NOBO's and SOBO's

Silas has entered Vermont. He has walked more than 1600 miles since starting in Georgia on April 1st.  Each day now Silas is meeting South Bound hikers who started in Maine.  They are the SOBO's or South Bounders. Silas is what's known as a NOBO or North Bounder.  The reason these two groups don't meet around the 1100 mile halfway point is because SOBO's can not start as early in the spring as NOBO's, due to snow.  The northern trail terminus atop Mount Katahdin is snow bound until June 1st at the earliest. This makes for an interesting encounter. the NOBO's have been on the trail for at least twice as long and walked over twice as far. They are a hardened and weathered group. The romance and idealistic expectations of "Hiking the A.T." have long since been replaced with a somewhat grim determination to "finish".  There is also a certain number of SOBO's who will fall by the wayside and not complete the hike. Most of the NOBO's who are still on trail will make it to Katahdin. They have come too far to be denied and baring injury or illness most of them will finish.

 

Silas will only have three states left to travel through. He has set foot in 11 states. Here is the list and the miles hiked in each state.

1. Georgia                         79 miles
2. North Carolina              95.7 miles
3. Tennessee                     94 miles
4. Border N.C. / Tenn.      224.7 miles
5. Virginia                        554 miles
6. West Virginia               4 miles
7. Maryland                      41 miles
8. Pennsylvania                229 miles
9. New Jersey                   72 miles
10. New York                     90 miles
11. Connecticut                  51 miles
12. Massachusetts              91 miles

Silas has had a few challenges lately that have made the last few days a bit difficult.  An eye infection that required a trip to an urgent care clinic and a stomach bug that has made walking the trail miserable.  The weather is starting to change as well. The evenings are getting cooler and soon he will need some heavier clothes to wear. It will not be long before he wakes up to frost on the ground at higher elevations.  The last 500 miles are also more rugged and remote than the middle section of the trail has been. Silas has some beautiful yet daunting hiking ahead.  Keep him in your prayers as he pushes to finish strong.

 

 “As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where there was a Den: and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and as I slept I dreamed a dream.”
― John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress