My name is Pete and I'm an aspiring Appalachian Trail thru-hiker. Like many this journey marks a time of transition. I'm from Duluth, Minnesota where the outdoor life is not so much a choice but simply the natural order. After college I spent 28 years as an Air Force pilot, moved many times, and saw a lot of the world under good and not-so-good conditions. Along the way I married, raised two boys to adulthood, and mostly lived the life I had planned, Until the day the plan went terribly wrong. In 2011 cancer struck my wife and in the summer of 2017 she lost her battle after a long and brave fight. Devastated but determined to keep living I've returned to Duluth and am set to start the AT in March. With all due respect to F. Scott Fitzgerald I believe there are second acts in American lives and this hike is the opening of mine. Thank you for visiting and I invite you to follow along with me.