her Turtle contracts.
Super Dave finished his thru-hike on "Mt. Harpers Ferry" just before Christmas and in doing so braved some very foul weather in the Shennies (hard to believe thinking about how nice it was for us!). Some of the pictures he sent us were amazing. Beautiful shots of snow and ice.
Social and Dandelion are back home and missing the trail community (aren't we all!). They both have reportedly gained weight--but they insist it is muscle mass!
Mike from PA closed on a house on Christmas Eve... road trip?
Slingshot emailed a bunch of us the other day to say that he is still loving Ramen although he still can't eat granola (or olive oil I imagine). He and Natty Boh were able to be in Harpers Ferry for Super Dave's finish. And Slingblade is starting back on his college coursework this semester.
Ta and One-Step are back in IL recovering from Lyme disease (One-Step) and a Stress fracture (Ta's foot)
Weatherman is MIA; last we heard he was applying to a bunch of jobs in various areas of the south.
Joe Crow ended up getting a nasty case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. So he is slowly recovering.
Johnny K is wandering around the country... had lunch with Handlebar in PA the other day and is likely going to be crashing here at some point this winter.
Oh, and Kid's Meal is also wandering (walking) around the country... it sounds like he isn't ever going to stop hiking...
Reflections on the hike:
This hike was an amazing experience that neither Carrie nor I would trade for anything.
From the amazing people, to the amazing views it was one heck of a time. The physical aspects of the hike were quite trying. Physical pain was a constant. Blisters, sore joints, aching feet and shoulders, and an always-present general level of fatigue were daily companions.
The flip side of course is that by the end of the hike, I had never been in better shape. I ended up losing 30 lbs and weighing what I had last weighed as a high school junior. It was a bit surreal to "turn back the clock" in that sense.
The psychological challenges of the hike were even more demanding than the physical ones. Knowing that you have to get up every morning and hike all day no matter how tired (or lazy) you are feeling was difficult.
On the other hand, there were some psychological gains to be had. Carrie and I have both found that our hikes have given us a different perspective in so many things. For example, I commute now about 10 miles (which is great!) and sometimes, with traffic, it can take over a half an hour on the interstate. I figure that by taking the car, I'm saving myself around 3.5-4 hours of the day! It hasn't bothered me once. We also have really taken the simplicity of life on the trail to heart. It is amazing what you realize you don't really need when you live out of a backpack for a few months.
As this is sort of a stream of consciousness update, I realized that I should write something about married hikers.
While planning this adventure together, a common question from some people would be, "what, are you wanting to get a divorce?" It seems that many people believe that spending that much time with their spouse would surely result in marriage troubles.
Carrie and I feel that this experience has strengthened our relationship and is probably one of the best things we could have done. Hiking with a partner will give you a very different experience than hiking solo. There are times it can be more challenging, but sharing that experience with someone can be incredibly rewarding both during the hike and long-term as well. If you are thinking about hiking with your spouse, don't let yourself be dissuaded by listening to the people who warn you about potential problems. You know your relationship best--and whether it would be a good or bad thing for it. Their perspective probably sheds more light on the status of their own relationship than it does on yours. For us, it was the right decision.
A couple of other thoughts...
*We've both decided that filtered water is the way to go... here in the "real-world"! And are now wondering whether we grew to LOVE the fresh crisp Appalachian Springs water, or the carbon-filtered taste ;)!
*I can't touch Mac and Cheese, much to my dismay
*The only real gear change (aside from purchasing summer bags) was our stove; switching from the Simmerlite to the Alcohol stove was the right move. Yes--even when cooking for two!
*We are happy to be in our own bed again...although the floor does seem rather comfy!
*Although we probably spent more time outdoors this year than we ever have in the past, it seems like we missed summer (because of all the summertime activities that you normally participate in but now have to wait months for).
*It is hard to believe (now) that some people only know us as Pacecar and Dadgum
*There is nothing like sleeping 12 hours because you are completely physically drained and you will never sleep that well again.
*It is odd that you might run into people you know during the day that you didn't expect to see... on the trail you always have a good idea of who is around you (a day ahead or behind).
*It took a while, but Candy bars have regained my respect
If you are thinking about thru-hiking the trail (or even taking on a large chunk of it) and want any information, thoughts, or answers to questions, please feel free to ask. We're hoping to get out and maybe do some trail magic this coming summer for the next class. In the meantime, we're planning to join Meshomasic for more hikes and of course update those galleries here!
Carrie and I wanted to thank everyone again for being so supportive of us and we're looking forward to our next "adventure"! |
Posted by: |
Dadgum and Pacecar |
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You can read all about what we've been doing HERE
OR select an entry from the list below:
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| The Background Information |
An Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike has been something that I've (derrick) wanted to do for some time now. The first time I heard of thru-hiking was while hiking through some of the white mountains (of New Hampshire) as a Boy Scout. We ran into a kid (who, at 18 wasn't more than a few years older than us) who was northbound and were amazed by the things he told us. Since then I've always wanted to do it, but never thought I would. Then, a couple of years ago, Carrie--to my amazement--said, "Let's do it."
Since that point, we have been: researching gear, reading as many books about the trail as possible, asking questions in various settings, taking shakedown hikes--including all of the Appalachian Trail miles in CT--and are working to get all of the other logistics (health insurance, storage of our property, saving for 6 months without income, getting certified by the Red Cross, travel arrangements, etc.) under control. We hope you enjoy following our progress.
Getting nervous and excited, this should be fun!
-Derrick & Carrie.
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