From the Amazon to the Andes

to the Appalachian Trail! 

                Hello! My name’s Becca and I’m STOKED to be heading NOBO on the AT this March. I fell in love with the AT during college and have been dreaming of a thru hike ever since. After graduating with a degree in history in 2014 I had the opportunity to serve with a mission organization in South America for two years.

The Amazon

My journey started out in the mountains of southern Mexico where I studied Spanish for 4 months. Once I was semi functional in Spanish I moved to the Amazon in Leticia, Colombia where I lived in a tiny apartment on the banks of the Amazon River and taught the sweetest kids you’ll ever meet. I lived there for a year and had the best adventures of my life, traveling the river, staying in villages, holding baby sloths and eating piranhas.

The Andes

After lots of love, laughter & life experience I left the jungles of Colombia for the booming coastal city of Lima, Peru. I taught school, worked in a transitional home with girls who had been removed from their orphanage and made friendships that will last a lifetime. I was also able to see some incredible sights. I spent a week trekking the untouched mountains of Patagonia in southern Chile. I did several treks into the Andes, seeing only villagers for days at a time. I did my first solo trek through Colca Canyon which is twice the size of the Grand Canyon. And for my grand finale my younger sister and I did the five day Salkantay Trek though the Andes into Machu Picchu

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The Appalachian Trail

After two years of adventure and growing closer to Jesus I came home where my awesome family was waiting to take me to the beach for a week of sun, surf and sand. After lots of sunscreen and card games we left the salt water for the fresh water and went to our annual family camp out.

Now I find myself living back at home with dad and mom, waiting tables and researching Ultra Lite gear while I sit on the couch and dream about trail life. I’m deciding between major things like whether to use a Fancy Feast cat food can stove or cold soaking? Do I want to carry a Sawyer squeeze or use purification tablets? I reread “Becoming Odyssa” for the fourth time and have been avidly stalking the 2016 Thru Hikers (Maranda Stone I’m slightly obsessed with your hike!)

When my sweet friends and family ask me what’s next I excitedly start gushing about the AT. Their automatic question is “WHY?” My answer is for the community. I’m thrilled to get to know the trail angels, trail maintainers, weekend warriors, day hikers, dreamers & thru hikers that make the AT the beautiful footpath she is.

Thanks for reading! Lots of love!

xoxo,

Becca