Appalachian Trail

Seven years ago (that kind of makes me want to cry. I can't believe it's been that long) I did the Appalachian Trail. Hiking from Georgia to Maine. As cliche as it sounds, it was a life changer. I started by myself, but ended with a group of the most amazing, diverse, quirky, cool group of friends. We stay in touch and get together when we can. Last week I went back to Tennessee and North Carolina to visit a bunch of them. We did trail magic a few days for some of this years thru-hiking hopefuls, did some hiking, and lots of laughing. If your wondering what trail magic is...it can be anything from finding a cooler full or cold sodas when you come to a road side on a hot day while hiking, or a full -fledged feast. We went all out, no thanks to me. I flew in from Colorado, but some of the east coasters brought food, and grills and beer and soda. It's a pretty amazing feeling to be hiking in the woods for days on end, dirty, stinky, and tired of eating tuna and protein bars, and come to a roadside and seeing someone set up with trail magic. It was fun to be on the giving side of it. The Appalachian Trail is marked by the white blazes on the trees, and I'm not going to lie, I was pretty jealous of those on the trail this year. Here are a few favorite photos of my trip. And sending good mojo to all those out on the trail. Remember, no pain, no rain, no Maine!