My completed route from Seattle, WA (5/17/24) to Fort Dupont State Park, DE (10/9/24)
On October 9th- and with the incredible final-week support of CDT hiker brother Hammer (aka Calorie Panic!) and his amazing dog Hawser- I arrived at my East Coast destination, Fort Dupont State Park in Delaware CIty, Delaware. The historical Fort sits where the Delaware River spills into Delaware Bay, presumably to prevent unauthorized vessels from advancing up the river from the Atlantic. I learned from Hammer that the park is also adjacent to the man-made canal flowing between the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, shortcutting the otherwise challenging navigation between them.
The incredible Hammer (aka Calorie Panic) drove 6 hours from North Carolina to support my final week! Apparently Flight 93 (from the 9/11 tragedy) came down close to here in a fieldFlight 93 memorial chapelOne of the many State Parks I stayed in during the latter stretch of my hikeAnd another…I just love those moments when you get to peak into someone’s life as you’re walking by“…wherever he goes the people all complain” (Robert Hunter)One of the best things about making it to the east coast are the much older buidingsI think I always secretly knew this
Calculating the precise mileage of the route I walked is tricky since I didn’t follow a prescribed path and on many days I strayed slightly from the planned route, but based on the above set of waypoints captured at the end of every day of the hike, the mapping apps indicate approximately 3000 miles (+/- 20 miles), so I’ll use that as the round number.
Did not expect to see them hawking “Hex Signs”Love those onion domes. Even the church variations out east are more interestingNeedless to say, an emotional reunion with the trail I can never seem to get enough ofI even got to include a short section of the AT on this hike!By now, white blazes are second natureNopeGettysburg provided a lot of interesting distractions in the form of monuments, battle fields, etc.My path crossed in front of many such monumentsDJ seems really satisfied with his bro-toxMmmmm, fresh air in the great outdoorsSun coming up to gradually burn off a layer of intense fogGuns and cannons in monuments always leave me feeling conflictedWalked past this artists’s home, the outside of which was covered with his paintingsCrossing the Susquehanna on the Veteran’s Memorial BridgeAt this point I was definitely feeling sentimental and nostalgic, almost done!Just one of the many, many beautiful old homes on display in PAI saw this sign, took it personally and thought to myself, “not on your life!”Hmmm…had fun trying to picture that decorating centerNope, not a halloween setup
I may end up posting a final entry after this one to sort of summarize my observations and lessons from the hike, but for now the main thing I want to communicate to anyone taking the time to read this is how much I appreciated knowing there were others following along who were interested in (and rooting for!) my ongoing progress. In a hike that was void of other hikers with whom I could commiserate (until the final week, thanks again Hammer!!), it was particularly reassuring to know there were people out there keeping an eye on me from a distance. So if you were in that number, this “thank you” is for you!
Guy in car: “Hey buddy, are you in a bad place, do you need something to eat?” (extending hand with half a Jersey Mike’s Sub). Me: “No, I’m not in a bad place, but I’m very hungry!” (reaching out to grab the proffered sandwich). The guy seemed to instantly regret it and tried to sort of pull back his hand, but I grabbed it and thanked him, ha!I had just finished the audio book “Seabiscuit” (great book!) when I came upon this race training facility. Squint to see a passing jockey’s white helmet above the 6th post from the left.The subject of my daydreams for nearly five months!Very large campus area, reminded me a bit of Dinkytown near the U of MChatting up Hawser, Hammer’s dog and all-around amazing companionSoup and sandwiches courtesy of Hammer and his mobile support unit!Aha, so you heard I was coming!Here at last!Returning from laundry run and ended up in a great chat with these friendly well-wishersChilling with Hawser at the end of a long dayOne of the last few evenings, me in my tent researching the next day’s routeI only wish more of my final week was on backroads like this oneSidewalks are (almost) always an upgrade from roadsMy pack definitely looks lighter since I got to slack the final few daysFinal morning, October 9th: I forgot I had my headlamp on but I like how this picture turned out
My apologies for the limited content I posted during this hike but in all honestly the daily walking took nearly every ounce of energy and motivation I could muster and “squeezing in” the time and effort for things like blog posts was very challenging. Having said that, I hope the stuff I did post- admittedly modest- gave those interested a sense for what it feels like to walk across small town America.
#1 unintentionally discarded item on US roadsides: bungee chords. Last day bungee #1Last day bungee #2Last day bungee #3Last day bungee #4Last day bungee #5
As always, I’ve posted the videos covering the final stretch of the hike (and a bonus one from back at home in Spokane) and they can be viewed via my YouTube playlist for this hike, so check those out too. Meanwhile, I’m back home with Wendy resting up and trying to figure out what comes next. My feet are definitely enjoying the new program of not walking 25-35 miles per day and hopefully I can reign-in my hunger to a reasonable (off-trail) amount of eating, ha! Love and gratitude to you all! Michael (Maxheap), back home in Washington.
#1 intentionally discarded item on US roadsides: Fireball shooters. Last day Fireball #1Last day Fireball #2Hammer and Hawser- my greeting committee- waiting for me at the shore!My final look at the camera doesn’t quite capture the sheer relief I feel at completing this long hikeThe last view of my hike, facing out to the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean, 3000 miles from SeattleOvernighted on my air mattress near this spot in the Philly Airport, October 10thThe Spokane River, October 17th: “Back home, sit down and patch my bones…” (Robert Hunter)
