Did you guys see that?

Well, I didn't finish the full 44 miles, but a group of us did make it 35 miles. Can't feel bad about that.

We started out the hike at 3:30 AM at the Delaware Water Gap. It was cold and raining and for the first several miles we were walking uphill, over ankle-breaking rocks, the only light provided by headlamps and flashlights. The people in front and above us were only silhouettes. The people below and behind us just points of light.

We got to the first ridge just as it was getting light and the rain was letting up. It felt like the temperature dropped 20 degrees. A couple of hours later we stopped for food on this ridge.














These guys were relentless. Except for breaks at the crossroads where we met up with the support vans and got water, we rarely stopped.

We did stop for a few seconds an another ridge about halfway through our longest stretch. That's where we took this picture of me powering up for the rest of the trip by eating some of Sheila's vegan cookies. In my near-delirium of fatigue I dropped my Mets hat on the trail, so I had to use a bandanna. It took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to fold it and tie it around my head. I didn't want to ask for help, because it seemed like something any idiot should know how to do. I'll try and blame the fatigue.

The day got increasingly hard. We made the Route 206 crossing (29 miles in) by 1:30, earning the right to keep going and try to finish the whole 44 miles before dark, but just a few miles into the final 15 mile stretch, we were flagging (me probably most of all). This is where I started hallucinating.

"Did you see that?" I asked my fellow hikers after I was sure I saw a deer walking right next to us for a couple of seconds. "See what?" they said. "Ummmm . . . nothing," I said. "I guess I just lost my chance to persuade you that I'm OK to drive us home after the hike."

We ended up calling for the support van at a parking lot at mile 35, about 13 hours after we started hiking. That's where we took the picture below. Please, if you ever see me looking the way I look in this picture, take me to the hospital. I'm probably having a stroke.