“Are you okay?”
It was my last full day of hiking. I began the day with the blissful energy of knowing that I didn’t have to push too hard to make the mileage. My pack was feel...
Tag: Appalachian Trail
The Clarifying Experience of Real Fear
Over the last 18 months, like most of us, I have experienced a large amount of anxiety. The chronic, nagging, exhausting awareness of collective stress that can...
Trail Community is Real Life
“Welcome! What’re your names?” I yelled to the couple who joined me at Davenport Gap Shelter. It was pouring loud rain on the metal roof and evening was falling...
Day 1, Mile 1: Let Go… and stop counting
I chose to hike for 10 days without a watch. It was a conscious choice. I didn’t want to be focusing on how fast I was (or wasn’t) hiking. I didn’t want to worr...
Guarding solitude & Walking light
After I finished putting everything into my backpack, it is 35lbs light. (I did not pack that candelabra you see on the table). I spent the last week at home go...