On March 8th, 2022, I sent a text that changed my life:

“Hi Sophie! Hope you are well. A while ago we had raised the possibility of hiking the AT together. And I believe you had said that 2023 might be the best year to do it. ..Did you mean it? 👀”

I had first brought up the idea of thru-hiking this year to my partner Macy a few weeks prior, while we were on a beautiful winter hike of the Jackson-Webster loop in the White Mountains. But this felt like taking that inkling of an idea and shoving it out the door into scary, exciting reality. There were a lot of twists and turns since then, but I’m thrilled that Sophie and I will in fact be thru-hiking together! We are friends from high school and it will be so much fun to take on this big exciting challenge together. And though I can hardly believe it, the Trail is already upon us!

It has taken a lot over the last year to get to this point, from beginning to research the Trail to finally flying down to Atlanta to begin our thru-hike. The biggest thing was the research phase, which has been an ongoing process over the past year. I read countless articles on thetrek.co, several books about thru-hiking, watched YouTube videos from past thru-hike vloggers and experienced backpackers, and most importantly, talked to people I know that have thru-hiked in the past, which has been so helpful. A lot of this research was about gear, as I tried to find the best pieces for my needs. I would not call myself a gear junkie at all, and compared to others on the interwebs I certainly don’t feel as though I’ve been the pickiest, but I’m confident with what I have going into the hike. I’m sure there will be some changes along the way anyway! Arguably more important than the gear research, though, was learning about what the actual experience of thru-hiking would be like, and preparing myself mentally for it. Several people told me that “the mental game is everything” on the AT. I highly recommend Appalachian Trials by Zach Davis, which specifically focuses on this overlooked element of trail preparation. Thanks to the several former thru-hikers who recommended it to me!

Then, of course, I had to actually gather all that stuff I had decided to take. I already had a few suitable items from when I worked at REI and just from past hiking trips, but most of my gear would be brand new. I got my first items – and big ones in my tent and sleeping pad – when I stopped by LL Bean headquarters in Freeport, ME with my mom last July. The holiday season was an important turning point, as my family and friends all chipped in in a major way to stock me up with a lot of important things, like my pack, stove, and GPS for Macy and my parents’ peace of mind. I gathered the rest of my gear list over the next few months, either buying stuff at REI (and visiting some old coworkers while I was at it) or ordering it online.

It’s still a bit daunting to fit all that in my pack! Two pieces of gear that I’m particularly excited about are my sleeping bag and headlamp. For the bag I went with a NEMO Disco 15. It’s specially shaped for side sleepers like me, and it has a lot of other cool features, such as a pillow pouch, ventilation gills, and a “blanket fold” which will take you straight to Toast Town on chilly nights. Much less sexy (but also very important) is my headlamp, a Black Diamond Cosmo. I honestly can’t tell you why I’m particularly excited about it, it just feels super nice to have a simple, powerful, and reliable headlamp.

I was able to try out most of my gear over the course of several shakedown hikes. A “shakedown hike” is basically a chance to test out gear, see how it feels to use it, and decide what you like, what you don’t, and what you might need to do differently. First, last summer, I hiked the Pemi Loop in NH with my friend Jenn. It was a three-day trip, and it was my first (and still only) true backpacking trip! It was a good chance to try out my tent and sleeping pad, and get a sense of what it’s like to sleep, cook, and live in the woods for a few days. It was a wonderful experience!! The Pemi Loop is something of a rite of passage in the White Mountains, and about half the loop is on the AT. We had a great time tackling this beautiful and brutally difficult trail. We even made some trail friends, who I hope to meet up with when I get to New England this summer! The Pemi really strengthened my resolve and made me more excited to hike the AT.

The northeast winter (and the timing of my northbound thru-hike) makes it a bit tricky to do shakedown hikes. Ideally, I would have been able to do some overnight trips with all my gear to really get a sense of what working with it all is like, but the snow and frigid temps makes that unrealistic. I was able to take my gear on two day hikes, one of Mt. Tecumseh in the Whites and one at Camden Hills State Park in Maine. I actually really like winter hiking, and these trips were no exception. I’m very glad I was able to try out hiking with all or most of my gear, too, since there were definitely kinks to work out such as how to pack my pack. This will continue to be a learning process throughout the beginning of the Trail.

The last two months, trail preparation really kicked into high gear. There was a lot to check off my list of things to do before I left, from getting a flight down to Atlanta to doing my taxes – all while trying to make the most of my last two months with Macy for a while. There were a lot of emotions throughout this time, as I would vacillate endlessly between excitement and a kind of nervous disbelief that I was actually going to do this. Here are some of the things I did over the last couple months:

I did my taxes. I renewed my car registration that was set to expire in June. I treated my gear with Permethrin bug repellent.

I was able to talk to a ton of friends, both in Boston and virtually, in the leadup to my departure. It meant the world to be able to connect with so many people I really care about before I went, including several people I don’t get to see very often. Macy and I also hosted a going away party, which was a lot of fun. I love my friends!

We also had plenty of game nights; I will definitely miss board games while I’m on the trail. I’m bringing a deck of cards as a luxury item, so hopefully I’ll get a bit of a games fix that way 🙂

Throughout this time, I was in frequent communication with Sophie. We had check-in calls about once a week, to see how each other were doing with everything, share emotions, work out logistics for the beginning of the trail, and share our philosophies for our hike to make sure we were on the same page. My camp counselor background came in handy as we tried to prepare together to be the best thru-hiking team we could! A lot of people have been surprised that Sophie and I have never been on any significant hike together before. Jumping right into an AT thru-hike together is quite the leap, but I know we’ll make a great hiking duo and these conversations ahead of time will pay great dividends on the trail.

Before I knew it, it was one week before I left. It was my last week at Cerence; my coworkers were all enthusiastic and curious about my upcoming trek. I finished work on Friday and was satisfied with where I was able to leave everything for my team.

That weekend, my whole family came to town, including both my brothers flying in from Chicago. We had a wonderful weekend around Boston with my grandparents and cousins. It was really nice to spend quality time with them all before I left. Plus, walking around downtown Boston was a great way to say goodbye to the wonderful city I call home before I disappear from city life for a while.

Since my flight wasn’t until Wednesday, I had two free days to tie up loose ends. And thank goodness for that, because Monday and Tuesday were an absolute whirlwind. Among other things, I scrambled to make a return at REI, get the remaining groceries for the first leg of the trail, download an audiobook or two, and of course, finally pack my pack. For travel, I put my pack with everything inside it inside a large black duffel bag, which I checked at the airport. This worked well to protect my gear and my pack, so the various straps wouldn’t get caught on something in the airport or anything like that.

Finally, it was time for my (one-way!) flight. It was hard to say goodbye to Macy when she dropped me off at the airport. Once I got through security, it really started to feel real, and I was in full excitement mode. I’m sure I looked a little goofy using my little electronics dry bag as a personal item, but it worked well. The whole day of travel went quite smoothly. It was fun to look out the window of the plane to the west and wonder if I could see the AT out there (hey! That’s the name of this blog!).

Arriving in Georgia, I got to check off another big airport I had never visited before (I was rather unimpressed), and more excitingly, another state! Surprisingly, I think GA is the only state that will be totally new to me along the whole AT. I rode the METRA, which I was curious to see as a mass transit enjoyer, to north of the city. There were more people on the train than I was expecting, that was good to see! Finally I arrived at my cousin’s house in northern GA, my last stop before heading to the trailhead.

The last few days have been an excellent time visiting with family here. Andrea and Parker are wonderful hosts, and it has been so much fun to play with Ava and Ilsa! It’s really nice to be with family right before starting my hike. I even got to do my laundry so I can start with everything clean. Tonight, Sophie and her boyfriend (also named Jake) stopped by on their way up from Florida. It was great to reunite with her before we’re actually on the trail. It’s still a little surreal to be here and on the doorstep of the trail already, but we’re ready and we’re doing this!

There are many people that I want to thank for everything they’ve done before I’ve even started the trail. Thanks a ton to Andrea, Parker, Ava, & Ilsa for your generosity, hospitality, and my first, amazing (pre-)trail magic. Thanks to Thad Megchelsen for designing the banner and logo for this blog! Thank you to Lily, Lulu, Ronen, and especially Gretchen for your backpacking and former thru-hiking advice and expertise: you have been SO, so helpful in preparing for this! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for the use of your porch to spray my gear with Permethrin. Thanks to the Denneys for letting me borrow some gear for my backpacking trip last summer. Thanks to my mom for setting me up for success with a bunch of dehydrated food and supplies. Thanks to my wonderful friends and family for showing me so much love and support as I head in to this great adventure. Finally, thank you to Macy for your unconditional love and supporting me every step of the way, even when this trek presents unique challenges for us. I love you so much.

Off we go!!!