During my flip-flop thru-hike in 2015, I published journals every hundred miles with pictures and video clips. If you want to read about the good, the bad, the beauty and the ugly of Clarity’s personal account, read on.
Upon completing an adventure as elemental as a thru-hike of the 2,189 mile Appalachian Trail, much can change within oneself. My trail name is Clarity because the purpose of my pilgrimage was to find it. As one who worked multiple jobs for 15 years, life was always so muddled with fast-paced goings-on that true simplicity and jubilation were often hidden in a … More Post trail feelings
Sitting here revisiting my trail notes two months after finishing my A.T. thru-hike, I stumbled across a 2-page journal entry describing all my “oopses” as a brand new hiker written after the first three days of my hike. Somehow, even with the humorously clumsy beginning, I learned how to survive in the woods on my own, laugh at … More I Name My Journey, “Oops”
On the A.T., expect the unexpected. Ascending the very dry Bluff Mountain in Virginia on an unusually warm day in early October meant lugging three heavy liters of water and drinking conservatively as the next easy access to water was a whopping ten miles away. Celebrating having just crossed over my 1,400 mile mark, at … More A Four-Legged Surprise
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
AppalachianTrailClarity 