Marion Hoffman, his friend John Hafer, and I began hiking the Florida Trail at 5:30 AM from Fort Pickens through Pensacola Beach followed a bike ride to Navarre Beach, a total of 27 miles!

For 2-3 hours we were entertained by the US Navy’s Blue Angels who were practicing for an upcoming air show this weekend. I cannot recall ever seeing this amazing team operate at such a low altitude performing stunts in very tight formations, inverted, and high G maneuvers.

The Florida Trail was very urban after Fort Pickens and before the 13-mile segment to Navarre Beach. Unfortunately, the bike I rented was heavy, very slow (slightly faster than walking), and very different from my personal road bikes. Despite drinking about 5 liters of Gatorade and Liquid IV electrolyte containing drinks. Recovery came quickly with lots of fluids, air-conditioning, and snacks. Tomorrow will be interesting since several sections on Eglin AFB are closed. We hope to make it to Holt and Crestview before returning to the east side of Eglin AFB.

Home is such a wonderful place especially after being severely stressed! Kathy and I have talked frequently over the past two days, but I was so glad to come home and be able to hug her again. We are so fortunate to have two wonderful Havanese dogs, Sir Hamilton and Max, who could not have been more pleased to see me come home.

1. Retirement is really nice! Sleep as long as you like, play with the dogs, eat breakfast, casually check e-mail and the news, and plan whatever you want to do!
2. I am so thankful for so many wonderful friends who read my Facebook and website posts and gave me so much encouragement. Walking down Skycap Mountain two days ago felt like a walk of shame. I am so thankful for my encouraging friends at McGregor Baptist Church, Rotary, Shell Point, Gideons, and many other old friends.
3. During my service as a US Army flight surgeon, I had to assist in caring for aviators and investigating crashes occasionally. One of our major goals was to get aviators who has recently crashed back into the air when physically able so they could be encouraged and continue to serve as an aviator. For me, I believe pursuing a challenging but more reasonable goal of hiking the 1,400 mile Florida Trail is the way to get me back “into the air”!
4. The human body is amazing and could not have been created by anyone except a sovereign God who has unbelievable and unconditional love for His creations. I saw some amazing people on this trip including my partner, Marion Hoffman. At Shaw’s Hostel in Monson, I met a man in his early 70s who was diabetic, had received stents and two coronary artery bypass procedures, had four hip replacements, and still finished an AT thru-hike. Everyone should pursue their dreams!
5. Christians need to take advantage of every opportunity to share the Gospel with those who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. I saw so many people on the AT who clearly did not know Jesus. I cannot imagine living in this world without having the comfort and peace of a personal relationship with Jesus. Knowing that I will spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven after leaving this world is icing on the cake!

My new friend, Marion Hoffman, and I started at Katahdin Stream Campground and slowly made our way up the 4,000+ foot climb to the summit of Mt. Katahdin beginning at 5 a.m. using the Hunt Trail. This is a very strenuous hike with lots of rock climbing.i did well until muscle cramping set in. Fortunately eating saltine crackers and trail mix fixed the problem!  The climb down should be interesting!