It is finally finished!

Well my long anticipated journey is finally over. I will say that it was much more difficult than I could have imagined it to be and I am glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed again. It was a great experience and I would not trade it but I am glad to have it behind me.

We began our journey in Yosemite Valley on Labor Day and ended at the Summit of Mt. Whitney (14, 500 ft.) on September 11, 2008. It was fitting that my legs felt like they could explode at any minute that day. My legs began swelling about four days prior to that and by the time we got home had about 18 lbs. of fluid collected in them. (Exactly what you want when trying to backpack through some of the most difficult terrain in the country).

With a few exceptions the trip was great and we all had a really fun time together. Most importantly, no one sustained a major injury and we all summited and made it home safe and sound. We all did so well that we were able to complete our goal five days faster than we planned. We sumited in 10 and 1/2 days which was quite a feat. Everyone we talked to was amazed at fast pace. Most people we ran into were doing the same trail in about twice the time we did. I must say we were pretty proud of ourselves.

The scenery was amazing and it was great to be in the fresh air and cool weather. It was also a nice surprise to come home to cooler temperatures.

Overall it was a great experience I will always remember and appreciate having had the opportunity to complete.

I have not had time to check out every ones blogs since I have been back but I am anxious to catch up on what everyone else has been doing for the past two weeks.