I remember it was during my elementary years, when I first read Halfway to the Sky by Kimberly Bradley. My mom and I read this engrossing novel together about a thirteen year old girl who ran away from her broken home and grief over her dead brother to hike the Appalachian Trail. The Trail runs along the Appalachian Mountains and stretches from Maine to Georgia. Avid hikers try to complete this 2,000+ mile trail in a span of six months; while in the mean time they have to carry all their essentials and supplies on their backs and face the extreme heat, cold, rain, storms and exhuastion.
I'm not completely sure why sleeping in a tent for six months outside appealed to me the way it did, but for some reason I wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail. Be a thru-hiker as the lingo goes...carrying my dirty clothes, tent, food, pot etc., on my back just me and nature 24/7, just walking all day long.
And yes I know that I might only have the chance to get a shower once a week, food won't be the best cuisine, have to hike and walk all day in the rain soaked to the bone, the heat will make me smell worst than a bear and the cold might freeze my toes off. For some reason from that time in elementary school til now...I just want to go and hike it. And my intention has been to take the first oppurtunity I get and just go! Either hike it from Maine to Georgia or Georgie to Maine. I have even started planning the trip, I'll start in Georgia and the end of February and work my way up the trail to end in Maine around October latest.
A few conflicts have come in the way school, work, money, and or with or without a partner. The trail can be dangerous if you don't hike in a group or with a partner.
Maybe it was my mom who planted this dream in my head, but it has stuck and I have no intention of letting it go but instead seeing it through ! !
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