Lists are fun, don’t you think? The following is a list of ten things I learned (or already knew but hadn’t realized how super-duper mega important they were) on my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. 1. Cinnamon roll is the best pop-tart flavor, hands down. Sadly, its limited edition status has run its course. R.I.P. cinnamon roll … More Ten Important Lessons I Learned On The Appalachian Trail
Hey Guys, Next year, I’m hiking the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada (or Canada to Mexico, depending on the weather.) The CDT stretches 3,000 miles along the Rocky Mountains through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, and is only 70% complete. But guess what? The CDT is in the running to win a $25,000 grant … More Vote For The CDT And Good Things Will Happen
I’ve finally started going over my journal/notes/memories from the trail and writing new blog posts (more to come!) This one begins where I left off last, in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania… What a lazy morning! We sleep in til 7:30. Eat pop tarts while we pack up our things. Dowse ourselves in Deet because we’re in the thick of … More Another Day, Another Storm
Hey guys! Sorry for the radio silence. This is why: Hiking is hard Blogging is hard Blogging while hiking is really, really hard I know, I know–it’s just walking. And it’s just writing. And it’s just writing while walking. But the longer I put it off, the heavier and hairier the task became, until finally updating … More Katahdin (I Could Walk Forever)
It’s late afternoon when the trail spits me out of the woods and winds its way through yellow-green fields. Silos and red barn roofs and pastures spread flat across the horizon. When the wind whooshes, the tall grass bends and sways and tickles my calves, and thank goodness for the Deet I sprayed on earlier … More Oh, Days Like These
The whippoorwills wake me before my alarm, before the sun rises, before the other hikers camped nearby begin to stir. I pack up my things by the red glow of my headlamp, quietly, trying not to wake anyone. Set foot on the trail just as the forest begins to brighten beneath the first light of … More In the Morning, Friends, Pennsylvania
Today is a soggy thirty miles into Harper’s Ferry. It starts with the infamous “Roller Coaster” (a 13.5 mile stretch of steep, rocky ascents and descents, one after another), which, while grueling, isn’t worse than anything the trail has dished out so far. After that, the terrain is flat and forgiving for the rest of … More On The Horizon And Halfway There
Hi guys! I’m in New York City right now for my big sister’s wedding this weekend. Got off trail in New Jersey on Tuesday, getting back on where I left off on Sunday. Seven states down, seven more to go!! Also, if you’re lookin’ to kill some time, I recently got interviewed about the A.T. … More From the AT to NYC
The trail is a flat ribbon of dirt as it skirts the two-lane highway out of Front Royal, Virginia. I’m well-rested, shower-fresh, and finally, after almost 1,000 miles, I have my first new pair of shoes. Today, I decide, is going to be a good day. I pop in my headphones, pump my trekking poles … More New Shoes, Spring Storms
It’s an easy eight miles into town from the shelter. I’m on the trail before seven, hiking fast across the ridgeline as the sun tries to burst forth from behind the slate-colored clouds. Thousands of feet below, an explosion of green. Roads snake through pastures and trees. Tiny doll houses dot the landscape. Everything big … More Lightning Hangover: A Zero Day in Pearisburg
I Could Drive Forever 