I truly grew as a person thruhiking the entirety of the Appalachian Trail in 2016. It took me 5 months on foot trekking up and down mountains from Georgia to Maine strapped with a heavy backpack. It is on this journey where I had time to meditate and truly develop my philosophies on what living a worthwhile life looked like and determining dreams I have of the future.

As my body became accustomed to the constant stresses of climbing up and down thousands of feet of elevation day by day in America’s beautiful Eastern region, my mind was free and untethered from the distractions of ordinary civilian life that I had left behind in “the real world.” With my seasoned “trail legs” beneath me, my mind was able to calm and focus on the truly important parts of life and spirituality.

I had immense time for reflection. I asked myself why I thought I was capable of being one of the few people able to complete this epic journey. The answer was two words that made perfect sense together, “stubborn perseverance.”

Stubborn in this context is actually a positive attribute. Stubborn meaning the refusal to give up. Rather than being discouraged by the distance to the finish line , I became appreciative of the process.

Here are a few lessons that I learned along the way...


#appalachiantrail #thruhike #thruhiking #pacificcresttrail #atthruhike #katahdin #springermountain #georgiatomaine #ultralight #backpacking #backpackingadventures #adventure #hiking #camping