The Mountains Are Calling And I Must Go

If you’re reading this, you probably know that I’ve been planning an Appalachian Trail thru hike! On March 15^th, I’ll start at Springer Mountain in Georgia, and will hike north through North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and finally to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. That’s roughly 4-6 months, and 2,185 miles of hiking!  If you’re wondering why I’ve chosen to do this, the best answer I can give is: why not?! I’ve always loved challenging myself and being outside, but thru hiking the A.T. seemed like a distant and unachievable goal. When I sat down and seriously considered thru hiking, 2015 became the most logical time.

So planning began!

I’ve spent the last 5 months changing just about everything in my life in order to make my hike possible. When I first started planning obvious first thoughts were: saving money, quitting jobs, moving, and acquiring gear. If you know me, you know how much I loved my one bedroom apartment, and moving out of it was painful, but was necessary in order to save money. Acquiring gear seemed easy, but I quickly realized this wasn’t the case (I’ll write a gear specific post later).  I gave up shopping, going out to dinner, spending money on anything other than backpacking supplies, and “help me I’m poor” became my life motto.

Planning continues

Many of you have asked where I’ll be and when, but vague ideas are the best I can do now! I have a general idea of what I think my daily mileage will be, but I can’t actually be sure until I’m on the trail! I’ve also been asked about how I’ll be getting food/ supplies along the way. I’m planning on using a combination of mail drops and re-supplying in town. I’ll be attempting to post my mail drop locations at least 2 weeks in advance on facebook. I’m sure I’ll be homesick, and anything from home will help, so feel free to send me anything!  

Side note

Lately I’ve been really overwhelmed from the amount of support I’ve received from my friends and family. I’d like to take a second to thank a few people who I couldn’t have done this without.

Andrea: you’ve been my best friend/ adventure pal for the last 6+ years, you’ve been the most thoughtful, and have always been there to reassure me, and make me laugh when I was the most stressed

Kellie: This girl helped me move THREE TIMES in the past 2 months! In addition to that you’ve always been brutally honest in the best way, and helped me stay rational when I wanted to freak out

Kaitlin: For helping me out and housing me last minute!

Carl: My AT spirit guide! Thank you for being so patient with me, answering my 5,000 questions (some of them multiple times), and helping calm me down and shift my anxiety to excitement. You’re the only one who truly understands what I’m going through, and I can’t thank you enough for being so helpful!!

I’ve received so many texts and calls from all of my friends in the last few weeks, and I really can’t thank you all enough.  I feel so lucky to have such amazing friends!

The final countdown

I am spending the next few days in Yorktown, counting down to Springer, and frantically trying to prepare for the next 6 months. I leave for Georgia on Friday, and I couldn’t be more excited! More to come soon!

-Kylie