The most common question I get back home is asking how the end was. Most of you have kept up with my journey and know up until the end. I will do my best to try and explain to you how I felt and the way things were. The easiest thing to start with is the details.

The 100 Mile Wilderness leads up to the final push. I would have liked to taken as much time as possible in my final days but I didn’t really have the time and didn’t want to carry eight days of food so I pushed myself a little. I miscalculated my food but was able to get some off people carrying too much and hike about 20 miles a day for 5 days. All my friends were either way behind me or already done so I figured I would be alone for the last bit. Fortunately a friend from back in Vermont and New Hampshire, Ishmael, had taken some days off and I caught him. We hiked the 100 together and ended up summiting together as well. It was really wet, which made for rough hiking but we were so close to the finish it didn’t really matter. To tell you the truth it never really mattered. You enjoy sunny and clear days more but you learn you have to deal the (and occasionally enjoy) the rain in order to for there to be sunny days.

The day I climb Katahdin, it was partly cloudy and chance of rain. It rained all night the night before and stopped in the morning so I took advantage of it. Woke up early and hit the mountain hard. I passed the only people in front of me about halfway so the rest was a time of quite reflection as I climbed my last mountain. It was an odd feeling. Most thru hikers talk about the end being bittersweet. Happy to finish but sad to be leaving the life you have been living. It was my 150^th day, so I spent most of my time thinking about the journey I had walked throughout those days. Ups and Downs, smiles and frowns.

About a mile out, I could see where the top was. I decided to not look at it but to hike the trail. I kept my head down and walked exactly as I had done for 5 months. Knowing the end was out there but not being able to see it. As I climbed, the terrain got flat and I knew I was close. Before I knew it there was a big wooden sign in front of me. I knew what the sign looked like. I had seen it a thousand times before in pictures from past thru hikers that litter every stop on the trail. I tell people that I’ve seen a thousand pictures of people with the sign and they all look different. It was now in front of me.

There was a couple who had taken a different trail up who were at the top as well. After about two minutes, they left and I had the mountain to myself. I sat on a rock and stared at the wooden sign. I cannot tell you what I was thinking at the time. It was one of those times where you are thinking about everything but also nothing. I just stared. After about 20 minutes, I stood up and approached the sign. I stood an inch away. The moment of the end had come and I touched the sign. I can say with no shame that a tear or two was frequent throughout the last mile as well as at the top. I was done.

I spent the next two hours on a rock by myself. Dozens of other day-hikers showed up, took pictures, talked to each other, enjoyed the mountain. I went hours without saying a single word. There is no way to compare the feeling with words. I sat there as an emotional castaway utterly unable to relate to anyone. I do not mean this in a negative way but my feelings would go unheard. Much like now. Surreal.

Ishmael was behind me and I waited for him. I eventually picked him out and watched him approach. I will never forget how it was to see him reach the top and know that only I knew how he was feeling. He gave two fist pumps with his poles about 30 feet out when he saw me standing next to the sign waiting for him. He walked directly up to the sign and fell as he reached it. He tried to talk but the emotion, the feeling, kept his words from being understandable. Untranslatable to those who will likely never understand. I understood the mumbles completely. About 50 people watched as he lost it in pure ecstasy and bliss. They had no idea what was going on. A couple, who we hiked with told some people what we had done and word quickly spread on the mountain top. They watched grown men cry and sit with the heavy burden of our journey on our shoulders. They just watched. Later, we were greeted with congratulations and questions about our journey.

It took me three hours to shake the heavy burden of my thoughts and celebrate. We offered hugs of accomplishment and smiles of indescribable joy. We took pictures, lit cigars, and enjoyed a bottle of champagne that I had carried the last 114 miles. Some of the day hikers spoke to us and each other as heroes, but none of that mattered. We were heroes to ourselves.

The weather turned on us and we had to leave. We had about an hour and a half of the most intense storm I experienced on the trail. Nickel-sized hail above treeline surrounded by lightening is as about as dangerous as it gets. But we made it down the mountain and eventually home.

It is good to be home. My body needed it. It is not built to be pushed physically everyday for five months. Near the end I got weak and was more tired than I had ever been on the trail. It was a funny feeling the next morning, waking up and having to tell yourself that there is no more hiking left. You were done.

People think the trail is a 2176 mile path that leads from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. I don’t even know what to say to that. I know my attempt to tell you what it is will be futile but I am going to try.

The trail becomes your life. Completely. Every single day, for as long as it takes, you have one goal. Every second of everyday is set for reaching this goal. At the beginning the goal is so far away, so overwhelming, you can’t even comprehend it. Everyone I talked to experienced the enormity of the task at the beginning. Several are willing to admit feelings of great fear and an unprecedented burden that even lead to tears. But you walk on. Eventually that goal fades and your life becomes simple. Walking north is just what you do. It is who you are. Nothing else matters really. There are ups and downs but you never worry. You do everything you can to enjoy everything. The wild blueberries were ripe throughout the second half of Maine. Every time I saw them, I would pick as many as I wanted. I spent hours one day picking around 500 hundred of them. On my way up Katahdin, I passed some blueberries. I was so focused on reaching the top that I passed them by. But I asked myself, ‘If I don’t stop and pick the blueberries, then why am I really here?’ I went back and told myself never to forget that.

Hiking becomes as second nature as breathing. Your mind has so much free time that most of the day is spent in deep thought. About the past, future and the present. You begin to question everything. You boil the importance of everything you knew and learned down. You learn what is important to you and have revelations on life. The people you hike with become your family. A family of friends only wanting to help the other.

One thing everyone experiences is kindness. I cannot tell you of all the wonderful people I met. The compassion and graciousness. I can tell you without a doubt that I believe in good people and always will. I have hope in everyone. For those who showed me compassion or kindness on the trail, I will never be able to repay them for what they did.

It’s 4 am and I can’t think about anything else than this. I’m not even sure this makes sense. Just my thoughts poured out. I can think of two things that completely changed my journey. The two people who by far had the biggest impact on me were Master Alex and Allgood. Allgood carried a mandolin the entire trail. Most people think that is crazy. These are the people who cut their toothbrush in half and assign themselves schedules. Allgood has an amazing ability to realize a moment and make the best of it. Most of the time in these moments, he would bust out his mandolin and just pick bluegrass. He played for entertainment sometimes but the majority of his play was for the moments. We would hit a mountain top, a vista, a waterfall or stream, hell anything. He would just pick bluegrass for hours on end sometimes. No one ever talked. We were all taken into the moment and realized it. Nothing else matters. These moments would also occur in shelters or around campfires after a deep discussion or whatever. Sometimes half a dozen guys would sit around in silence or to bluegrass and would say nothing. Everyone in thought and knowing everyone else was in thought. These are the times when I would have the realization that I was exactly where I needed to be in my life and doing exactly what I needed to do. No worries. Master Alex is from Quebec and sometimes has a funny way of saying things but it always makes sense. One day we were sitting around discussing what we wanted to do for the day. It was a debate for the rational/typical verse the irrational/spontaneous. He looked up at me while sitting on a rock with his big bushy beard and in complete seriousness and a slow tone said, ‘You can do…whatever you want’. From then on whenever any of us found ourselves making a decision we would remind each other. “We can do…whatever we want.” These things changed the trip for me. And though they would never ask for anything from me, I am forever indebted to them for it. I did whatever I wanted and even when I left Allgood, I would find myself in those moments and be able to hear his bluegrass faintly in the distance.

I knew after about a month and half I would never be able to explain this. I still can’t. This post is getting long ( I know), but I could talk about this for as long as you wanted. In the Shenandoahs I came across an entry in the register from a southbounder from the year before. Upon reading it, I knew then that this is how I would explain it. It is from H. M. Tomlinson’s 1912 book The Sea and the Jungle.

“The finest passage in any book of artic travel is in Warburton Pikes’ Barren Grounds, where he quotes what the Indian said to the missionary who had been speaking of heaven. The Indian asked, “And is it like the land of the Musk-Ox in summer, when the mist is on the lakes, and the loon cries very often?”

You feel at once the country the Indian saw around him would be easily missed by us, even when in the midst of it. For taking the bearings of such a land, the sextant, and the miles already traveled, would not be factors to help much. Now the Indian knew nothing of artificial horizons and the aides to discovering where they are which strangers use. But in summer the mist of his lakes were but the vapor of his musings, the penumbra of the unfathomed deeps of his mind whereon he paddled his own canoe; and when the wind-fowl called it was memory heard; it was his thought become vocal then while he dreamed on. I myself learned that the treasures found in travel, the chance rewards of travel that make it worthwhile, cannot be accounted beforehand, and seldom are matters a listener would care to hear about afterwards; for they have no substance. They are untranslatable from their time and place; and like the man who unwittingly lies down on the hill where the little people dance on midsummer’s night, and dreams his pockets were filled with fairy gold, waking to find pebbles there instead, so the traveler cannot prove the dreams he had, showing us only pebbles when he tries. They are like the Indians lakes in the summer. They have no names. They cannot be found on the best maps. Not you nor any other will ever discover them.”

You should probably read that again. I have read it many times and always read it twice.

Here, I have tried to translate the untranslatable. No matter what I say, I feel that I can only show you pebbles. Unless you are there and do it you will never fully understand anything I have said here. Most of you will never hike the Appalachian Trail. I encourage you and pray that you find your own trail. Your own Katahdin. I promise you will never regret it. Thank you so much for listening, I have honestly enjoyed writing this and all the comments from friends, family and strangers. It means more to me than you know and I wish great things for each and every one of you.

- Trill

The plan was to fly up to Maine, hike with my brother Brandon (a.k.a. Trill) for about 5 days on the Appalachian Trail and leave him at the beginning of the “100 mile wilderness” (100 mile stretch without any roads or ways out other than to hike it out).

I had a late flight into Portland, ME, picked up a rental car, and found a cheap-ish hotel just outside the city for the night.  I woke up the next morning (a little late) and began the 3+ hour drive up to Stratton to meet Brandon.  Since I had most of the day and haven’t ever been to Maine I decided to stick to back roads on my trip up there.  I didn’t have a really good map, and following the road signs became a bit tricky.  Thanks to my phone and Google Maps, I was able to finally meet up with him just as he was getting off the trail.

What a sight and smell.  Brandon has obviously lot a good bit of weight, added a spectacular bushman beard, and the stench to go with it.  When you are out in the woods, without a shower, you get used to the smell but seeing as I had just showered that morning, he stunk.  I quickly shuttled him into town and we grabbed a hotel room a quaint little inn.  While Brandon showered I enjoyed the view over looking a little creek from our hotel balcony.  Brandon was filled with stories from the trail and was really excited to have someone to share them with.  He told me all about the crazy people he met on the trail, some of his own crazy experiences and his general out look on life.  While he tried hard to explain how things on the trail are, I can tell that he will never be able to fully explain the journey he has been on for the last five months to anyone who hasn’t been there.  It’s hard for even me to explain how he’s changed to you here.  I think he has a new outlook on life, nature, and who he is personally.  All good changes, but changes nonetheless. We spent the whole night just catching each other up on what’s been going on in our own worlds.

The next morning we slept in a bit and hit the trail about 10 AM.  Since we got a late start and it was my first day we decided to do a short day and spent the night in the first shelter about five miles down the trail.  The hike was pretty nice to start with, but had a few climbs near the end that slowed me down.  He of course had no trouble.  That first night we had the shelter all to ourselves (aside from a caretaker that had her own cabin).  He showed me the ropes in regards to how he settles into a shelter, cooks dinner, and just enjoys his life.  The only downer that night was the fact that the bugs were out and they have a fondness for my ears.  All night they buzzed in my ear making it difficult to get really good sleep.  I guess he’s just used to it.

The following morning I was to wake up at first sunlight and get a jump start on him since he hikes faster.  Brandon has telling time by the sun down to a fine science and I had not picked up on it the first morning.  I thought it was about 6 AM when I woke up, but it turned out to be closer to 8 or 9 when he finally woke me up and told me to get a move on.  I got about a hour jump start on him.  By the time he caught up with me, the rain had begun.  The whole day it rained.  This day we were shooting for about 15 miles with two big mountains to cross (4000+ feet in elevation) and one smaller mountain later.   With the rain we quickly decided that we’d do another shortish day and pull into a shelter about 7.5 miles down the trail.  The two big climbs were spectacular.  The views they offered were awesome, however getting to the top wore me out.  He had no problems with it and blew past me on the way up, only to sit in the rain at the top to wait on me.  It was such a great feeling to get to the top of each of these mountains, turn around and see where you had come from.

Unfortunately on the way down from the second mountain I slipped on way down and twisted my knee pretty bad. I was able to hobble over the the last mountain but was very relieved when we finally made a shelter.  Somewhere crossing that last mountain we crossed the 2000 mile mark of the trail.  With each step, I could tell Brandon was having mixed emotions.  He had now hiked over 2000 miles from the start of this trip, but with each step he was growing ever closer to it’s end.  It was still raining cats and dogs when we pulled up for the night, but luckily were in a shelter with a few other folks who were going through the same thing.  I guess that’s part of the journey.  You get to see God’s spectacular creation from mountain tops that few others get to experience, but you may have to learn to find the beauty in His life giving rain in order to get there.

Having started with two short days, it was time to make up some miles.  Luckily the following day held 17.6 almost completely flat miles.  This time I did get up at first sunlight, grabbed some breakfast to eat while hiking and left Brandon asleep in the shelter.  I was able to get about three or four miles down the trail before Brandon caught me.  During those miles we crossed a road, that at one point was closer to the 2000 mile mark, and someone had spray painted “2000 mi.” right in the middle.  The rest of the day we pretty much hiked together, stopping occasionally along the some of the many mountain ponds we wound around for a snack.

My knee was really giving me trouble most of the day and I had decided that there was just no way for me to continue another 40 more miles hobbling along like I was.  We were to cross a major road the next day and I went ahead and made the decision to pull off there and let him continue alone.  It was a really hard decision.  I wanted to continue hiking with my brother and spend more time with him, but I knew I just couldn’t and that the right decision was to get off before I really messed up my knee or worse didn’t make it to the end in time to catch my flight to New York City for the rest of my vacation.

Having made up my mind I soaked in everything I could of our last night.  We got into our shelter with plenty of day light left, made dinner, set up camp and then went swimming in the beautiful pond next to the shelter.  From the other hikers I gathered that this shelter was one of the better ones for spending the night.  The shelter was clean and flat and had the most amazing view of the sunset from inside the shelter.  The only problem was the bugs.  The bugs were again out in full force that night causing everyone in the shelter to get up in the middle of the night to reapply bug repellent.  We also had a huge storm blow through that night that apparently woke up some of the other hikers when it was blowing rain inside the shelter.  I was so tired I slept right through it.

The night before a gentleman from some hunting camps about a half mile from the trail came by to tell us about his 12 pancake breakfast he served to through hikers for a modest fee.  Brandon and another man from the shelter took him up on his offer which worked out perfectly.  It gave me just enough time to hike to the ferry and let Brandon catch me there.  Now this ferry was pretty neat.  It is the only place on the trail that goes through a river that is too large to just hike through or cross on a bridge.  The ATC therefore pays for a local outfitter to man a canoe throughout the season to ferry hikers across free of charge.  You simply arrive to one side of the river, wave a flag to signal the ferry, and take the canoe across.  They even have a white blaze painted right on the bottom of the canoe so you know that it’s part of the official trail.  We crossed together, and this is where I said goodbye.  I arranged with the ferry man to drive me about half way back to Stratton to pick up my rental car, and Brandon waited with me for a little while until his lunch break.  We traded some gear and I left him most of my food.  The food he didn’t want to take, another through hiker that we had camped with came by shortly after and graciously took the rest.  We said our goodbyes and he continued on down the trail with 15 more miles to that day.

I had a great time and have a new apreciation for his amazing accomplishment.

It rained on us for about 5 days which kinda stinks but lucky for us we got picked up by my friends in PA. Ryan and Kyle are two brothers that me and my brothers met last year outside Barcelona. Nice to see them again. Also nice to be in a college town for a couple of days. Tons of restaurants and tons of people your age. I felt like I fit in (minus the beard). Some people would ask us what we were doing and we told them we walked here. From Georgia.

The bad news is that Roundhouse has had to sign off the trial. He has some family issues he has to deal with so I will be tredging on solo. Everyone is real bummed. I’ll admit that I am not as excited as normal to be getting back on the trail. I know a couple of days in the woods and my head will be clear. Best case is I can turn the heat up and catch up to some of our buddies and hike with them. Or maybe some cool cats caught up to me and I’ll be able to hike with them for a while. It is definitely going to be different.

I left the next morning because they had to wait until 9:00 for the ATC to open. That would give me a head-start on them. Started out nice, crossed a river and hit the woods. Met a hiker about 3 miles out and asked him to report to them how far ahead I was. I hiked a few more miles and met a couple who stopped to chat. They asked if this was still W. Va. and I corrected them that this was Maryland. Unfortunately, they had just passed a sign entering W. Va. Anyway, 6 miles southbound from Harper’s Ferry, I realized I had read the map wrong! Luckily, I had phone coverage AND Brandon had his phone on. He said no problem, they would wait at the first shelter 7.5 miles down the trail in the right direction. There we spend the night with the first hiker I met southbound. His name is Strides. I wish he had told me I was going the wrong way.

I had to get that off my chest and now I know you want to know about Roundhouse and Trill. They are doing Great! Their health is excellent. Both have lost about 25 pounds. Their gear is holding up well and their spirits are soaring. They are having the time of their life. They love the trail, the hikers and all the communities and helpers along the way.

Here is a typical day if there is one. They are usually late risers and don’t like shelters facing east and the morning sun. They get up, pack up, hit the privy and brush their teeth (most mornings). Breakfast is a couple of Little Debbie apple pies and a full-purpose vitamin and they hit the trail, maybe with an idea of how far, maybe not. After a few hours, it’s time for lunch at a nice view or maybe a shelter. Lunch is 2 flour tortillas filled with a huge glob of peanut butter and a squirt of honey. EACH! Then they have some trail mix, a candy bar and a slim jim. EACH! Then it’s nap time. They took it easy on this old man but they said they usually roll into the shelter 30 minutes either side of dark. We hit them about 6:00 – 7:00.

At the shelter they have a routine. One goes to the spring for their water, the other sets up the pads and sleeping bags, starts getting ready to cook and sets the mouse traps. They are up to 32 confirmed kills but were 0-for-2 my nights. Dinner is cooked in one shared pot consisting of: 2 Knorr noodle envelopes. Chicken teriyaki being the favorite, 2 ramen noodle packs, 1 pack of tuna or chicken, Sweet and Spicy tuna is the best, and finally a pack of instant mashed potatoes to soak up the extra water. They call it gruel and it is actually pretty good and very good fuel. They sit around and share stories with other hikers at the shelter or read and journal.

They are usually hiking together and playing 20 questions or making Roundhouse identify plants which he is very good at. Sometimes they get a song in their heads and sing until the other one can’t get it out of his. They do want they want, when they want with as few hard plans as possible. They checked in at the A.T. Conservancy and there are only 35 hikers ahead of them so they are making great time.

We ended the week at the PA state line where a very nice couple, “The Rosesniffers”picked us up that I had contacted before I left. They took us to an AYCE buffet to fill up and then to their house to sleep dry and inside and finally get a shower. Bill and I took off at 6:00 a.m. to catch my train to D.C. while the boys slept in and got pancakes and french toast later.

It was a great experience and a wonderful time with the hikers. Beautiful scenery and weather. I can now picture where they are and what they are doing and hopefully you can too. One last thing, Roundhouse was ahead of us and we passed a house that had a register set up with a sign to please sign in. We checked it and sure enough, Roundhouse had signed “Roundhouse, Trill and +12″. I guess I have a trail name ……. or number.

Look for pictures in a couple of days

We met up with my dad and are hiking about 16 miles today. He got a jump start and we are going to leave right now and catch up with him. Want to say hi to James from New York, New York. You can send us a message on the site and we’ll exchange contact info and maybe hook up around your area of town. Also Kyle and Ryan, we are coming to Penn so you better be ready to handle us.

Trill

They are now 957 miles along the way and looking forward to Harper’s Ferry and the half-way mark. They are having to slow down a little to time our meeting there on Monday but they can get there early and enjoy the Conservancy and get some rest. They will need it to keep up with me when I get there.

They did finally see a bear! It was not a close encounter but were having lunch with some others by a road a saw one cross the road some distance away. Brandon, too bad you can’t top my bear/hiking encounter yet. Hopefully you never will.

They are making good time and have only had 2 hikers pass them that started earlier than March 1. They are well ahead of the big pack and estimate their finish around the end on July. I did not think they could do it that fast but they continue to beat my estimates. They are also meeting lots of cool hikers that are mostly section hiking. One they met had been section hiking for years and finally this year he was completing his last section. He is in his 70’s. How cool is that!

They will have Internet in Harper’s Ferry so they will catch up on all your comments and will be able to post again themselves. I have already told them NO MORE CLIFF SITTING!

Waynesboro is a nice town and everything is within reasonable walking distance. (almost anything is reasonable to us now). No hostel so we don’t think we are going to pull a zero. Just stretch our time out in the Shennys. (not sure how to spell it so I used hiker slang).

We’ve met some cool people the last couple of days. Most of them being sectioners. I guess we are ahead of the pack. Not a bad thing. It is starting to heat up so we sent home our winter gear today. Lady said everything weighed 6 pounds so not to shabby. I also got some new insoles for my shoes.

We are excited about meeting my dad at Harpers Ferry, WV (that’s right WEST VIRGINIA. I guess we’ve been here a while). It will not only be a friendly face but also the unofficial halfway point. Unofficial being as it is only 60 miles or so from the halfway point and the biggest town near it. I would say we are seasoned hikers by now. People look at us on the trail and know we are thru hiking. (and yes our beards are very awesome). It could also be the smell because we went 14 days without a showers so naturally we don’t smell like flowers.

Thats all I can think of at this moment. We are just under 40% completed and still loving everyday. (Some mountains and bad weather we consider unnecessary but who doesn’t). If you would like to send us anything at Harpers Ferry if you can get it out Monday or Tuesday of next week it will be good. We plan on getting there the 4th. Thanks to all those following us and if we met you on the trail let us know where you are.

- Trill

(of yeah, I have a trail name and it is Trill.)

They are still in great spirits and spent a good bit of the conversation telling me how great their beards look. I mentioned that we need pictures and they should be sending those to Ben to post pretty soon.  They also mentioned that the weather was turning warm which meant their body musk has increased and they have been attracting mosquitoes.

They also requested a strange mail-drop be sent to Waynesboro, VA. Only 3 items were requested: mosquito repellant, SOFT toilet paper and naproxen for achy joints. I guess there are some comforts of home we
just take for granted sometimes. Brandon also said that Roundhouse had splurged for some $25 insoles for his shoes and that he would be following suit at the next WalMart. Brandon, the economist (Tightwad!) has decided some things are just worth the money!

I (Brandon’s Dad) will be meeting them May 5th in Harpers Ferry, WV and walk the Maryland section with them. If you want to send them a mail-drop, send it to Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 with their names, “AT Thru-hiker” and an ETA of May 5th. They would love to have any encouraging notes with news and junk food which they eat immediately so please limit those quantities.

Brandon still does not have a trail name and I plan to fix that before I leave them in PA. So, if you have any suggestions, leave them as a comment to this post and I will take them with me.

Pearisburg is a nice sized town. (it only takes a Walmart to qualify) Got in Friday around noon and will probably leave a little later today. Yes it’s true that we ditched our tent. We have these hammocks but still haven’t used them. We are doing pretty good just shelter hopping and not having to set anything up. The terrain in Virginia has been a little easier. We do a lot of Ridge riding. Where you just hike straight up to the top of the ridge and follow it until you have to come down to a road and then it is right back up again.

After that week of bad weather it turned pretty hot. Staying in the 70’s and low 80’s. Just means more water breaks and much stinkier clothing. The last two days before town we hiked 47 miles so we aren’t doing too bad. Nothing hurts except the bottoms of our feet but we are going to get new soles for our shoes today.

The hostel we are staying at is located outside town and is this old barn they put bunks in. Its on top of this big hill with a pretty view and run by a Roman Catholic church right in front of it. Pretty neat and beats hotel room prices. We thought about pulling a zero but it will be kind of nice to get back on the trail.

People have been asking what it is like to hike the trail. It is hard to explain because it is more of a feeling than a task. You tend to think only day to day and not long term. It is hard to describe what it is like to wake up and hike all day long and do it again the next day. Hard to say what you feel. I came up with this little mental image and Ricky agrees that it is pretty close and probably the best we can do.

“When you hike, your lungs are trying to kill you, your legs are behind you, your feet have abandoned and it is ALWAYS uphill in the morning. But you follow the white blaze and find joy in your company and surroundings.”

I hope all is well with you and as always we enjoy reading everyone’s comments.

Our beards are thick and we continue to lose weight.