I was exactly one year into my mini-retirement while driving up to Boston earlier this month. As I made my way up the coast, I reflected on the year’s adventures. The states I was passing through had become quite familiar to me. I had hiked the Appalachain Trail (AT) from Georgia to Maine, as well …
This article originally appeared on The Trek, which you can read here. The mountains around me were breathtaking but I could only see one thing. The iconic sign on the summit of Mt Katahdin was in sight. It had been a long arduous journey. I had survived the icy temperatures in Georgia, a bear encounter …
Did you know that the length of the Appalachian Trail changes every year? Maintaining the 2200-ish mile trail is a never ending job. Maintenance crews from 30 different AT clubs volunteer to take care of the trail, performing the routine work of brush clearing, rebuilding washed out trail, repairing shelters, etc. In addition, trail crews …
Thanksgiving week marks the official end of the season for the Fort Story Community Garden. Andrea and I started this garden in 2020 and it has been a joy to watch it expand and grow over the last few years. Yesterday on our final group work day of 2023, we made bundles of homegrown garden …
I climb into my tent on Hawk Mountain, Georgia, and a sense of smugness comes over me. It’s the first night on the Appalachian Trail and I am feeling confident. I’ve hiked farther and faster than everyone around me that day. Having completed several multi-week backpacking trips before, including 400 miles of the AT, I …
I tracked every dollar I spent on the Appalachian Trail. I did this from a curiosity standpoint; I was interested to know what the final figure would be. Though I had an approximate idea on how much I thought the hike might cost, I did not set an exact budget. My goal was to make …
My Appalachian Trail journey was so much more than the numbers, but as an analytical person, I like the numbers too. They are another lens I can use to process the experience. My wife, who is currently taking doctorate-level statistics classes, thinks I’m totally crazy for making graphs and charts just for fun. That may …
When you’re thru-hiking, there is no question about what to do each day. You wake up, pack up your tent, and hike. Rinse, repeat. With my Appalachian Trail thru-hike complete, I suddenly have a tremendous amount of autonomy in how to fill my time. I am blessed to have 15 more months of my mini-retirement. …
The final miles of the trail were memorable. I didn’t expect to love Maine as much as I did. Of the 14 states, I think it was my favorite, and not just because it was the last one. It was remote and wild, full of big mountains and pristine views. One of the things I …
I’m a little late on the announcement, but just a quick post to say… On September 28th, 197 days after beginning in Georgia, I completed my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail! It was an incredible 2198.4 miles, and Mt Katahdin did not disappoint as the culminating climb. In the coming weeks I will share more …