My original goal starting the day was to hike 42 miles, which would leave about 30 miles of trail left to finish on Friday. I hit 42 miles around 9 pm and was surprised at how good my body felt; it was like I was just starting the day. 

I was emotional at the fact it was my last night on trail, and Mother Nature out on a helluva show for me. The stunning sunset highlighted the beautiful mountain peaks around me, and a full moon hung low in the sky. This coupled with dropping temperatures, a light breeze, and the endorphins of moving my body all day had my entire body covered in chills. I wanted to stay in forever in this moment, and the gravity of what I accomplished over the last 3ish months set in. 

An idea occurred -- what if I just finished the trail in one go with a 24 hour challenge? It’d require hiking alone in the dark and conquering my lowkey fear of the dark, and to go further than I’d ever dreamed possible. Sandman had finished his two thruhikes of the Te Arroyo in New Zealand with a 100 mile day, so it felt like also a good way to honor him. Plus, I mean c’mon... when would I be in this good of shape again??

So I hiked past my original planned campsite. I walked in the dark with only the full Moon lighting my way as long as I could until finally turning on my headlamp. 

Around midnight, I stopped for another double dinner for energy followed by a double cup of coffee stop around 2am. The only sound emanated from the dark night was my own foot steps, except those two times a bird flew out of a tree right next to me scaring the hell out of me. 

I stayed on high alert once I saw a pair of fresh-ish bear prints and dung, but never saw the offender. 

And then hiked some more. I felt unbelievably good all night. A new Griz album came out as New Music Friday was released on Spotify. This powered me for a few hours. 

My head lamp began to dim as it lost power. The light was on its final legs as the sun began to rise over the horizon. It felt surreal to have experienced the sunset and then to hike until the same sun rose over the opposite horizon. What a sunrise it was!

I finally hit a wall on the last five miles to my finish point where the trail passed through a rocky lava field. Each step hurt a bit on the sharp, loose rock but mentally I felt such joy from pushing through to the end.

Before I knew it, I made it through the last 5 miles and arrived at the finish where I found a Gatorade a trail angel left. I toasted with myself and chugged the drink. I’d done it -- a complete footpath from the Grand Canyon to Canada, and oh how good it felt. 

My last day I hiked 71.5 miles in 25 hours. A fitting end to my journey. 

Miles: 71.5

Total Miles: 2,960