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Obsession\planning continues for my early April Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike departure
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How did I get here?
I used to be more of a runner than a walker, but age happens and that's ok. The progression feels natural and brings new perspectives. While I'm no spring chicken, I'm grateful my body still works well enough to even attempt the thru hike.
I'm 53 now and well aware that the wheels are going to start falling off the bus at an ever increasing pace. When they do then Helen and I will settle down in a quaint cottage with a garden and a dog. Until then....
When we took the boys on all our big family trips, we would see these big beautiful national parks and only get to experience a small fraction of what they had to offer. You had to be able to strap on a backpack and walk long distances to really experience them. We did some small hikes, but barely scratched the surface.
As time passed, I really started gravitating towards longer walks, the sights and sounds of the natural world, and minimalism. The framework of what our empty nest life might look like started to form. I wanted to be "gone"...out there experiencing the natural world...with minimal possessions to weigh me down. I became interested in slow travel and backpacking.
A few years ago I started listening to "The Sounds of the Trail" podcast. Two of my favorite episodes are "This Is Why We Do It (Giving Yourself Permission)" and "Before and After (No Going Back)". I started to throw around the idea of a thru hike when we retired and Helen didn't dismiss it out of hand. In 2017, I came across an article called "10 Stunning Viewpoints Along The Appalachian Trail" and got Helen and Adam to go along to check some of the places out. We had a great time.
I also decided to quit my job at the end of 2017. While I had been discussing the idea of quitting with Helen for some time and she said I could...it turned out...she didn't think I actually would. 2018 was a transition...for all of us. Derek had gone off to Georgia Tech, Adam went on a summer trip to Europe and was moving to a new school for his junior year in high school, I was embracing "intentionality" and "minimalism", and Helen was working.
In early 2018, I threw around the idea of hiking the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail during the summer and Helen and Adam said they were interested. However, when the time neared and the reality of what would be involved became clear...they backed out.
As 2018 drew to a close, the idea of the 2019 thru hike started to form. With Helen's blessing, I decided this would be a good time to go for it. We had fun gearing up and learning a bunch of things about hiking over the holidays. Helen and Adam even got in on the action and got some of their own gear to do some limited overnight backpacking with me.
And that's how it all started.
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| At Max Patch in 2017 |
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