41 Results for "virginia"
Landing in New Mexico: Getting Trail Legs
As I sit in a cafe in Silver City, NM, I reflect on the past five days. Landing on trail was always going to be chaotic. But this was the...
Freedom and (a Little) Frustration: Sandal-Wearing Thru-Hikers Explain Themselves
In more than 2,100 miles of hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2016, I never got a single blister on my feet. That was thanks, in part, to the miracle of...
Finding Identity Through a Trail Name
Trail names are a unique phenomenon of thru-hiker culture. They can start out as silly nicknames or premeditated intentions but can grow into your entire sense of being. There are...
Bears, Noro, and Lyme: What to Worry About (or not) on Your Thru-Hike
So, you’re planning to head out on trail for a long walk. Maybe even a thru-hike of one of the Triple Crown trails — the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail,...
The Moment I Knew I Was Going to Thru-Hike
It was October 2015. 2015 was a rough year for me. I was in my junior year of college; stuck in a degree that didn't inspire me; depressed and anxious;...
The Twelve Tribes / Yellow Deli: Hiker Haven, Creepy Cult, or Both?
I arrived at Bears Den Lodge, just past the 1,000-mile mark on the Appalachian Trail, at high noon on July 2, 2016, a pleasantly warm, sunny day. To my dismay,...
9 Thru-Hiking Photographers You Need to Be Following In 2018
It's no secret that being a successful thru-hiker requires a tremendous amount of patience. It calls for adeptness and a whole lot of willpower. What's even more supernatural? Killing the...
Excited to Leave, Sad to Go
In just a month, Nick and I will be leaving Mammoth Lakes to travel back to Virginia before starting the Continental Divide Trail in New Mexico on April 30. This...
Growing up Along the Appalachian Trail
As children, we have no control of where we grow up. Our parents make those decisions and we merely follow along. Although I was born in Northern Virginia, just outside...
Which One is That?..
...Is the most common question I get when I tell people I’ll be hiking the CDT this summer. Short answer; it’s the one in the middle. Slightly longer answer; it’s...