The 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail marked the beginning of the end for me. My first ever long-distance thru hike in 2011, from Springer Mountain’s modest summit in Georgia to the granite throne of Katahdin in Maine, wasn’t just a walk. It was an unraveling.

I couldn’t have known then that those white blazes were leading me not just north, but permanently away from the life I’d been told to live. The AT is deceptive that way. It looks like a simple footpath on maps, but it’s really a slow-working medicine, a green tunnel of transformation that gets into your blood and changes your chemistry.

This trail breaks you down methodically: the relentless ups and downs of Georgia that humble your out-of-shape body, the smoky mysteries of the Smokies, the endless green tunnel of Virginia where time stretches like taffy, the rocks of Pennsylvania that punish your feet for their ambition, the quiet beauty of Vermont’s forests, and finally, Maine’s wild remoteness that feels like stepping back in time.

The Appalachian Trail doesn’t care who you were before. It strips away pretense with rain and hunger and exhaustion until all that’s left is the essential you, the person hiding beneath societal expectations, corporate ladders, and timelines that suddenly seem arbitrary when measured against the simple metrics of miles walked and meals eaten.

Four years after reaching Katahdin, I would walk away from everything. But the seeds were planted here, on this oldest of America’s long trails, where I first discovered that the most dangerous thing isn’t the wilderness, it’s the possibility that you might discover who you really are, and that person might not fit back into the world you came from.

 

Appalachian Trail Section Hike Nobo

This Appalachian Trail Section hike Video Playlist starts with a gear review, hitchhiking to Amicalola Falls from Atlanta (Which is not included due to a faulty camera) and then hiking north through Helen, GA to Siler Bald where I was snowed in for a while. Though I hiked as far as Hot Springs, NC and spent way too much time in Gatlinburg, the camera had finally given up.

Appalachian Trail Section Hike Sobo

This AT Playlist starts with a Megabus ride to Charlottesville, VA to hitchhike to the Appalachian Trail to head southbound. While I had intended on going all the way to Springer Mountain, it was too late in the season and too cold for me. Florida beaches were calling my name.

Four Days in an Appalachian Trail Shelter

Spending some time on the Appalachian Trail waiting for a train to head north for a house sitting job. This short video playlist covers my four days living in Paul C. Wolfe Shelter.

2011 Appalachian Trail Thru Hike Playlist

A complete NOBO thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. My first hike. This playlist covers the whole trail, from Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.