Huffhike

So here we are, after years of saying, maybe next year. I am finally within a month of my start date of my attempt of the Appalachian Trail. As I sit here at home reflecting on what is ahead of me in the next 5 months, it’s hard to not get caught up in the emotions. Some coming in the form of uncertainty that the future may hold, and some in what got me here today. But at the end of the day I’ve never been more excited for something in my life.

For so long of my life, I have wanted to hike the AT (Appalachian Trail). I grew up in a small town in the valley of Mount Monadnock. With being in such proximity to so many beautiful trails and naturally untouched sections of forest, it is not shocking that I find myself writing this today. Growing up it was highly encouraged by my parents to get outside in some form. At a young age, I was not as enthusiastic about spending a week camping or hiking as I am today. But, my dad persisted, and whenever he had time off he would spend it with us hiking. At one point, when we were living in military housing in Rhode Island, he took the 2 and a half hour drive to camp with us at Otter River State Forest. Then the next day, he’d bribed me and my younger brother up Mt. Mondadock with Recess cups and the promise of Kimbles at the end of the day.

Those little moments of enjoyment and love of nature, went dormant in my teenage years and my early 20s. As I became more and more separated from nature and the peace that it has to offer, I found myself more and more lost as a person. Then when COVID started, I found myself hiking more and more. Eventually, I started to feel whole again, and I think a better version of myself was formed. After I started to get in better shape I began working on completing the NH48 4,000 footers list. At first it started with me and my younger brother just hiking to knock out a list, but somewhere along the way, I started to realize that there was something to the peace that the woods have to offer. The first notion of this “peace” came when I was offered a full time position at my current company, Research Results. At the time I was a recent college graduate and I was pondering their offer against a different company. But, after hiking through the Presidential Traverse, I realized that they had the “personality” that I would prefer in a company and took there offer. Some four years later, it’s a decision that I haven’t regretted since.

As I grew as a hiker, my goals shifted. As you can assume by this point, by looking at this blog or my Instagram, it doesn’t stop. There is always the “next” hike. So of course once I finished the NH48, I had my eyes on thru-hiking. My first technical thru-hike was the New England Trail. Aside from the wellness check from the Hartford PD, I managed to finish the trail with a bigger love of thru-hiking then day-hiking. So, naturally, I planned my next thru-hike of the Long Trail where I took 2 weeks off of work, and thru-hiked the entire trail. This trail was the most amazing experience I had in my life. I was in love with every second I spent on the trail and I met some of the most amazing people.

When I finished the Long Trail two years ago, I knew I was going to attempt this hike. I hadn’t realized the when quite yet but I knew I would attempt it at some point. In November, as I mentioned in a previous post, I listened to the universe’s signs, and informed my work of my decision. Thankfully, they were understanding, and allowed me to step away from my career temporarily to chase my personal legend and return in September.

So you may be asking yourself, why am I doing this? I am hiking this trail now because it is something that I have always wanted to do, and I know that I also want to own a big chunk of property and settle down when I find the lucky gal. I also know and acknowledge that if I don’t pursue this now, I won’t be able to. More importantly, I am attempting this hike, because I find that when I am thru-hiking I am the best version of myself, I genuinely love nature and love to feel the connection to it, as well as the sense of community and commonality that you find when thru-hiking.

So where does that leave me today? On April 18, I will take a flight to Atlanta, where I will meet up with my friend Damsel, who I met on the Long Trail. She is then doing me the ultimate favor of giving me a ride to Amicalola Falls State Park the next day, where I’ll take the 8.8 mile approach trail to Springer Mountain where I’ll start the AT. The trail spans 2,197.9 miles and goes through 14 states along the east coast. I will be a North bound hiker (NOBO) attempting to thru-hike the entire trail.

Obviously, when attempting something like this, I would be oblivious if I didn’t comprehend the effect that this may have on others around me. From friends, family and coworkers. Which in part is why this is a blog and not a journal. Through this blog I would like to give the people close to me the opportunity to follow along on my journey. Maybe even coax some people into providing some trail magic?

At the end of the day as I start this, I want to thank everyone who has helped me get to this point! I’m incredibly grateful to have so many amazing people in my life. But I want to dedicate a special shoutout to my folks. I have so much love and appreciation for everything they have done for me in my 27 years on this floating rock. It’s incredibly rare to have parents who are willing to support me as much as they have. They have constantly sacrificed for me and my brother’s well being. It’s something that I will never take for granted, and something I am extremely grateful for.

Happy Trails!


Guide for hiking terms:
-NOBO (North bound hiker)
-Trail Magic (People meet either friends or strangers thru hiking and give them food at trail heads)
-Thru-hiking (When you hike the trail continuously in a calendar year)
-Approach Trail (a trail to take to the start of the “main” trail)
-NH48 (New Hampshire has 48 4,000 foot mountains)
-New England Trail (A national scenic trail that goes from Royalston MA to Guilford CT)
-Long Trail (the oldest continuous trail in the US that goes thru Vermont)