Ross Gap
There are not enough pages to collect from your books that are hidden in the dark, wet, foggy woods of Frozen Head State Park to satisfy my purpose for being out there…
On July 25, 2024, I sat alone in my tent on the Appalachian Trail. I was just about thru the state of Maine and heading into the White Mountains of New Hampshire. My feet were a mess and having to spend time off trail loomed like a dark grey cloud. Footsteps outside my tent slowed and a friendly voice offered a howareyah. A trail runner by the name of Grateful. As I explained my foot situation he grinned from ear to ear. I wondered what he found amusing about my situation. Five minutes later, Grateful, an experienced 15-year ER Doctor, had drained the yellow brown infected puss from the ball of my foot. He then cleaned it with a self-made salt tablet and Neosporin solution and gifted me a roll of leuko tape. My foot problem, solved, I trekked on.
There is no way to repay people like this in the moment. I have hundreds of similar stories. I often struggle with the fact that I owe more of my success to the individuals that have influenced my journeys throughout my life then I could claim for myself. While on the AT walking from ME to GA much of my time was spent thinking about how can I repay these debts thru some form of work or inspirations. Tramping thru hurricane Helen near the end of my journey the answer to the question of how to repay these debts became apparent. The only way to repay those friends, families, and strangers will be by finishing the Barkley, for them.
Though I often travel alone the weight of the community is the force that propels the volumes spoken thru my footsteps. You see, I am going to finish the Barkley not for and by myself, but I am going to finish the Barkley for and with the countless members of the community that have and will support me in life and athletics. Each page I tare from the hands of that course, each step I speak, will be one inspirational check I write back to those who have been on my team and have had my back thru thick mud and sharp briars. The debts I owe will not weigh me down, but will strengthen me to overcome all the obstacles on your course. I am rich with inspiration and I will finish the Barkley.
- Joe Jude