2000 Miles to Happiness
Every time I tell people this story they say, “You should write a book.” Yeah, maybe I should, but until then here is the short version.
In 2004 I woke up one morning and decided it was time to do a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. I had been backpacking before and loved it. I knew how long the trail was, that it would take an average of 6 months to hike, and that it wasn’t going to be easy. What I didn’t know was how it was going to change my life.
I did my research, bought my gear and a plane ticket. Then in March of 2005 I started north.
It was amazing! I started to meet people from every walk of life. Eventually I meet a particular person. Her name: BubbleToes. Yeah, I didn’t know her real name for a while. Everybody on the trail gets a ‘Trail Name” or a nickname. Very rarely did you know someones real name. My name: Rawhide.
We meet in Tennessee. I had a group a people I had been hiking with, she had a group herself. Eventually we hiked into Damascas, VA together.
A few days later I left town and into a long hiking day I ran into BubbleToes again. I had done about 20 miles at that point and was looking to go another 5. She had been waiting for the rest of her group, and I had to break the news that they went back into town, one of them was injured. She decided to join me for the next 5 miles. The next day, she did the best thing anybody could do for a hiker.
She offered me food!
She needed to get a resupply of food and didn’t want to hitchhike into town solo, so she offered me lunch if I joined her. So yeah, I accepted. I ate my fair share of food, and that began the start of us truly hiking together.
We continued on north. Once we hit Harpers Ferry, we both went back to our respective family houses for resupply, shower, and tend to gear. Shortly after I was home I got a phone call.
That’s strange. Who knows I’m home?
It was BubbleToes. She wanted to know what I had for dinner and what I was up to. In other words… she liked me.
We met back up and hiked out of Harpers Ferry into Maryland “together”. The super sort version its this:
We met in Tennessee, hike through the Virginias as friends, and started dating in Maryland.
We continued north together- learning about each other, meeting lots of other people, sharing stories, fun times, and lots more food.
Yes, we eventually made it to Katahdin.
But that wasn’t the only love I found on the trail. I also found my love for the outdoors. Before this hike I knew I enjoyed being outdoors, but after this hike I knew I had to have it. The next year BubbleToes (Amanda- I did eventually learn her name) and I went back to Springer Mountain, Georgia, and started north to hike some of the trail that we didn’t get to hike together.
A few years later, we got married on the trail. But that is a story for another time.
Since that hike, I continue to live a life out in the wild. It’s important for my soul. It allows me time to reflect away from the daily grind and explore new places. I am able to smile, breath, and see the world when outdoors.