Should I treat my water? Treating water is of vital importance to your health while living in the wilderness. None of the water on the A.T. is guaranteed safe, and with the large number of hikers and the plentiful wildlife that use the creeks, the ATC and I recommend that all water should be treated … More To Treat Or Not To Treat?
The main purpose of my undertaking in attempting what only 790 people accomplished last year has always been in search of clarity…open-minded and eager for the trail to teach me anything and steer the lessons in any direction. The cloudy years leading up to my pilgrimage needed a large dose of sunshine to burn off … More 2,100 mile journal Lessons of Clarity
When does a thru hike start to seem over? The minute one hits 2,000 miles. The remaining 189 seem like nothing in comparison. Today it slammed into me like a 60mph gust of wind…I have almost succeeded in a task I once deemed impossible. My 2000.0 mile mark happened on a picture perfect evening…the horizon … More 2,000 mile journal – Nearing the Finish Line
The roller-coaster of emotions one experiences on such a long, arduous journey metaphorically mirrors the roller-coaster of mountains one must physically endure to see it through to the end. One moment the sun is shining, the temperature is balmy, and the promise of a beautiful day seems guaranteed. Ten minutes later, one may find herself … More 1,900 mile journal – Low Points
What a memorable hundred miles this has been as my remaining distance dropped below the 500 mile mark and I finally escaped Virginia’s clutches and made my way into Tennessee! With its share of overcast grayness and abbreviated daylight hours, the few dappled interruptions of warm, sunny days were revitalizing gifts that provided a desperately … More 1,800 mile journal – Uplifting Trail Company!
When one hikes 100 miles in less than a week, it doesn’t leave much time for writing, so this entry combines two hundred miles to finish out Virginia. Swiftly have the miles ticked by, expedited by the abrupt realization that things are about to get really cold! Waking up to frigid temperatures, (already plummeting into … More 1,600 & 1,700 mile journal – Weather Woes and Midnight Visitors
What a difference a hundred miles make! The trail transformed from a consistently drab, gray, foggy mud to an explosion of vividly vibrant colors. Every little girl dreams of finding that elusive end of a rainbow for that promised pot of gold, but even more enriching is the joy of walking through one, futilely hoping … More 1,500 mile journal – Kaleidoscope of Colors
This hundred miles began to feel more like home as I reentered the land of Kroger stores and Cracker Barrels waiting for me in trail towns. As the last hundred ended, so this hundred began…chilly, rainy, foggy gloom for several more days, eventually totaling twelve days out of thirteen. Hiking in such dismal conditions definitely … More 1,400 mile journal – A Puppy Rescue Brings Purpose
The good and the tough experiences work together to build strength, teach character, and provide clarity. The first hundred miles of part two has created a conflict inside of me…stronger is my desire for home, a feeling at war with my fierce resolve to see this journey all the way through. Knowing these disenchanting times … More 1,200 and 1,300 mile journal – Homeward Bound!
Ten states, 1,137 miles, three months and ten days. Where did they go? How are they suddenly a blur of the past? The myriad faces, extraordinary places, epic views, repetitive tasks, challenging steps of closing an unconquerable distance at a mere 2MPH pace, moments of feeling indescribably alive have, in hindsight, flown by faster than … More Halfway there!
AppalachianTrailClarity 