8 WEEKS UNTIL DEPARTURE!!

After MONTHS and MONTHS of EXTENSIVE planning, I have decided to take on the challenge of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.... walking 2175 miles across 14 states for 6 months in one go! The entire length of the AT involves elevation changes equaling 16 ascents of Mount Everest. This is all accomplished by walking a half-marathon every day (13 miles) for 6 months carrying around 30 pounds on your back. BRING IT!

In the beginning, I remember looking up the definition of a "THRU-HIKE". Now how times have changed! Over the past year, I have found myselft captivated with the idea of thru-hiking and getting OUTSIDE!!! Since April of 2010, I immersed myself in the idea of hiking the AT ... reading several books and meeting with several veteran AT hikers to glean info from their experiences. I have also finally accomplished the goals of obtaining a WFA Certification (Wilderness First Aid), WSS (Wilderness Survival School Level 1) and CPR certification. All of this hard work will surely help me accomplish my next goal of HIKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL IN 2011!

This trip is not taken with a group or guided by a professional. So needless to say, one can only imagine the intense planning required to accomplish this feat: budgeting for a 6 month period, mapping your itinerary, planning mail drops (thank you Mom and Dad!), food planning (you burn up to 6,000 calories every day), how to cultivate and purify your drinking water(gravity filter vs. iodine vs. chlorine etc...), fire starting, building shelters and bivouacs, dehydrating food, what to do in lightening storms, medical conditions without immediate medical help such as hypothermia, Lyme disease, rabies, paresthesia, stone bruises, hantavirus, giardia lamblia infections, cryptosporidium, poision ivy/oak/sumac, not to mention protecting yourself from ticks (with Lyme Disease, yuck), administering to potential spider bites (brown recluse ring a bell? ewe), bears, rattle snakes (there are lots on the AT, ahh!), moose, how to bear bag your food, Leave No Trace practices, wilderness injuries and care, the myriad of gear choices... and the list goes on...

My main objective is to get back to the basics, void my life of the luxuries we ALL have, but tend to overlook everyday. Tired of waking up to alarm clocks just to fight traffic and be inside a building all day, wondering what the fresh air smells like outside and taming the insatiable desire for fresh sunlight. I want to experience raw nature, get back in touch with my soul, experience peace, calmness, and my relationship with God.

This page was created to share my experience with all who may be interested in this 6 month hiking adventure!

Please stay tuned as I will be updating with pictures and information regularly.


"Many of us exist in a state of disenchantment with the contemporary world. We are tired of bills, crowds, pollution, and consumerism. The onslaught of technological and commercial intervention in our lives is a motivational force that drives some people to the refuge of the woods for a prolonged break. Rather than looking at this as an escapist retreat from society, a long hike should be viewed as a healthy exploration of an alternative lifestyle."

-Michelle Ray in How to Hike the AT