Hi! I'm Rocket and I successfully thruhiked all 2,198.4 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2023. This had been a decadelong dream for me and surpassed all of my expectations!

I'll be posting videos to share what my thruhike experience was like for other aspiring thruhikers or people who are just curious to learn more. I was a first time thruhiker and I had only been on 1 prior solo overnight backpacking trip before I set out on March 5, 2023. I hiked NOBO and summited Katahdin on August 30, 2023, bawling like crazy when I finally touched that sign.

In Video #1 I'm sharing videos I took while preparing for my thruhike. I was incredibly nervous, but unbelievably excited to set out on this journey. Please keep in mind that I am not a gear expert. The opinions and tips that I've chosen to share in this video are simply the lessons that I learned on trail and choices that worked for me. Everyone gets to hike their own hike, so be sure to do your own research and make choices that work for you.

I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed putting it together. What questions do you have? What are some gear choices you made before you left on a hike that you ultimately swapped? Are you planning to hike the AT? Let's chat in the comments! :)