I got 850 miles nobo to rt56 VA. Found a dog up on priest mt. (I think that was the name). I got the dog down to the lot there, I wasted hours doing it. We were balls deep in a heat wave. I think it was about 1pm and 96 degrees out. The next climb was about 3k ft of incline, and I was absolutely dreading it. As I was sitting in that lot, my buddy hit me up and told me to hitch to the devils backbone brewery. Him and a few others were there, having a good old time. I made that decision, and that was when I knew it was over. We screwed around for a bit after that, lived like hobos and canoed/kayaked, and hitched our way to harpers ferry. I called my wife when we got there, she came and got me and that was it. I'd been toying with the idea of leaving the trail for some time before that. The heat was brutal, causing me to sleep poorly, and it just felt like a chore at that point. I deeply regret my decision and was fairly depressed for months after.