In 2015, I hiked over 800 on the Appalachian Trail. While that didn’t technically make me a thru-hiker, for those two and a half months I lived just like one. It helped that I spent my days with them - people who had started in Georgia and were making their way up to Maine. My section had begun in West Virginia, so I missed out on the entire southern half of the trail. When thru-hikers would reminisce about their early days on the trail, they would often wax lyrical about the famed Smokies…
Read MoreTouching the Sky
I had been missing New England so much, especially the White Mountains. I missed the sweet scent of evergreens tall and dense, lining the pulpy earth with their needles. I missed the special quiet that comes with breaking treeline and entering the alpine zone. I missed trails that will simultaneously break your heart with…
Read MoreSunrise Hike // McAfee Knob, VA
I’m 25, and I’ll admit it - I’m still afraid of the dark. Especially hiking in the dark. There’s something that makes me uneasy about how the woods are so big, and yet full of endless hiding places for creatures. But despite these fears, I knew I wanted to hike to McAfee Knob to see the sunrise because…
Read MoreRoad Tripping through California and Oregon
Kian wanted to travel one more time before starting his second year of medical school - he just didn’t know where. We talked about Michigan, Colorado, Yellowstone National Park. Somewhere within driving distance to cut costs. And then Kian’s brother Cameron offered to let us borrow his car for two weeks, and our minds were instantly made up: we were going to California.
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