We’re Back! Sort of!

It’s been over 3 months since we took our last steps on the Appalachian Trail and since then we have traveled up and down the east coast, reunited with family and friends, and enjoyed many amazing moments. We made a few day trips back to our favorite snow packed White Mountains. Those day hikes reminded us how much we loved being on the trail, even if we are trekking through several feet of packed-down snow with only a few tolerable minutes at the summit before the frigid winds reminded us to keep moving.

One thing we had discussed while thru-hiking the Appalachian trail was what would we do after we returned home. The concept of “what’s next?” was a strange one when we were living on the trail. We had some ideas but decided it would be smarter to make a decision once we got home. One idea that kept popping up was a thru-hike of the Florida or Arizona Trail. We knew we wouldn’t immediately return to the workforce when we got back home so why not take a little more time to hike some terrain that was new to us? These unfamiliar states were intriguing and the thought of returning to the woods was intoxicating. When we returned home, we enjoyed the comforts and ease of indoor living but couldn’t stop thinking about the trail. Eric was already talking about Springer fever.

We decided another thru-hike was needed. The Florida trail would allow us to leave in January and would take a couple months but like many other prospective hikers we found the Florida trail to be unappealing. It only took one youtube video of a hiker wading through swampy water with a snake resting within inches of her to put Eric off the Florida trail indefinitely and Hayley wasn’t in a hurry to convince him otherwise. The Arizona trail required a later start of early to mid-March, possibly even later due to the excessive snowfall out west. We decided quickly this was the trail for us even if we needed to wait a bit. The desert and high peaks tempted us and the thought of backpacking out west was a new challenge we couldn’t pass up. We decided we would thru-hike the Arizona trail (AZT) and leave the first week in March. We started to tell our families about our new adventure.

Life never seems to go as planned and when it does it feels miraculous. Our thru-hike of the AT seemed to be miraculous, we defied the odds by leaving our jobs and completing this challenging journey. The stat that gets thrown around is 75% of those who attempt an AT thru-hike will fail.  “Fail” is a bit of an unfair word as some become injured and cannot continue, some decide the trail isn’t for them and some just have things happen that force them to return to the “real world”.  In a way Eric fails into this last category, except we never made it to the Arizona trail. Within a couple weeks of our decision to do the AZT, a job opportunity with Eric’s former employer came up and it was something he felt he couldn’t refuse and Hayley agreed. Our AZT thru-hike was over before it began.

A new job has never felt so bittersweet. Eric was excited to start his new role and it was a tough transition back to the “real world” at first but he managed to find his way. Hayley didn’t have the exciting new job to help ease her back into it but she filled her time and tried to think about what was next for her. A few weeks went by and no answers had been found but the Arizona trail kept wheedling its way back into her mind and when it did, she felt uplifted. The gloom of uncertainty seemed to fade away in the wake of thoughts of vast desert landscapes, starry night skies and the glow of the sunrise peaking over the horizon. It seemed like this was the clear answer…the Arizona trail was back on the table.

The only thing that she wasn’t sure about was if she wanted to thru-hike the AZT alone. It was unfamiliar terrain, weather and wildlife. It is known to be a very challenging trail.  For the first time ever, the thought of starting a trail at the beginning and finishing at the end felt overwhelming, but that is just it…there is no wrong way to hike. We have been saying this phrase since day one…Hike your own hike. Hayley decided to embrace that mantra. She would start at the beginning but choose her own ending. She purchased a one way plane ticket to Tucson, Arizona and decided she’ll hike until she doesn’t want to anymore. Once the timeline was taken away, the anxiety melted away. Another issue is while she loves backpacking, doing it without Eric is a new concept for her. She knows she is capable of a solo hike but she doesn’t quite know if she would enjoy a solo hike. Not to mention the many new challenges of a solo hike in addition to the ones she is already facing in this new terrain. While Eric is disappointed to be missing out, he is extremely supportive and will be cheering Hayley on from home in Massachusetts.

So without further ado, Hayley will be doing a solo section hike of the Arizona Trail. Her first day on trail will be March 27^th, she will be starting at the Mexican/Arizona border and hiking north. She is calling it a section hike for now since she is taking the free-spirited approach. If she decides to thru-hike, her end destination will be the Arizona/Utah border and this could take anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks Let’s go!!!!!!!