Phippsburg, ME –

I’m returning from a nice week in Maine resting and relaxing with family and celebrating my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary.

The anniversary was quite a two-day event with games, swimming, a live band, three wedding cakes, gifts, confetti, and fireworks that unfortunately went awry and landed my dad in the hospital with some burns when a rogue firework shot toward the crowd and exploded on his chest. A 12-year-old grandchild also experienced some temporary hearing loss. Not a great way to end the evening, everything else though couldn’t have been a better party.

I’ve been itching to get back on the trail, but in the meantime, my back and right hip and have tightened up dramatically and caused as much pain as I’ve had in in four and a half years when I had to go to the ER on Valentine’s Day in 2012 with Kristen. This time however, after picking up various exercises at physical therapy, I hope I have more of the skills necessary to overcome it. The long train and bus ride ride back to Pennsylvania might stiffen me up. But I have some faith that when I get back on the trail I will be able to loosen it up again.

My shin has been sore in the past few days and I will really to need watch that as well – I’ve always been a slow healer. So you might say I have serious doubts that I will be able to finish my thru-hike but I’m anxious to get out there again and give it a go. It will be interesting to see who I run into on the trail. Will there be any folks whom I passed months ago who will have caught up? Will I run into a lot of flip floppers whom I’ve met along the way. Or will the trail be real quiet?

My immediate goal is to make 43 miles by early Thursday to join my high school buddies for three days on the trail in New Jersey. I am super excited about seeing them, and the shorter mileage days will give my body more time to ease back into everything.

See you on the trail!