Page 11 - SMH 2017 2nd edition

After warming up for about 30 to 40 minutes we all loaded up and started down the mountain on Rainbow
Falls trail. At the trailhead at the bottom of the mountain a reporter from WBIR met me and interviewed me real-
ly quickly. We were already 30ish minutes behind schedule. There were also a couple there that greeted me and
wished me well. But we quickly got back to hiking and headed down the Old Sugarlands trail. The last trail of
this hike. I was almost done........ and I was ready. My right quad was cramping real bad, which made it very
painful to walk on yet alone to hike. It had given me some problems earlier that week too.

But at about 200 yards from the finish was the moment I'll never forget. As I was climb-
ing up a short hill I looked up to see no one other than Sharon Spezia. She had hiked in to
have this moment with me. With smiles on our faces, we immediately gave each other a
hug as she congratulated me. It was such an incredible moment. I had been wanting to talk
to her ever since I decided to break her record. But never was able to get in touch with her.
The crazy side to this story was we actually met on trail. It was Hike-19 on the Little
Greenbrier trail. We crossed paths that day, but I didn't realize it until I was about a 1/4
mile down the mountain (she was going up). So ever since then I was hoping to see her be-
fore I finished. And I finally did. My hike was just a few minutes from being complete.
Sharon and my closest friends went ahead to become a part of the "hiker tunnel" as I hung
back to have the last couple of minutes to gather my thoughts and to prepare mentally for
what was about to happen. I was just moments from being a 900-Miler. I could feel the an-
ticipation inside me as I started walking towards the hiker tunnel. I had never seen that
many people at a 900-Miler celebration before.

The tunnel looked like it was about 60' long or more. As I got closer I could see
Sharon at the entrance. She greeted me once again and told me to, "go finish this." I
could hear everyone clapping and cheering as I entered the tunnel. I immediately
thanked God for this opportunity, getting me to here and gave Him the glory. As I
continued to walk through the tunnel, I seen so many faces. Some I knew and some I
didn't. People reached in to give me "high five." And some just patted me on the back
and shoulder. When I got towards the end of the tunnel. I knew I was getting closer to

the one I wanted to see most, my beautiful bride. She had told me by phone that she
would be waiting for me at the end of the tunnel. So that was all I was thinking about.
And as I exited the tunnel I looked up and there she was. It was everything I could do
to keep from crying. I was so happy to see her beautiful face. She met me with a big
kiss and warm embrace. It felt so good to have her in my arms again. I hadn't realized
how much I'd missed her till then. I had been keeping my bearded self occupied with
details of the trail so I wouldn't think about it.

After I was done catching up with my family. I did a couple of interviews with WBIR and the Knoxville
News Sentinel. I also got to spend some more time with Sharon Spezia who also introduced me to Jennie Whited.
Jennie was the first female to do 5 maps (900 milers). I had so many people that came up to me to congratulate
and talk to me. Some I knew and some I didn't. But either way I appreciate all of them taking the time out of their
busy day just to come be there for me. I believe that's the part that overwhelms me the most. It's very humbling
when I think about that. Continued on next page...

11 Smoky Mountain Hiker