Aren’t You Scared of Being Eaten by a Bear? and Other Questions

Aren’t you worried about getting eaten by a bear?

Mmm, sometimes but hey the way I see it I’d rather get eaten by a bear on the A.T. than die in a car wreck.

Are you going with anyone?

Yes! I’m going with my beautiful soon-to-be wife/hiking buddy for our honeymoon.

When are you leaving?
First of March.

Which direction?
Nobo.

How long will you be gone?
We’re planning to be gone for 5-6 months

Why are you doing it?
I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know the answer to this question. If you’ve been around and heard me answer this question, you probably already know, every time my answer seems to be a little different. The truth is there are about a thousand reasons to do something like hiking the Appalachian Trail and on the flip side there are probably about a million reasons to not do it. So why choose to focus on the benefits rather than the risks? I’ve found myself pondering this thought a lot lately. I’m always left with the question why do something rather than nothing? The thing is I’m not convinced the answer is really what’s important, I think it’s putting yourself into situations that make you face the important questions.
I see the trail as a crucible and I hope that me and savanna passing through the proverbial flame will help us grow both personally and together as a couple. Plus it’ll be a good story no matter what happens and what is life without good stories? Life is short and there is no moment better than this one to start living it. And if we die on this adventure, we will die doing something that spoke to the core of who we are.

Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?

No! That’s the best part! Savanna and I have been on a few backpacking adventures though and we loved all of them. In July this year, we hiked the presidential traverse in New Hampshire. That trip was a brutal reminder that the A.T. will not be a walk in the park. I remember on the way home talking it over with Savanna and asking her how she felt about the Appalachian Trail now, she said “Hell yeah bring it on.” So even though I feel completely unqualified, I’m not worried.

What gear are you taking?

I want to do a full blog on my gear in the future. A quick summary, for now, we went with a Nemo Hornet 2p for our tent, a Double Exped sleeping pad, a double Enlightened Equipment quilt, and Osprey for both our backpacks.

How did you and Savanna meet?
Savanna grew up directly across the road from me. As kids, we quickly bonded over our love of dogs and our desire to see the world. We’ve been friends since I was 10 and she was 9. Then approximately 4 years ago, we (along with two of our other friends) decided to do a road trip to Florida. Under the warm Florida sun, our relationship quickly evolved from “friends“ to giddy love-struck teenagers. Since then she’s been the most loving, loyal, and caring person in my life. I can’t imagine a better person to have my back on this adventure and the rest of my life.

How did you get off work for that long?
I work as a stone mason for Savanna’s brother and he was kind enough to let me off for the summer since it’s only me and him working together. Faced with the prospect of working the summer alone he ended up deciding to go himself. He’ll be leaving a couple of weeks after us.