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Day 41: The Earth Expedition
40 Mile Challenge: Yesterday I set a personal record of 42 miles in 17 ½ hours. Three other hikers (Recycled, Beans, and Peak Axe) got together and decided to walk the 42 mile hike from Waukeaga Lake to Damascus. We decided to coin the Challenge the "WD 40" (Waukeaga -Damascus: 40miles). We started at 3:00 pm on the 17th and walked through the night with headlamps and arrived in Damascus, VA at 8:30 AM the next morning. We figured out that we travelled a total of 2% of the entire Appalachian Trail during the hike. How do I feel? Let's just say it is not a record that I want to beat anytime soon!
Miles walked to date: 500 miles 
Video Blog: One of my good friends Amie put this together! Check it out if you want a different perspective of the expedition! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEdP02x26wg
Feet: I get a lot of question about how my feet are doing.... I got my first blister last week...I descended 3,400 feet and my shoes were not tied tight enough so it was my own fault. Other than that I have lost complete feeling on the outside of both of my big toes. This happened when I took my Transamerican journey in 2005 and the feeling came back in a couple of months. I don't think this will be the case this time. Does anyone have any expertise in this area?
Book I am Reading: Wild at Heart (Aldridge)
I am having the time of my life.... ! I crossed another state line coming into Damascus... I have a sense of nostalgia being here... The Transamerican trail runs through Damascus... so I have been here before back in "05" when I rode the Coast to Coast bicycle trail. I am staying at the same $4 dollar hostel I stayed at and I am sitting at the same table I played monopoly with A.T. hiker 3 years ago. It is good to be here.
I have been reading the book Wild at Heart the last couple of weeks thanks to trail angels Hercules and F.A.L. ....the book unwraps the idea that men were created with passions that are imprinted in our D.N.A. It shares that these three strands that are intertwined into the male soul in my own paraphrased words are living an adventure, a battle to fight, and the pursuit of a beauty. The reason that I can write "Life to the Fullest" at the end of every Blog I write is because I feel that I have found the reason I was created. As unorthodox as it may sound...a walk around the world (adventure to live) to save lives in Africa (Battle to Fight) is my "Life to the Fullest" How do I know? Some things you just know and no matter how many words you put to it you will never be able to capture the feeling. I guess the litmus test that I put to the test is "Can I imagine myself doing anything else?" If you can...then I would venture to say that you have passions yet to be explored. I personally believe that those passions are the birth place for the discovery of the reason that you walk this spinning ball of dust. To not investigate would be a slap in your creators face. Strong statement...perhaps but just because the reason that it may stir strong emotion is because you know your adventure to live, (Dream) and have suppressed it to just that...something that you will never be able to attain. One of my greatest fears is to look back on my life from my death bed and wish I would have lived life differently. "All Men Die...Few Men Really Live" (Braveheart) Ok... I relent...now
 A friend (Recycled) after a day of hiking in the sun tries to dry the sweat off his shirt over the fire....or what I like to call "Cowboy Television"
I have so many stories that I have already filled a leather bound journal up front and back. I wish I had time to write all of them down but unfortunately I don't. I guess you will just have to wait for the book!
"Life to the Fullest" Daren "Vagabond"
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