After living overseas 18 years, I continue to enjoy exploring the world, especially via my own two feet. Doing the 1500 mile GR5 trail from the North Sea to the Mediterranean made me fall in love with long distance hiking. Now that we're back in Ohio, the Appalachian Trail kept calling me. So in 2017, I answered. After tons of prep work at home sewing much of my equipment and dehydrating all my gluten- and dairy-free food, I got 500 miles in before tendonitis and the dreaded plantar fasciitis sent me home. After healing over the winter, I finished up the southern half on Nov.10, 2018. In 2019, I had high hopes of completing all 1100 miles of the northern half, starting again at Harpers Ferry, WV. Well, I made it almost all the way, but had to very sadly come off the trail with stress fractures and 220 miles left to do. Even though I said never again, here I go again!. Please follow me as I spend four weeks in July and August making my way back to Katahdin.
Posts
Connecting All the Dots: Completing My 4 Year Odyssey on the AT
At last. Time to get my final, triumphant fix of the AT and, as a friend later said, "put a lid on it." As you might recall, I am primarily a solo
A Trip Down Memory Trail: My NOBO Route in Maine by Vehicle 2019 vs. on Foot in 2021
I've been given the opportunity to experience Maine as a Katahdin bound but injured backpacker in 2019, turned support crew for a friend I had made
I Said, “Never Again!” in Maine, but I Was Only Fooling Myself.
Two years ago, injuries and pain sent me home not so very far from a triumphant finish atop Katahdin, after three summers dedicated to the AT.
The Different Faces of Flexibility in my Journey
Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. (Tony Robins) The past week on the trail has demonstrated the need for
Flying High (literally): Back on the AT after Two Years Off
At last. AT LAST. After leaving the AT nearly 2 years ago with injuries and dashed hopes for ever finishing my section hiking of the full distance, I
I Said, “Never Again!” in Maine, but I Was Only Fooling Myself.
Two years ago, injuries and pain sent me home not so very far from a triumphant finish atop Katahdin, after three summers dedicated to the AT. But
An Adventure Waiting Right out my Front Door….in OHIO?
So I've already been doing all the recommended procedures for protecting my physical health during the Covid-19 crisis: mask, social distancing,
What Ever Happened to Chocoholic? I’m Still Here, but Now I Need a New Name
FIRST INSTALLMENT, March, 2020: Where we left off in September, 2019: I was injured by the time I got to southern Maine , so I stopped hiking,
Never Say Never: My Blue Blaze off the AT Has an Unexpected Grand Finale
For those of you who follow my blog, you will remember that my body finally cried "Uncle!" after nearly 15 weeks of hard backpacking from Harpers
An Unexpected New Route to Katahdin
Ah, my friends, stuff happens. All the carefully laid out plans must sometimes change. That’s life and one must accept it and continue on in a new