Emotions, Books, Jeff aka Loner on the AT

It's funny, Jeff would probably have a fit if he knew I was writing this blog, but I am a writer - that's how I deal with my emotions and what life throws at me. Jeff is a very humble guy and probably won't tell anyone about his interesting life as he hikes the AT.  He's a unique guy with a deep soul, and although mostly English, Irish, Polish,Russian and Italian, he's profoundly connected to his Algonquin Indian roots which date back to his great-great grandfather from Gray Maine.

 And while I was just tremendously excited for Jeff as he prepared to leave, it didn't hit me until a day later how scared I was and how bittersweet it was to see him wave on that switchback trail up to Amicalola Falls.  I wondered if I would ever see him again, knowing folks have died on the trail.  But I couldn't break down there because my granddaughter Kendall (9 years old) was standing there beside me.
So I broke down the next week - all week - crying jags as I drove from one client to the next in my job as a rehab support specialist for adults with traumatic brain injuries.  I had nightmares at night but made myself do research.  So now, I've read tons of AT thru hiker blogs, read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and am reading,  AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, by   David Miller, and have ordered from Amazon, Zach Davis, Appalachian Trials, the psychological approach to making the trail and from reading his funny yet honest blog on his Good Badger website.