Trail-er Trash: Thoughts On an Appalachian Trail Thru-hike

I knew I would hike the Appalachian Trail. My dad took me on my first backpacking trip when I was 16, and I instantly fell in love. Backpacking isn’t easy, but it’s simple. Perfectly simple. I draw extreme pleasure from being able to survive with nothing but what I can carry on my back. You establish a baseline of comfort, and from there you are free to wander and wonder. Something in my 16-year-old head understood that thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail was the ultimate backpacking experience. After years of talking about it in high school and college to extremely patient friends, I was excited and frantically planning during my final semester at school to finally get underway. I’m pleased to say I hiked all 2,185.3 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine from May 24th-Sep. 27th, 2014.
This ebook is the fullest written representation of the trail I can give.